We went to Ribfest twice this summer, and we may go one more time.

Not that we are the biggest Ribfest fans or anything. Although after our first visit, my husband did mention that he wanted to go to another one. So maybe he is a bigger fan than he admits. 😂

Our first visit was to the Markham Ribfest with our friends and their family. The second time, we went to the Waterdown Ribfest with our extended family.

Both were good, but I preferred the second one.

Here is why.

More Organized and Kid-Friendly

The Waterdown Ribfest looked bigger and more organized. There were lots of tents and benches where we could sit, plus more kid-friendly vendors.

Some local vendors were giving away little freebies—nothing big, just bubbles and free face painting.

The face painting was not exactly professional, but free is free, and the kids were excited anyway. 😁

And there was Ms. Rachel ! 😆

I had seen that there would be a playtime with Ms. Rachel and thought, “Oh, we have to check it out!”

But while moving around with the whole family, I completely lost track of where we were and where the show was.

Then my mother-in-law came back from the washroom and said she had met the Ms. Rachel performer there. 🤣

She was probably hard to miss in her bright pink shirt and rolled-up pants.

My mother-in-law led us to the nearby show, and it was a big hit with Mimi, who loves singing and dancing.

More Than Just Ribs

Of course, there were ribs, but there were also donuts, blooming onions, rainbow slushies, BeaverTails—Mommy’s favourite—and plenty of other food to choose from.

For her rainbow slushie, Mimi chose pink, of course, blue because it is Elsa’s colour, purple, and red. All the pretty colors.

She was very excited at first—until all the colours mixed together and turned brown.

Then B, of course, had to say that it looked like poop. 💩

Mimi cried.🫠

♠️ For anyone interested, the Markham Ribfest was held from May 29 to 31, and the Waterdown Ribfest was held from June 25 to 28. The Burlington Ribfest is still coming up from September 4 to 7, 2026, at Spencer Smith Park.

Aaaaanywhoooo.😑

We have already visited two Ribfests this summer, and somehow we are still considering a third one in Burlington over the Labour Day weekend.

Mostly because that is where my in-laws live.

Or maybe we are just Ribfest people after all.😉