I have been to this Ribfest twice now, thanks to Yelp! I should say it was very well organized. The vendors were more spread out. There was lot of room and seating area. Also, liked that they had other tasty treats like blooming onions, grilled cheese sandwiches and churro stalls.
I liked the VIP area. At the entrance they had a cool mist being sprayed on to anyone who was entering which was quite refreshing since it was sweltering hot on the day I visited! I thought that was pretty neat. There was plenty of free seating as well in this area. And of course the best perk of the VIP pass is that you literally skip the line ups. The VIP area was also right next to the stage so you could have a great view of the performers.
The ribs as always were delicious! With vendors from all over North America you can be sure that you are definitely getting some of the best stuff here. I was invited as a judge and I gotta be honest, it was really hard to pick a winner. They were all original in their own way!
Food and other things aside, parking can be confusing for out of towners. It would have helped to have some signs or info on the website about this. I actually planned out where to park before leaving home. As far as I know, Entrance 4 of Square One seems to be the closest to the fest and it also has underground parking available. There are also free washrooms for non-VIP pass holders in the city hall building and in fact these are air conditioned!