Ribfest is bringing in the crowds

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) - Ribfest is back in Fort Wayne, filling Headwaters Park with the smell of barbecue.

"The ribs are delicious. The atmosphere is hot and muggy and a fun time of summer," Conan Myers said.

This year there are eight rib vendors. Six are national vendors and two are local.

Timmy's BBQ from Garrett is back again.

"Our first year was last year and it was a lot of fun," Tim Johnson said.

Even with the struggling economy, the rib vendors said they aren't seeing business slowing.

"People are still getting out on the weekends and still want to have fun," Johnson said.

Dale Foraker, co-owner of Two Fat Guys Bar-B-Q, said business has actually gone up.

"People are staying closer to home and spending money of this stuff instead of going on long vacations," Foraker said.

Foraker's been cooking ribs for 30 years, but started going on the road five years ago. Now his business hits 12 festivals a year in four states.

"Fort Wayne is one of our better ribfests. We're hoping it will be again this year," Foraker said.

The festival opened Thursday, and organizers said attendance is on par with last year.

"People are doing things closer to home and not putting money in gas tanks to drive a couple hundred miles, so we're hoping attendance will go up this year," organizer Cindy Chappuis said.

Fort Wayne's Ribfest is also getting national attention. Martha Stewart's magazine named it one of the top ten barbecue festivals in the country.

"We put Fort Wayne on the map, so come down and enjoy it," Chappuis said. "We had 25,000- 30,000 people last year and attendance goes up every year, so it's catching on."

Chappuis added it's a nice bonus to have the last day fall on Father's Day.

"Dad's always going the grilling, so bring Dad down here and let us do the grilling," she said.

Ribfest is open from 11:30 a.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday and from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is free all day until 5:30 p.m. Then it costs $6 to get in. It's free all day on Sunday.