Naperville's Ribfest Finds A New Home At DuPage Co. Fairgrounds

WHEATON, IL — Ribfest, the longstanding Naperville tradition, is all set to return after a two-year pandemic-related hiatus. But for the first time in more than 30 years, the summer festival that celebrates all things ribs will be in a new location.

The Exchange Club of Naperville announced on Monday that Ribfest will be held at the DuPage County Fairgrounds in Wheaton more than a month after the idea of moving the event to the fairgrounds was first discussed.

Ribfest, which was founded by the Exchange Club has been held at the city’s Knoch Park for more than 30 years. The event was slated to be held in Romeoville in 2020 and 2021 before COVID-19 restrictions kept the festival for taking place.

In January, the DuPage County Public Works Committee discussed moving Ribfest to the DuPage County Fairgrounds between June 17-20. The festival had traditionally taken place over Independence Day weekend. The Daily Herald reported that the county fairgrounds were chosen after 10 sites were considered for the new location.

Festival chairperson Beverly Schafman told the Daily Herald that the event would include more rib contest contestants and musical acts than in previous years. A message for festival organizers was not immediately returned to Patch on Tuesday.

The City of Wheaton "[doesn't] have any issues with this," said Tim Harbaugh, deputy director of Facilities Management for DuPage County told the committee last month.

Harbaugh added that Wheaton officials "want to make sure the county is on board with this before they issue the gathering permit.”

City of Wheaton spokeswoman Susan Bishel told Patch in an email on Tuesday that Ribfest organizers have received initial approval from DuPage County to proceed with planning the event at the county fairgrounds. Organizers submitted their application to the City of Wheaton for the event. Events of this scale require special permits and quite a lot of planning, so our staff is working with the organizers to complete this process, the spokeswoman said.

“We look forward to helping finalize the logistics for a fantastic event here in our community,” Bishel said.

Committee members last month expressed concerns about event capacity, potential traffic issues on Manchester Road and the ability to accommodate early voters at the fairgrounds amid the festival.

Some 15,000 people are projected to attend each day of Ribfest, putting the event on par with the DuPage County Fair, which brings in roughly 20,000 attendees daily.

Since its inception, Ribfest has raised more than $18 million to help the Exchange Club of Naperville fight domestic violence and child abuse.

Patch editor Lisa Farver contributed to this report.