Fort Frances council okays Ribfest & financial support

Ribs will replace burgers this September in Fort Frances.

Town council is throwing their support behind a Ribfest food festival after learning that the organizers of Burger Wars have decided to postpone it until next year, thereby avoiding a potential conflict in schedules.

The town is committing $15,000 in sponsorship and another $5,000 in contingency support for the event.

Councillor Mike Behan, who supports the Ribfest event, is still disappointed by how the issue played out.

“I’m sorry that one group has been disappointed over all this,” says Behan.

“My understanding is that the Ribfest came to us with the only date they had available, and that’s why we had to choose that date. I’m conflicted with what the Burger Wars had planned previously. We want to make sure all these events complement each other, not compete with each other.”

Organizers of Burger Wars do plan to return in 2027 on a date that does not conflict with others.

Mayor Andrew Hallikas also supports the event and sees benefits to the town’s investment.

“I like the idea that it’s gonna be a recurring festival,” says Hallikas.

“Some of the money will be spent on reasonable assets that can be used for the festival in the future and other festivals. And I really liked the idea of the fact that there’s going to be people, consultants with the RibFest who are experts (and will) teach our employees and other committee employees about how to successfully promote some of these events.”

Town officials are also hoping to obtain other sponsorship and grants so that the event becomes self-sufficient in the future.

Any profits will be put into the reserve account for the museum.

The planning for this year’s event is still in the early stages, with further details about the event to be released later in the year.