The Ribberfest BBQ & Blues, which takes place in Madison, IN on the banks of the Ohio River, has it all! We arrived Thursday for the BBQ Sunset Cruise on the Ohio River with cook teams, organizers, and judges for a light Dinner, beverages, and live music. Friday through Sunday the Queen City Clipper, out of Cincinnati, is available for the general public to enjoy a cruise.
The BBQ teams set up along the Ohio River for a never dull view of life on the river. The teams are very welcoming to anyone walking the venue to take in the ambiance of a bbq competition. Friday evening several cook teams took part in a “pitch in” dinner, complete with all the fixings.
Saturday 54 teams vied for top honors. Grand Champion went to The American Dream BBQ Team from Oklahoma with a 701.7 score and 1st place in pork. Reserve Grand Champion went to Grey Street BBQ with a 699.4. Smoke Freaks BBQ took first place in pork ribs and was the third overall team.
In addition to the regular categories in the BBQ competition, Ribberfest includes Anything Butt and Dessert categories. Butts-n-Racks BBQ took 1st in Anything Butt with a 180 score. The Dessert category had a 5-way tie with Red Hot Butcher Shop, Charcoal & More, Squealers Award Winning Barbeque, Meat Misters, and WEQ4U all scoring 180! The Gattopuin, an award for the team that exhibits the best hospitality, friendliness, humor, and love of BBQ is voted on by an unknown panel of judges. This year’s honoree was Smoke Freaks for the second year in a row!
But wait there’s more! In addition to the Shade Tree BBQ Competition (backyard/amateur), there are lots of other things to see and do; a 5K Ribberrun & Bike Ride, KidsQue, Pigmania (concrete pig painting contest),
Piglet Pen (inflatables and games for the kids), and Pig Toss (Cornhole Tournament). This event also hosts one of the top Blue Festivals in the region. We enjoyed two days of fantastic blues with some of the top names in the business. This year’s headliners were Walter Trout and Ronnie Baker Brooks. Previous year headliners have been Los Lobos, The Taj Mahal Trio, Keb’ Mo’ and Buddy Guy.
Madison, IN, is named a Stellar Community Designee and includes one of the largest Historic Landmark Districts in the US. Stellar communities actively work on community and economic projects and events to improve the quality of life in their city. The organizers of Ribberfest indeed demonstrated their love of Madison the way they went out of their way to engage local volunteers and support both cook teams and judges alike.
Thank you, Madison, for another fun and successful competition. We also want to thank the Smoke Freaks for inducting RVBBQTrail into the Lucky Lighter League; we’re true believers!
Can’t wait to return next year!
Mike & Marcia
Great article as always!! You guys really captured the heart and soul of Ribberfest. Nice job.
We were so excited to finally meet you in person and can’t wait to see you again soon!