Rathwood is home to many parks, including one of the biggest: Centennial Park. Centennial Park is a vast provincial park that boasts a wide variety of recreational facilities. The biggest festival to be held at the park is, hands-down, Ribfest. Not only is it the biggest event to be held at the park but it is one of the biggest Ribfest festivals held in the Greater Toronto Area. The event has been held by Rotary Etobicoke as a fundraiser for humanitarian organizations here and worldwide.
It will be running from June 30th (Friday) 11 AM to 11 PM till July 3rd (Monday) 11 AM to 9 PM. This means the food festival will be held on Canada Day! The standard festival features multiple stages with music, Zumba, and Karaoke. Some important things to remember: Vendors will only accept cash, so bring cash with you or use one of the ATMs on the grounds. Alcohol will be served on the premises, which is why outside alcohol or beverages are not permitted along with pets, thrown objects (football, frisbees etc.). For more info check out: https://torontoribfest.com/pdf/Ribfest_FAQ.pdf . And do not worry, kids will have their share of fun too: free face painting, Ferris wheels, magic shows, stilt walkers, and much more!
Not only are all the above activities available throughout but a spectacular display of fireworks will be showcased on July 1st (Canada Day). So if you have no other plans, this is the perfect spot for you and your family! Since the event will be during Canada Day weekend, there will be many ways to celebrate Canada’s birthday at the festival such as a Pledge Ceremony, ‘formal’ Citizenship Induction and many other Canadian heritage featured events.
Parking can be found in the Centennial Park parking spaces or the local area, however the area is quite vast so wear comfortable shoes when walking to the festival. The Hollycrest School parking lot is set aside for Ribfest attendees as well. However, please be considerate when parking on residential streets. For those who will be using public transit to attend, the TTC will be providing extra service on the Rathburn 48 route especially for the festival.
If it’s going to be your first time at Ribfest, be prepared for the big crowd, long lines and smelling like BBQ smoke for the rest of the day. Despite all that it’s an experience worth taking part in in your local area!