Rock'n Ribfest 2008

Last weekend I had the amazing opportunity to go to the Anheuser Busch plant in Merrimack, NH, to attend the 6th annual Rock’n Ribfest. Hosted by the Nashua West Rotary, the Ribfest has grown into a huge festival. It is also the home of the New Hampshire BBQ Competition! With tons of things to do such as eat, drink, listen to music, and more, the Ribfest is a ton of fun! Even big bounce houses were available for the children and DCU and Re/max had tethered hot air balloon rides. There was a main stage that featured a Teen Band competition and bands such as Project Mess, The Risen , Brickyard Blues, James Montgomery Band, and more.

Around the stage were facepainting stations, temporary air brush tattoo artists, popcorn sellers, a homemade fudge vendor, a pretzel stand, many sauce tasting stands, and tons more! Of course, the main reason why people go to the Ribfest is to eat ribs! Featurered as the “Ribbers” were T-Roy’s Barbecue (Amherst, NH – 2007 People’s Choice winner), Smoken Dudes Smokehouse (Croyden, PA – 2005 People’s Choice winner), Gator BBQ (Ontario, Canada), Big Moe’s M&M Ribs (Boston, MA – 2006 People’s Choice winner), Stickyfingers (Providence, RI), Aussom Aussie BBQ (Sydney, Australia), Rasta Joe’s BBQ (Plymouth, Indiana), and Dave’s Famous Bar-B-Que (Manchester, NH). All of these “Ribbers” sold samples, half-racks, whole-racks, pulled pork sandwiches, and BBQ chicken.

I had ribs from Stickyfingers and T-Roy’s. I’d have to say that I liked the way Stickyfingers used the wood grill and I liked their sauce better; however, T-Roy’s meat was grilled better.

It’s so hard to put everything about the Ribfest in this short article, but if you have never been, you should really think about going next year! Everything that goes towards the Rotary West club goes to charity, so you’ll be having fun while supporting a great cause.