London Ribs and Jazz Fest: Second day OK

By Dean Shipley

Staff Writer

Was it worth it?

It’s often said, when it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

Nothing appeared to be “broke” with previous London Rib and Jazz fests. In fact the one-day event showed all evidence of being well attended.

But festival officials last year chose to think outside the one-day box and extend the festival to two days. Pat Closser, spokesman for the London Downtown Association, said it was a bit of a risk, but it appears to have been worth it.

Closser said nearly all of the “rib burners,” who are local merchants, sold out of ribs, pulled pork and brisket. He said approximately 4,500 pounds of ribs were sold along with more than 1,000 pounds of pulled pork and brisket.

Closser said Saturday was not as well attended as Friday, but those who did come the second day were apparently from out of town. “I thought we saw a lot of different faces to come out and see what London has to offer,” Closser said.

He thought the out-of-towners would have a tough time making a Friday-only event. But with no time crunch after work on a Saturday, those out of the Madison County area would feel less pressure and be more amendable to attend on Saturday.

Rib burner Tommy Wilson said he was “swamped” Friday evening after the day’s heat dissipated somewhat. Saturday he described as “steady all day and busy after six o’clock.” In his chats with fellow rib burners, Wilson said the consensus is the second day was worth the extra work.

Closser said the committee has yet to decide if the rib and jazz fest will remain a double-day event. But given the excitement he said was felt, rib and jazz fest may remain a two-day event.

The Friday-only car show grew to more than double of last year’s size. Turn out was 80 vehicles which spanned nearly eight decades of automotive history.

“We ran out of room,” said Tim Wilson, coordinator of the event. “We had 80 cars. I was very, very happy.”

That number more than doubled last year’s participation count of 33.

Local participation was strong as expected. But out of the area car aficionados rolled in to augment the show. Wilson noted addresses on registration forms from Amanda, Wooster, Lebanon. He credited local car hobbyist, John Gossard, for taking fliers to other shows, which put the word out for what turned out to be “a wonderful evening.”

Four wheels gave way to two wheels on Saturday and the Rib Tickler bicycle ride, from London to Brighton (in Clark County), pedaled off. Wayne Roberts, spokesman for the Friends of Madison County Parks and Trails, said 42 riders registered for the 30-mile country trek.

Roberts said from the 20 percent of the riders who took time to complete surveys, the ride was well received. They indicated they liked having the ride associated with the festival. They also said having more of the ride on the Prairie Grass trail would be agreeable to them.

Roberts said the Friends also received kudos for having an easy registration process and marking the route very well.