London Ribfest draws record crowd to cap city's summer festival season

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Downtown London’s summer festival season ended with a record-setting crowd flocking to Victoria Park over the civic holiday long weekend.

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Organizer Doug Hillier estimated more than 200,000 people passed through the downtown park for the London Ribfest and Craft Beer Festival, a best-ever number for the five-day festival that also sent an economic boost rippling throughout the core, benefitting businesses from bars and restaurants to retailers.

For many business owners, the return of the festivals to the centre of the city brought some much-needed relief after the COVID-19 pandemic put a halt to most in-person events during the past two years.

“Concerts, festivals, even protests — as long as we get people downtown, they can see how well downtown is doing. It’s thriving, we’re trying to build everything back,” said Adam Winkler, owner of Winks Eatery on Richmond Row.

“You may not get them the day of the festival, but . . . it’s a good way to bring a lot of people from out of town or who haven’t been downtown in a long time to see what we have to offer,” he said.

PHOTOS: Ribfest racks them in

Hillier said he’s heard from downtown businesses, especially restaurant owners, who reported an increase in customers during the summer festivals.

“We know that they’re pleased with the traffic that comes downtown,” he said of the businesses.

“Those restaurant owners have said that anything that brings people downtown is a plus because there’s not much else that brings crowds downtown at this level.”

This summer also saw the return of the world music Sunfest and Home County Music and Art Festival to Victoria Park after a two-year hiatus. Both festivals reported crowds rivalling pre-pandemic numbers as public-health restrictions on gatherings were lifted.

Hillier credited this year’s success at Ribfest — the second-largest ribfest in North America — to a combination of good weather and new offerings that included an expanded craft beer garden serving up hard seltzers, iced teas and cocktails as well as beer.

“We follow the trends,” said Hillier, whose family business also runs the London Children’s Festival and the London International Food and Craft Beer Festival in June.

Attendance was up at both of those festivals, he said. “People really wanted to get out.”

Hillier is already planning additions to next year’s Ribfest, including a Bollywood-style flash mob.