Barbecue, music and fun come to Wayne County Fairgrounds during Music and Ribfest

Rachel Karas, The Daily Record
·2 min read

WOOSTER – Pulling into the Wayne County Fairgrounds on Friday night, music echoed into the parking lot and the smell of barbecue sauce hung in the air as vendors fired up their grills for the first day of the Wayne County Music and Ribfest.

This free event, which is being hosted by Friends of Wayne County Fair, WQKT Radio and Quota of Wayne County, has been going on since 2013 with a brief pause in 2020 due to the pandemic.

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All kinds of food, including ribs, brisket and pulled pork, were available from food vendors stationed around the grounds. Some places like, After Hours BBQ and Lerch’s Donuts, were local while others, like Off the Bone BBQ, traveled from out of town.

Petey Marshall, the owner of Off the Bone BBQ, said his company travels the country making it to roughly 40 festivals throughout the year. This is his fourth year in a row coming to the Wayne County Ribfest and he enjoys coming back every time.

“I love seeing the kids' faces and people (when we) go back to the same city,” Marshall said. “That’s what it’s all about, we’re grilling for a living!”

Many bands were on hand at the ribfest to listen to.
Many bands were on hand at the ribfest to listen to.

Food wasn’t the only thing at the festival with live music that could be heard from anywhere on the fairgrounds as multiple groups, such as Tom’s Kitchen Table and the Spazmatics, performed throughout the night.

Kids could run around in the Hog Wild Fun Zone, filled with bounce houses and obstacle courses, or pick up a balloon at one of the stands.

The bounce houses in kiddie land was a popular spot.
The bounce houses in kiddie land was a popular spot.

Behind the music stage and Fun Zone were lines of cars that had been set up as part of the cruise-in featuring old cars like a 1930 Ford Model A and newer Corvettes.

With the festival extending into Saturday, food vendors and the beer/wine tent will start serving at 11 a.m. on Saturday and will stay open until 11 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. respectively.

A row of cars with hoods up for inspection in the ribfesrt car show.
A row of cars with hoods up for inspection in the ribfesrt car show.

Winners of the Backyard BBQ Contest Judging, with the categories of chicken and ribs, will be announced Saturday evening around 7:45 p.m., according to the festival website.

More groups will perform Saturday with the lineup including Rooster Jones, Sudden Change, Callunaw Rednecks and the Smokin’ Ham Band with schedule posted online.

Reach Rachel Karas at rkaras@gannett.com   

On Twitter: @RachelKaras3 

This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Wayne County Music and Ribfest returns to Fairgrounds this weekend