Toledo rib-off-gate

My Aug 12, 2013 comment at Toledo Talk.

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Several years ago (~2006), the Northwest Ohio Rib-off moved from downtown Toledo to the Lucas County Fairgrounds because of construction at the steam plant, planned renovations for Promenade Park, and because the event organizers wanted to grow the event.

Even though the Northwest Ohio Rib-off remained in northwest Ohio after moving to Maumee, the move irritated many Toledo political dimwits.

So the Toledo creative geniuses devised a new downtown Toledo event to replace the Northwest Ohio Rib-off. They called this new downtown event ... a rib-off.

With the creative juices still flowing, the Toledo dimwits scheduled this new original rib-off to occur a week before the Northwest Ohio Rib-off. A flaming example of petty, small-minded thinking.

The first weekend of August was reserved for the new downtown Toledo rib-off. The second weekend of August was reserved for the old Northwest Ohio Rib-off, now located at the fairgrounds.

Aug 6, 2007 comment by Maggie Thurber:

Ribs by the River was this weekend... Last year, when the Rib-Off announced it was moving to the Rec Center property because it needed more space, Carty got mad and Citifest started a new event with ribs the weekend before the Rib-Off was scheduled. I believe that they got Columbia Gas to agree to be a sponsor for 5 years...

The new downtown Toledo rib-off was also known as the Smoke on the Water Ribs for the Red Cross.

TT threads:

• July 2008 - Smoke on the Water Ribs for the Red Cross
• July 2009 - 2009 Smoke on the Water Ribs for the Red Cross
• July 2011 - Smoke on the Water – Ribs for the Red Cross - Aug 5-7, 2011

I enjoyed the [nighttime] concert [at Promenade Park] by Presidents of the United State of America at the 2009 Smoke on the Water rib-off.

Did the Smoke on the Water rib-off occur in 2012? I'm guessing that it did not occur two weekends ago.

If Columbia Gas sponsored the event for five years (2007-2011), maybe they chose not to sponsor it anymore, and no other businesses stepped up to sponsor it.

More info about last decade's rib-off-gate.

#toledo - #food - #event - #politics - #moronism - #blog_jr