Rib War ends; BBQ Roundup the victor over RibFest

The Rib War has ended.

Council member Chuck Swore on Monday said the Freedom Festival has opted to withdraw its plans for RibFest, the festival's own barbecue event that had been positioned to directly compete against the long-established BBQ Roundup, which is sponsored by the city's U.S. Cellular Center.

The Freedom Festival and the U.S. Cellular Center's management firm, VenuWorks, met on Monday in an effort to hammer out some kind of compromise, but none could be reached. Swore said.

Swore, who has sat on boards overseeing both the festival and the U.S. Cellular Center in years past, said he was positioned to mediate the dispute if necessary, but he said the Freedom Festival opted to withdraw its plans.

The festival needed the approval of the City Council for a special events permit.

At its meeting last Wednesday evening, the council postponed its consideration of the RibFest permit, and Mayor Ron Corbett asked the two sides to try to reach a compromise. In a short interview after the matter was pulled from last week's agenda, Janet Wilhelm, the festival's executive director, said she didn't think the City Council would side with RibFest over the BBQ Roundup if put to a vote.

On Monday, Swore said he felt that the Freedom Festival “got the message – don't leave us (the council) in the middle.”

“I'm looking forward to the U.S. Cellular Center (and its BBQ Roundup) living up to all their thoughts and idea that they were sure were going to be ruined by the Freedom Festival,” Swore said.