Exchange Club of Naperville's Ribfest permanently canceled after decades
Naperville Ribfest 2024 will not return this summer
Naperville's Ribfest was not added to the 2024 calendar, according to The Daily Herald. The Exchange Club of Naperville, which has been hosting the event for 30 years, said that they had other things going on and couldn't put it together this year.
NAPERVILLE, Ill. - The Exchange Club of Naperville will no longer host its annual Ribfest, the charity organization announced Tuesday.
For more than 30 years, the community flocked to the event. The Exchange Club raised more than $22 million for over 75 local agencies and attributed much of their success to Ribfest.
However, rising costs and challenges in finding a suitable venue following the pandemic forced the club to make the difficult decision.
The club said as their lease expired in Naperville, there was no other location in town that would hold the event. After the pandemic, the club moved the event to the DuPage County Fairgrounds but the costs of the event post-COVID were ultimately too high to generate enough income to be profitable.
Despite the end of Ribfest, the Exchange Club emphasized its continued commitment to the community. The organization has a long history of service, including hosting the Grand Prix, basketball tournaments, parades, and numerous other events.