What: Hudson Valley Ribfest
Where: New Paltz, NY
When: August 21-22, 2010; Saturday 11a.m.–10p.m., Sunday 11a.m.-5p.m.
Why: To save trees by licking your fingers instead of using napkins. Now in its sixth year, Hudson Valley Ribfest lets teams duke it out over who is really the grill master. Summer isn’t summer without barbecue and what better way to enjoy it than sampling the best of the best? In between taste testing pizza, skirt steak, shrimp (Saturday) and chicken, ribs, and brisket (Sunday), enjoy live music and the chance to see the NASCAR Show Car up close.
Cost: $5 admission both days; children under 12 are free
How to get there: Adirondack Trailways to New Paltz. Call Delroy Taxi at 854.452.1222 for quick transportation to the Ulster County Fairgrounds.
(Hudson Valley Ribfest, hudsonvalleyribfest.org)
Photo: Courtesy of hungrycanack
Since I didn’t find many reviews from years prior, let me post this one for someone in the future for info.
Getting There: Coming from NYC, I took Adirondak Trailways, then cab to Ulster County Fair Grounds. Took slightly less than 2 hrs, and was pretty easy. If you don’t have a car, this is by far the best, most cost effective way.
Saturday’s Events, Once there: It was a great BBQ festival! Although not too many vendors (approx 12) you could buy BBQ from, there was plenty and it was delicious for those looking for good, authentic BBQ. Choices of ribs, brisket, pulled pork, short ribs all cooked different ways from everyone. There were also vendors selling donuts, fried pickles, pizza, burgers, shakes – not to mention the few dozen extra vendors selling various forms of BBQ sauces, cookbooks, cooking gear and other miscellaneous goods. There was live music; the band played covers from classic tunes all day. Kid friendly; slides, mechanical bull riding, rock-wall climbing were some of the events. The main area had several large tents setup for finding a seat to eat, or get out of the sun – there were plenty to go around. They featured cooking demonstrations – BBQ of course and other recipes for parties.
Side Notes: There are 2 areas. One for public to buy food, the other for the competitors. You were not able to buy BBQ from the teams. You could only walk around their area and view all the interesting cooking gear, see the teams working, talk with them etc…
Overall it was a great BBQ event. Definitely worth a few hours if you love BBQ and want to get out of the city for a while. Since I didn’t go to the competition event on Sunday, I can’t comment about that unfortunately.
Hope this helps someone looking for info.
Went to ribfest yesterday in the rain. When we pulled up it was pouring and we debated getting out of the car ,I’m glad we did. It was a great event with some pretty good Q. We purchased food form 6 bbq vendors and voted in the peoples choice contest.There were vendors selling all kinds of Q related items. But the best part walking around visiting all the competetors. They are a very friendly group of folks. Although they are not allowed to give out there Q a few gave us a snip here and there. Let me say there food was far better then the vendor fair.al lin all even with the steady rain it was a great time