Ribs-N-Rock Festival at Salem raceway features rib-grilling contest

the vindicator

SALEM — It will be “a weekend smoked to perfection,” says Corey Ward, promoter of the inaugural Ribs-N-Rock Festival. The event runs Friday though Sunday at Quaker City Raceway on Route 165.

Michael Stanley and the Resonators and Candlebox will headline the rock part of the festival, with a number of regional bands on the schedule.

On the rib side, a lineup of grill sergeants from near and far will battle for three titles: Greatest Ribs, Greatest Sauce and People’s Choice. Competing are Cowboy’s BBQ, Aledo, Texas; Guy’s BBQ, Newton Falls; Hickory Rib, Salem; Johnson’s Bar-B-Que, Chesapeake, Va.; Jr.’s Wood Fired BBQ, Findlay; Old Carolina Barbeque, Massillon; Two Fat Guys, Massillon; Just Smokin Q-4-U, Toledo; and Chili’s Grill and Bar, Boardman.

A panel of judges will determine the winners, with an awards ceremony at 1:30 p.m. Sunday.

Adding spice to the festival will be the Amateur Grilling Competition, which begins at noon Friday. In this event, five local contestants will get three racks of ribs and two hours to create a rib masterpiece. The winner will receive a prize pack that includes a propane grill. The contestants were selected at the Steel Valley Super Nationals last month at Quaker City.