Top rib teams bring barbecue expertise to Medicine Hat for three-day festival

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“We brought three of the top four rib teams in North America to Medicine Hat for a weekend full of barbecue,” he added.

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“The big rib competition on Sunday is actually one of my favourite parts of the weekend. All these trucks have these banners and they win ribs.”

Nephin said wins mean a lot to the rib trucks.

“We do blind tastings when there’s a competition, and one of these trucks actually has a banner that says, Best Ribs Voted 2024, and that’s a big deal for them.”

Nephin said these vendors come from across North America.

“You have Blazin’ Barbecue, now they’re local, they’re out of Calgary. Great barbecue shop there, Then we have Billy’s Barbecue out of Michigan. Then we’ve got Buckeye Barbecue from St. Louis, Missouri,” Nephin said.

“The cool thing about this is, if the sauce changes in the restaurant, we have the new sauce in the trucks within two weeks. So everything is traditional from their home restaurants,” he added.

“They all have their different styles of cooking, their different styles of sauce, and it’s a really fun event for the weekend.”

Even if you aren’t just looking to eat ribs, Nephin said there is a variety of other food and activities to enjoy.

“Serving up the best barbecue you’re going to have this side of the border. But also there’s a family zone, there’s bouncy castles, we have some local vendors here, and then we have a stage of live music all weekend,” Nephin said.

“We have Papa Jack’s, that’s the big Bloomin’ Onions, the poutine guy. Every truck also serves chicken and pulled pork, mac and cheese,” he added.

“I had a dirty mac and cheese for lunch today, it was great.”

The gates are open with free entry from 11 a.m. until 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and then 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday.

There is a variety of musical acts both local and from outside Medicine Hat.

Nephin is especially excited for the one tribute band.

“I’m looking forward to Better Roses, they’re the Bon Jovi tribute, and they’ll be rocking this parking lot Saturday night,” Nephin said.

After 9 p.m. there will be activity inside the Medicine Hat Lodge.

Jill Scherer, general manger of the lodge said, they are excited for the opportunity to partner with Ribfest this year.

“It’s a new venue, so we wanted to add value to an already great festival,” Scherer said.

“In Elements, Casino and in our ballrooms, we have some entertainment beginning at 9 p.m. straight until 2 a.m.,” she added.

“We have the Frontiers, they’re playing Friday. They’re a band out from Calgary. Then we also have Saturday Night Kate Reid, and she’s also from Calgary. Two great new musicians that we are excited to show to Medicine Hat.”