Ribfest Langley is a free family-friendly Metro Vancouver festival that’s hosted by area Rotary clubs. It features live music, BBQ ribs and craft beer.
The event happens at Langley‘s McLeod Athletic Park. It’s a fundraising event, and a delicious one at that! Dates for 2025 are August 15th to 17th.
For the festival’s official website visit ribfestlangley.com. For a video showing what the event looks like, click Langley Ribfest Video.
This article contains the following information:
Where & When | What to Expect | Event Schedule | Prizes to Win | Tips & Advice | Langley Ribfest Video | About Langley Rotary Clubs | Other Information
Click on any of the above links to jump to a specific topic, or continue reading to learn all about Langley Ribfest.
Langley’s Rotary Ribfest in 2025
Ribfest Langley is a fabulous community event, now into its fifth year. It’s family-friendly and admission is free (or by donation). You just have to pay for food and drinks.
At the event there are BBQ-ed ribs and other food vendors, family-friendly activities and live entertainment. In addition to lots of barbecued meat options, there are also vegan and vegetarian options.
This is not the first barbecued rib-themed event run by Lower Mainland Rotary clubs to raise money for their charitable work. Port Moody Ribfest, for example, has been taking place earlier in the summer at Port Moody’s Rocky Point Park since 2015. It too is an awesome event.
If you have never been to a ribfest event, and you like ribs and other barbecued food, you should go! The events are a lot of fun, and the food is delicious!
For the most up-to-date info about the event, visit the Ribfest Langley website.
Where and When
Ribfest Langley takes place at McLeod Athletic Park which is located at 5687 Johnston Townline Road (by 56th Avenue and 216th Street). The park is just north of the Langley Airport and Canadian Museum of Flight.
In 2025 the event happens on the weekend of August 15th, 16th and 17th. Its hours of operation are likely from 11:00 am until sundown on each of the three days. On the Friday and Saturday things ran until 9:00 pm last year. On the Sunday the festival ended an hour earlier (at 8:00 pm). 2025 hours of operation will likely be the same, although exact details are to be confirmed. Admission to the event is by donation.
What to Expect
At Ribfest Langley there are, of course, vendors selling both pork and beef barbecued ribs. The same as the year before, rib companies in 2024 included Boss Hogs and Gator BBQ (both from Ontario), Guerilla Q BBQ (from Chilliwack), Rusty’s BBQ (from Port Moody), Prairie Smoke & Spice (from Saskatchewan) and Smoke Dem Bones (from Penticton).
In addition to barbecued ribs, other foods typically for sale include vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options, as well as mini doughnuts, corn on the cob and macaroni & cheese. From the BBQ vendors you can expect pork ribs, beef ribs, pulled pork, and barbecued chicken. You can also expect to be entertained by the cooks while they do their grilling.
The event has a site-wide liquor license, meaning that adults ages 19+ can enjoy a drink anywhere within the festival grounds. Some of the adult beverages served in 2024 were from Farm Country Brewing, Trading Post, Camp Beer, 5 Roads Brewing, Fraser Valley Cider Company, and Bordertown Winery.
Also at the event you can expect to see many people and families. 2024 was a record year, with 47,085 attendees! There are live bands and dance groups performing most of the day, and children having fun in the KidZone.
The KidZone features bouncy castles, mini-golf, corn hole games, remote control cars, a face painting station and various other fun things to do. The children’s area operates from the start of the festival each day until one hour before closing. In other words, there are fabulous child-friendly activities from 11:00 am until 8:00 pm on the Friday and Saturday and between 11:00 am and 7:00 pm on the Sunday.
Food and beverages at Ribfest Langley are charged. Admission to the venue, kids’ activities and the live entertainment, however, are all free (although donations are encouraged and greatly appreciated).
For full details about the event, visit the official Ribfest Langley website.
Schedule & Entertainment Lineup
Below was the entertainment schedule for 2024. (NOTE: Times and other details were subject to change.) The lineup for 2025 will be comparable.
Friday, August 16th (2024)
- 12:00 pm – Generations
- 1:00 pm – Shawn Bullshields
- 2:00 pm – Gift Shop
- 3:15 pm – Steve Elliott and Alyssa Nielsen
- 5:30 pm – Mostly Marley
- 7:30 pm – Prior Street Lush
Saturday, August 17th (2024)
- 11:45 am – Langley Ukelele Ensemble
- 12:45 pm – Asi Somos
- 1:45 pm – West Coast Slackers
- 2:45 pm – Antonio Larosa
- 4:00 pm – Los Meatballs
- 5:30 pm – Sons of Stanley
- 7:30 pm – The Pop Junkies
Sunday, August 18th (2024)
- 12:00 pm – Wild Moccasins
- 12:45 pm – Ribfest People’s Choice Awards
- 2:00 pm – Whiskey Blind
- 3:30 pm – Last Resort
- 4:45 pm – Playlist
- 6:30 pm – Electric Ballroom
For even more details about the event, visit the official Ribfest Langley website.
Ways to Win!
In addition to the great food and entertainment, there are prizes to be won at Langley Ribfest. The main one is a 50/50 draw with a minimum $50,000 jackpot (although the final amount was likely be much more in 2024).
The deadline to enter the 50/50 draw in 2024 was at midnight on the Sunday. The draw date was on Friday, August 28th, at 12:00 pm. Single tickets cost $20, three-ticket packs cost $50 and eight-ticket packs cost $100. The prize is 50% of the proceeds which can be up to $400,000 (with half going to the winner and the other half benefiting Rotary’s various charitable and worthwhile causes).
Beneficiaries of Langley Ribfest and the 50/50 draw in 2024 included Big Brothers Big Sisters of Langley, the Salvation Army, Ishtar Women’s Resource Centre, Langley Food Bank, Langley Hospice Society, Langley Meals on Wheels, Langley Community Health & Hospital Foundation, and a number of other great organizations, plus all the many people supported by these agencies).
For full details about the 50/50 draw, click Ribfest 50/50 Lottery.
Ribfest Tips & Advice
Below are some tips and suggestions to help you make the most of your visit to Ribfest Langley.
TIP #1: Take cash. Credit cards can be used at some of the venues, but some rib vendors can only accept cash. There are ATM cash machines on-site, although service fees will apply.
TIP #2: Free parking is available via 56th Avenue. There are signs and parking attendants giving directions.
TIP #3: Invite your friends and carpool if you can.
TIP #4: Arriving by rideshare, taxi or getting dropped off is the best way to get to the event as you can get out right in front of the main entrance. For RideShare purposes, use Langley Secondary School’s address at 21405 56th Avenue.
TIP #5: Donate generously. It’s for a great cause and donations can be made on-site by cash, debit or credit card.
TIP #6: The venue is wheelchair and stroller accessible, with designated parking available. People with handicapped parking passes should access the venue via 216th Street.
Langley Ribfest Video
To get an idea of what Langley Ribfest is all about, check out the video below. It shows scenes of the event from a few years ago. As you’ll see, there are a number of rib vendors to choose from. There are also charismatic and entertaining cooks and great live entertainment.
About the Rotary Clubs of Langley
Ribfest Langley is hosted by four different Langley-based Rotary Clubs. They are the Rotary Clubs of Aldergrove, Langley, Langley Central and Langley Sunrise. If you ever want to attend one of their meetings, or might be interested in joining a club, give them a call.
Rotary Clubs are service clubs made up primarily of business people and professionals. Some members are currently employed or run their own businesses. Others are retired. To join a Rotary Club you have to like being around a group of great people who like volunteering and serving their community. All are welcome!
There are Rotary Clubs all over the Lower Mainland and throughout the world. Most clubs have meetings once a week, often with a guest speaker. Rotary International is a tremendous organization and its clubs do amazing things!
100% of the net proceeds from Langley Ribfest benefit local charities and community organizations as well as Rotary service projects both in Canada and around the world.
Other Information
For more information about the event, see the Ribfest Langley website.
To learn about the community and surrounding area, click Langley or Fraser Valley.
For details about another Rotary-run Lower Mainland BBQ-ed rib event, see our article about Port Moody Ribfest. Other events hosted by Rotary Clubs elsewhere in Metro Vancouver include North Vancouver’s Canada Day Celebrations, Vancouver’s Rotary Ride for Hearing, West Van’s Rotary Ride for Rescue and the White Rock Polar Plunge, as well as many others.
For a list of other events taking place at various times of the year, check out Vancouver’s August Calendar or click Festivals & Events.
