The Rib, White & Blue festival coming to downtown Akron has a big lip-smackin’ lineup — 12 rib vendors from seven states.
It’s among the most vendors of barbecue ribs in recent years, said Peter Karas, owner of Karas Consulting, which helps with the festival that returns to South Main Street on Friday through Monday.
“We turn away vendors who want to come every year,” Karas said. “We’re getting more and more word of mouth that this is good festival.”
With attendance at the porkcentric affair reaching an estimated 50,000 over four days last year, organizers figured there would again be enough demand to bring in 12 vendors, who will compete for cash prizes. That’s the same number that signed up last year. Some recent years have had 10 vendors.
Other concessions will be on hand, as in previous years, including the area’s Pierogi Lady.
The fest — on South Main between University Avenue and Bowery Street — will run from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. each day, and admission is free. You pay for the food.
Bad Azz BBQ, owned and operated by 24-year-old Stacy Bradley of Pittsburgh, is among the vendors making their first appearance at the fest.
Like the other purveyors, Bradley travels to various summer festivals with a crew. Unlike many of the vendors, she also has a fixed location — a pickup spot — also called Bad Azz, in Pittsburgh. It opened this spring.
“I just graduated college and decided to turn this into a business,” said Bradley, whose degree is in business management and began working with her father at festivals four years ago.
Among returning purveyors is Carolina Rib King, owned by Solomon Williams, 53, of Spartanbug, S.C., who has been a Rib, White & Blue vendor for more than a decade and has won multiple festival awards.
He offers sauce-slathered beef ribs, as well as pork ribs.
“The beef rib is a whole lot of meat, one big giant Fred Flintstone rib,” he said of a single beef rib that costs $15. Add two sides and corn bread and the cost is $18. A rib plate with four pork ribs, two sides and corn bread costs $13.
Among the sides he’ll offer are collard greens, which he will prepare after his wife, Gayle, brings them up fresh from South Carolina this week.
Also back will be Texas Pit BBQ, out of Willis, Texas, north of Houston, another repeat winner of Rib, White & Blue awards.
“I’ve been going there to Akron for so long, they just come looking for me,” said Texas Pit owner Ron Conaway, 64, a longtime veteran of the Akron festival. “They just look for the Bone Lickin’ Good” sign.
He also sells Texas Pit honey glaze sauce and hot and spicy sauce.
The honey glaze is what is slathered on Texas Pit’s pork ribs. Customers can add hot and spicy sauce, which he said is “more spicy than it is hot.”
In addition to pierogi, nonbarbecue concessions will include sausage and steak sandwiches, fries, deep-fried onions, funnel cake, roasted corn, popcorn.
Tents with seating will be set up on South Main Street. Attendees also can sit on the lawn or picnic benches at Lock 3 Park off South Main, and in its inside area, the Commons.
Beverages — including beer and wine — will be available at Lock 3, and at a stand on South Main.
The festival is essentially a break-even affair for the city, with proceeds and sponsorships paying for expenses, including police for security, entertainment, stagehands, cleanup staff and prizes for the rib vendors.
The four-day festival includes tribute bands at Lock 3 Park’s amphitheater, beginning at 8:30 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
On Monday, July 4, Alex Bevan, Freedom Brass Band and the Akron Symphony Orchestra will perform starting at 4 p.m., followed by fireworks at 9:45 p.m.
Parking is free after 6 p.m. and on weekends at city-owned parking decks and lots, as well as at the Summit County deck on South High Street, across from the Harold K. Stubbs Justice Center.
For details on the rib fest and the city’s July 4 fireworks display, go to http://lock3live.com.
Italian Fest
Just days after the July 4 festivities wrap up, the Italian Festival will return to downtown Akron, Thursday-Saturday, July 7-9.
Hours are 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. each day, with the event again at Lock 3. And to end the event, at 10:30 p.m. Saturday, July 9, there will be fireworks.
The festival’s first day — Thursday, July 7 —will again feature an Italian wedding soup tasting, from 6 to 7 p.m., with opportunity for festival-goers to vote for their favorite soup.
A homemade wine contest will be 6 to 7 p.m. and the fireworks at 10:30 p.m. July 9.
Bands will perform each evening. The Andrea Rose Teodosio Memorial 5K Run and 1 Mile Walk and the Italian American Societies scholarship breakfast, will be held the morning of July 9.
Admission is free; you pay for the food. For more information, go to http://it-am.org.
Wine for PBS
The annual wine fundraiser for public television station WVIZ is returning to the Terrace Club at Cleveland’s Progressive Field, and will run Nov. 11-12.
Tickets for the event — now known as the WVIZ/PBS Grand Tastings & Seminars — go on sale Friday.
Grand Tastings — a central part of earlier events featuring hundreds of wines — will be each night.
Tickets for the Grand Tastings, which include a supper and dessert buffet catered by Progressive Field, cost $75. Six seminars will be offered Saturday, Nov. 12. A special pass will allow access to all events; details on the price are forthcoming.
The seminars will cover such topics as the ABCs of Wine, 1-2 p.m.; $40; and Champagne and Sparkling Wine, 1-2 p.m., $75. This is the 20th year for the event.
For more information, go to http://www.ideastream.org/grand-tastings-and-seminars.
Fish place
The new seafood restaurant taking shape on “Restaurant Hill” off state Route 18 in Copley Township will be named Kingfish.
That’s the word from Chris Oppewall, managing partner of Hospitality Restaurants Group of Fairview Park, who revealed plans to open the restaurant earlier this year.
Among other eateries, Hospitality Restaurants owns the Rosewood Grill in Hudson.
Oppewall said Hospitality Restaurants is aiming for a late August opening. That’s a best-case scenario, he cautioned.
He said in an email that the plan is to provide “a comfortable East Coast-inspired dining room while keeping the roots of coastal seafood [all coasts] alive and well.”
Food trucks
Food Truck Friday continues from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Friday in the parking lot of the nonprofit Child Guidance & Family Solutions at North Forge and East Market streets in Akron.
This Friday will feature a visit from RubberDucks mascot Webster from 11:30 to 12:30 p.m. His visit is to help publicize the RubberDucks hosting of the first of two movie nights at Canal Park in downtown Akron.
The animated hit, Minions, will be on the screen Saturday, Go to www.akronrubberducks.com for more information.
Trucks this Friday will be: Betty’s Bomb A** Burgers, Fork-Fuel: Urban Street Food, Popsmith (actually a cart), Stone Pelican Rolling Café, Planet Sub, and the Slop Truck.
The lunchtime rally, which benefits Child Guidance & Family Solutions, runs through Sept. 2. Check the Food Truck Friday Facebook page for updates on which trucks will be present. Typically, about four or five trucks will set up each Friday.
LeBron inspiration
The RubberDucks have added to the team’s Extreme Menu, introducing the “LeBlock Burger.” It celebrates LeBron James’ block against Andre Iguodala, which helped the Cavaliers win Game 7 of the NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors.
It’s a 5-ounce hamburger stuffed with bacon, and topped with cheddar cheese from the Middlefield Cheese Co. in Middlefield, and wine — red cabbage — and gold — white cabbage slaw and an onion ring — the championship ring.
The LeBlock Burger is $9.75 and served with french fries seasoned with “salty curry powder,” a reference to Stephen Curry, point guard with the Warriors. The burger is available at the Taters concession at Canal Park.
RubberDucks spokesman Adam Liberman said the burger is the brainburger of Brian Manning, food and beverage director for the RubberDucks, and Colin Tulley, the assistant food and beverage director.
Liberman said it will be available at least through the end of the season; the regular season wraps up Sept. 5 at Canal Park.
Deli celebrates
The Cavaliers’ win also is being celebrated at the Diamond Deli at 378 S. Main St. in downtown Akron.
There, Chad Magilavy, 23, and Brett Magilavy, 32, sons of Diamond Deli owner Chuck Magilavy, brainstormed and came up with the “Next Year Is Finally Here!” wrap. The sons work at the deli.
The name is a reference to the “waiting for next year” mantra adopted by fans of Cleveland sports. The Cavs win ended a 52-year sports championship drought.
The wrap features ham, turkey, lettuce, tomato, banana peppers, spicy mayo and shredded cheddar cheese.
“I know he eats healthy,” Chad Magilavy said, explaining the choice of turkey.
He said LeBron James has eaten at the deli — it has been awhile — and has ordered a turkey sandwich.
Wine dinner
Wise Guys Lounge & Grill, 1008 N. Main St., Akron, will offer a Wines of Piedmont Italy wine dinner at 7 p.m. Wednesday. Barolo and Barbaresco red wines will be featured, paired with Italian dishes.
Cost is $70. Call 330-922-3006 for reservations. Wise Guys Lounge & Grill opened in 2014 in the building that formerly housed iconic Nick Anthe Restaurant.
Send local food news to Katie Byard at 330-996-3781 or kbyard@thebeaconjournal.com. You can follow her @KatieByardABJ on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com.