The air smelled of smoke and barbecued meats at the opening of the annual Rib, White, and Blue Festival, which kicked off in downtown Akron today.
The sky was cloudy, but the rain held off until late afternoon, making for a busy Wednesday lunch crowd at the festival. Many of the rib vendors had lines several people deep, and more attendees sat at tables spread along South Main Street, eating ribs, pulled pork, brisket and a smorgasbord of side dishes, including macaroni and cheese, collard greens and roasted corn on the cob.
In front of After Hours’ stand, cook and self-described “people’s person” John Caldwell proclaimed that the Orrville-based business sells the best ribs, getting smiles from people walking up and down Main Street.
In the back, After Hours’ pitmaster Gregg Clark pulled ribs out of a smoker. It’s Clark’s second year at Rib, White, and Blue. Last year, the barbecue purveyor won the festival’s People’s Choice Award for best rib.
The festival’s welcoming crowd is what brought Clark and his crew back this year. “Everybody is there to have fun,” he said.
The ribs and brisket are After Hours big sellers. One bite and it’s clear why. The ribs go in the smoker in the morning, making them tender and juicy. (They tasted even better dipped in After Hours’ house barbecue sauce.)
For those who don’t have an Ole Hickory smoker on hand, Clark suggested putting a pan of water and vinegar on your grill next to your meats.
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“Anytime you can get moisture in your grill, it’s gonna help you out,” he said.
Don’t expect to see Clark digging into a plate of ribs at the festival, though. “We usually eat pizza,” he said laughing.
Rib, White, and Blue has been an Akron tradition for more than 40 years. The City of Akron skipped the festival in 2020 and 2021 because of the pandemic and again in 2022 after the death of Jayland Walker.
Pigfoot has been a fixture at Rib, White, and Blue for at least 20 years, said manager Nate Ferryman. The Medina-based company’s stand displayed banners boasting of past wins for its sauces and ribs, and a table out front proudly displayed several larger trophies. Last month, Pigfoot was in Fort Wayne, Indiana, for BBQ Ribfest, where it brought home first place for its brisket. It comes piled on a bun, with large and tender, fatty pieces that, while a cliche, do indeed melt in your mouth.
At one table, a group of colleagues from Akron Preparatory School were eating with a mission. They’re looking for food vendors for their back-to-school event, said Amelia McCormick. The group sampled food from Grill Masters, Stray Dog and Malloy’s BBQ.
“It’s a good summer activity,” McCormick said.
Tierra Trammer and Mike Combs from Parma originally came downtown to get lunch after attending a funeral. They planned to go to Eddies Famous Cheesesteaks & Grille but switched course when they saw the rib festival.
“It’s summertime,” Trammer said between bites of ribs from Malloy’s BBQ. “Ain’t nothing else like it.”
“I think it’s in our DNA,” Combs said only slightly in jest, as he dug into ribs from Swine BBQ.
Rib, White, and Blue continues through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. each day. Check out the music lineup for each day here.
