Naperville Ribfest is no more.
After 35 years, the longtime annual event has ended for good, the Exchange Club of Naperville announced Tuesday in a Facebook post.
The Exchange Club, which has been behind Ribfest since its founding in 1987, cited high costs as the reason behind the decision.
“It is with great sadness that we will not be able to continue on with Ribfest in the future,” the Exchange Club said in their Facebook statement.
The announcement comes after Exchange Club President Emy Trotz said in June that Ribfest would not be held this year and declined to say if or when it might return.
Trotz, reached by phone Wednesday, directed questions to the Exchange Club’s attorney, Thomas Springer. Springer could not be immediately reached for comment.
Ribfest had undergone several changes in recent years. It was forced to leave its longtime Knoch Park venue after its 2019 run because planned renovations made the Naperville site no longer suitable for festivities. It was canceled in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
When the fest resumed in 2022, it was moved to the DuPage County Event Center and Fairgrounds in Wheaton and staged over the Father’s Day weekend in June rather than its traditional Fourth of July timetable.
Changes continued last year when the event date was pushed back to mid-September.
In their statement Tuesday, organizers said that although they found a new home for Ribfest with the county fairgrounds, the costs of holding the event post-COVID “were very high and we were not able to generate enough income to be profitable.”
The annual festival served as the major fundraiser for the Exchange Club, a civic service organization dedicated to ending domestic violence and child abuse. Funds raised by Ribfest typically went to local charitable organizations that supported the club’s causes, putting more than $20 million back into the Naperville area over its tenure.
“We can be very proud of the years of service we have given to our town and families,” the Exchange Club said on Facebook.
