Discussions

can't wait for your review, if you can get info on the musical lineup too would be awesome. Happy Eating!

Some of the pit master competitions I have watched have seemed to be on the heavy side when it comes to rubs or sauces. Now days I still like hot and spicy, but my stomache doesn't, so are there any choices for hot, medium or mild when it comes to the meats.

If it's not there, they should do that next year.

We went last night and it was very busy. We stayed in two long lineups and tried briskets from Crabby’s and beef ribs from Texas. Both were very good, however brisket was a bit higher in value and taste. Ribs were very tasty just the whole rack did not had enough meat for two! I liked corn bread too.

Went today, and the ribs were good, but not amazing. My husband I both agreed that there was too much BBQ sauce, and that they needed more variety (one with sauce, one dry rub).

don brown said "Some of the pit master competitions I have watched have seemed to be on the heavy side when it comes to rubs or sauces. Now days I still like hot and spicy, but my stomache doesn't, so are there any choices for hot, medium or mild when it comes to the meats. "

Our breakdown of two vendors was this:  
 
Texas Rangers:  
Better chicken (skin edible), little bit of sauce  
Beef Ribs...great sauce on here  
Pulled pork had not much sauce, not hot nor too spicy (mild)  
didn't get extras  
 
Crabby's:  
Chicken skin tough, not edible even though tasty, little bit of sauce  
Beef Ribs were quite salty, not as much sauce as TR  
Pulled pork was better that TR, lots of flavor & sauce  
HOT beans (but good)  
Pleasant & cooling coleslaw  
 
I chose Crabby's, as I had read on their website that they will be in Oshawa instead next year. They skipped their regular event there to come here this year, I guess.  
 
It is about the meat & barbecue sauce, really not about the sides!  
 
I would like to see some succulent pork ribs added to the choices, personally. I love pork ribs! I also heard a comment that apple crisp would have been a nice dessert. I like the corn on the cob idea that someone mentioned above, so have a baked potato bar & corn on the cob vendor?  
 
Make it bigger & better! For sure! It was an awesome event, everyone seemed in a great mood and we would certainly go next year. Very happy!

Ribs were ok but brisket was all fat and ice cold. For $30 was expecting better

Looks like RibFest will be a victim of its own success, which is a good thing. Went for supper tonight around 6:00 with the intention of enjoying some brisket on a bun. Crabby's is the only one of the three vendors selling brisket and they were already sold out. My advise to any BBQ aficionados is to go EARLY and enjoy that savory smoky goodness.

Thanks for the replies on whether the food is hot and spicy or a little milder, and nice to see so many comments on the food. I guess I'm a little like Flutterby, when I think ribs I'm sort of partial to pork ribs, but if they're fall of the bone cooked, then both are good.  
 
Just a comment about some of the earlier comments.  
Last week in the US there was a whole bunch of trouble because of people and their opinions, and espressing those opinions. My wife showed me a post on Facebook from LA that read, why can't we get along like Canadians, which is how much of the world looks at us, so let's not ruin our reputation.  
If nothing else, be Canadian.  
 
Adam, if I've got to far off topic please remove the last comment.

We enjoyed almost everything silver bullet had to offer. Full rack of ribs, 1/2 a chicken, 1lb of pulled pork, a huge helping of beans and coleslaw, as well as a bowl of mac and cheese for only $58. It was all amazing and we will be going back for a meal tomorrow. As a family we always spend over $100 going out to a restaurant . I found the prices to be very fair for what you receive . I would highly recommend it . As for the nit pickers, I would just appreciate the fact that there's finally new things like this happening in brandon.

The food was great from all three rib stands! It was about the price what I'd expect to pay at a festival anywhere else, expensive - meh.. going out to eat at a noisy restaurant can be more. Also, Brandon's most underrated homemade ice cream van, the Batchery was absolutely delicious as it always is! Farmery's beer was ice cold and in several flavours for both those who like stuff like iced tea/lemonade and those who want a crisp summer time lager.  
 
Rotary did a great job putting this on, I hope there's an even bigger festival next year!

Ribs were great. Wanted the combo but were out of chicken at the moment, said it would be about 30 min. So we had rack of ribs, coleslaw and beans. All was great! $34. Wife and shared with the intention of trying another vendor but had our fill. Great value for the buck.  
Great food, great crowd, great music and great cold beer! Doesn't get better.  
 
P.S.  
Heading back today to try another vendor!

Was beef ribs at Texas Rangers. Might have to go back for silver bullet. Haven't tried them yet

Didn't make it to Ribfest as I'm still sore from laying sod at Boyd Stadium this week. But if you like ribs and want to support a local business, I can't say enough how great Holm Smoked BBQ is! He was set up at Boyd Stadium on Thursday and fed the volunteers ribs, burgers, chicken wings, hot dogs, and pulled pork for no charge! The ribs were excellent, flavourful and tender.  
 
I'm sure the food at Ribfest is great, but I hope Holm Smoked BBQ is there next year to give us the opportunity to support a local who is giving back to our community.

Some people are darn right miserable (SM)  
I went, paid under $25 for rib & chicken and a beer.  
Crabbys Ribs were awesome. I'm sure they were all tastey  
You can't get that anywhere in Brandon.  
Great weather...great company...great food. Nice to see Brandon having events like this.  
Don't knock it till you try it!!!

A group of us went Saturday eve. Great people, wonderful food, excellent music and cold beer. Price was not out of line, I thought it was a great experience and the Discovery center was a great venue for such an event.  
 
Those that don't make it out, for whatever reason, are missing one of the great events that Brandon ends up hosting. I'm looking forward to next time.

fargobob said "A group of us went Saturday eve. Great people, wonderful food, excellent music and cold beer. Price was not out of line, I thought it was a great experience and the Discovery center was a great venue for such an event.     Those that don't make it out, for whatever reason, are missing one of the great events that Brandon ends up hosting. I'm looking forward to next time. "

We went to Ribfest Saturday evening and the food was very enjoyable. Our group ordered both ribs and chicken from all of the Ribbers there, so we were able to share and taste test which ended up being a lot of fun.  
 
The prices were very much on par for an event like this, and the music was really enjoyable. Ice cream as well was a hit from the local Batchery Ice Cream Truck. It seemed to be friendly for young and old alike and the music was nice to listen to. Something for everyone.  
 
There was a good, positive vibe all around. Just getting out and enjoying some good food, cold Farmery brew and bumping into lots of new and old friends made for a very enjoyable evening.  
 
I hope the Brandon Rotary Club (another good reason to support events such as this) continues. From what I am hearing, if the first year is this successful, hopefully there will be many more to follow to help raise funds in our Community while having a good time.  
 

Congrats go out to Rotary club for putting on such a successful event. In talking to Pat, sounds like it was a bigger success than they anticipated. Just the type of event Brandon needs to get people interested. Great work.

and sure hope they come back next year!  
Great weather, great food, good times!

We thoroughly enjoyed Crabby's ribs and beans (Brisket was sold out, boo). Only thing that would make this better would be to have something else for picky eating kids!! Haha. Ours aren't big on anything BBQ except a hot dog and they wouldn't eat anything. Might be nice to have some good ole Chip Truck fires next year, cause who doesn't love french fries with ribs!

Congrats go out to Rotary club for putting on such a successful event. In talking to Pat, sounds like it was a bigger success than they anticipated. Just t  
 
That is the point that most here missed during the earlier discussions. This was a FUND RAISER for the Rotary club who quietly do so much both locally and internationally. It's too late to recommend one vendor or another. Let's focus on the real issue here. Was this event worth all the work that the club put in? We got in line around 5 Sunday. I got through my line first. They were out of briquet sides and chicken.My better half fared a bit better in her line-no corn bread or coleslaw but she got beans and a piece of chicken. I'm stoked!!!That tells me that the event was more popular than the vendors and organizers had hoped. I hope this translates into profit for the club and their good work. Now we are fighting over the eno and who's Grandma's cornbread(Johnny cake) recipe we use to make our own with all those left overs.

The event was well run and the food was fantastic!! Our family are confirmed carnivores and we sure enjoyed getting the meat sweats! Real good sides too: mac and cheese and the smoked beans were our sides being fought over, while the coleslaw seemed bland compared to all the other bold flavours.  
 
Parking and the flow of the event was great seeing it was a first time affair. Everyone I saw was having a good time and had a Manitoba summertime smile on their face.  
 
Oh ya, I almost forgot, two words, Farmery beer!!  
 
Love to see these events do well, there was a steady line up at all the vendors. Can't wait for the food truck wars... Also one of the service clubs needs to latch on to a location for a Muf Run like other places are doing, could GE a real money maker with little infrastructure, dirt and h2o! Cheers to the folks working over the fires in that heat!

My post above should have read MUD run!

mythreesons said "The event was well run and the food was fantastic!! Our family are confirmed carnivores and we sure enjoyed getting the meat sweats! Real good sides too: mac and cheese and the smoked beans were our sides being fought over, while the coleslaw seemed bland compared to all the other bold flavours.     Parking and the flow of the event was great seeing it was a first time affair. Everyone I saw was having a good time and had a Manitoba summertime smile on their face.     Oh ya, I almost forgot, two words, Farmery beer!!     Love to see these events do well, there was a steady line up at all the vendors. Can't wait for the food truck wars... Also one of the service clubs needs to latch on to a location for a Muf Run like other places are doing, could GE a real money maker with little infrastructure, dirt and h2o! Cheers to the folks working over the fires in that heat! "

Anytime fitness actually put on a mud run this weekend as well at Grand Valley campground. It was called the Wheat City fun run (I think). It was the first year of an annual event. It also had farmers beer gardens where spectators could watch the participants and a place for participants to drink too! They had burgers and hot dogs. A blow up maze, obstacle course, mud and foam and more. Pretty cool event! Look forward to next year! Proceeds were going to Boyd stadium. Hopefully it gets more coming out and having fun next year, once word gets around!  
 
As for Ribfest, it was a fantastic event. Thank-you rotary club. We went sat night and got in line at crabbys, by the time we got to front they were sold out of brisket and pulled pork. So we grabbed ribs there and got in line at silver bullet. Got to the front there to grab pulled pork and it was sold out by the person ahead of us. So Texas rangers ir was, and we loved their pulled pork. Went back today for even more ribs. Fantastic event, look forward to next year. Now excited for food truck wars next month, then we'll definitely need to hit the gym, lol!

Do you know a vendor we could book?  
We would love that. Reach out to the Brandon Sunset Rotary Club with suggestions!

JoBeth said "Congrats go out to Rotary club for putting on such a successful event. In talking to Pat, sounds like it was a bigger success than they anticipated. Just the type of event Brandon needs to get people interested. Great work. "

Thanks for all the congrats everyone!  
We will be back bigger and better next year! The ribbers were very impressed, compared to cities of comparable sizes, we broke records for attendance!  
Also, I want to note, we have two Rotary Clubs in Brandon.  
The Rotary Club of Brandon is known for their book sale and Wine Festival.  
The Brandon Sunset Rotary Club has often been thought of as the "Other" Rotary Club, but I hope after this weekend, we have secured our spot as being known as the "Beer and Ribs Club".  
Our next large event will be the 7th Annual Brandon Beer Festival April 7, 2018!

Thanks to the Rotary for hosting this event. We went Sunday night for super. As there were 2 of us (3, but daughter only wanted the Mac and cheese), so we decided to go to 2 different places, and compare. Choose Silver Bullet (as they had the mac and cheese for daughter), and Texas Rangers. Heard Crabby's was going to be at the Food truck wars, so that is why we passed on them. Prices were comparable for what you would pay at a good restaurant. Have to admit, the line ups were a bit on the intimidating side, but wow, did they move fast. Looked like a hour wait from the line, but was less than 15 minutes! Food from both locations was awesome (I had ribs, wife had rib, chicken, pulled pork combo). I had a slight preference for Texas Rangers (which is where my wife went - shoot), but both were awesome. Oh - and my daughter really liked the mac and cheese. Better be an annual event now! Next up - food truck wars!

I see last years number in Winnipeg was just 6000 people, the vendors here in Brandon must have really been surprised/happy with around 18000 people.  
 
Well done.

loeog said "I see last years number in Winnipeg was just 6000 people, the vendors here in Brandon must have really been surprised/happy with around 18000 people.     Well done. "

The Ribbers that travelled here were extremely happy!  
They compared us not only to Winnipeg, but to other first year events across Canada, and we blew all of them all out of the water.  
I am proud not only of the Brandon Sunset Rotary Club, but of the residents of Brandon and Westman! You all didn't wait to see what this year was like, you came out and supported it, and because of that, we will be back bigger and better next year!