Fire up the fun at Eden Prairie Rib Fest June 8

If life has seemed a little too serious and you’re ready for some outdoor fun, head to Staring Lake Park on Sunday, June 8, for Rib Fest, the Eden Prairie Noon Rotary Club’s annual fundraiser.

Rib Fest runs from noon to 7 p.m. and coincides with the Minnesota Festival of Jazz on the Prairie, presented by the City of Eden Prairie, and the “Seventh Swine of a Seventh Swine” Doubles Disc Golf Tournament.

“The first Rib Fest, which was either in 2006 or 2007, was a disaster,” said John Urbanski, one of the organizers of the event. “We were hoping to have a commercial smoker, but we ended up using home-type gas barbecue grills.”

At the first event, only 150 meals were served. Last year’s event served almost 1,000.

“Now that we use a commercial smoker, we can cook up to 900 pounds of ribs for the event,” Urbanski said. “We also serve shredded chicken with barbecue sauce for those who don’t want ribs, and we offer hot dogs for the kids.”

Ribs for the event come from Costco.

The club has one team of people staffing the smoker. A second team finishes and cuts the ribs into serving sizes.

Martin Rathjen, another organizer of the event, said the rib sauce “is an ancient Rotary secret recipe.”

According to Rathjen, Rich Weaver is the event’s current rib master. He has a friend, Clark Erickson, a retired “ribber.”

“Clark’s family has been in the grilling contest circuit for years,” Rathjen said.

He noted that the rub goes on the meat the day before the event, and the sauce is applied just before it’s served.

A three-rib dinner or a barbecued chicken dinner is $18 and includes coleslaw and potato chips. A hot dog and chips is $6. Beer, wine, root beer, seltzer and water are available for an additional fee.

Seven area jazz bands will perform throughout the afternoon and evening at the Staring Lake Amphitheatre as part of the city’s Minnesota Festival of Jazz on the Prairie. Audience members are encouraged to bring blankets and folding chairs to supplement amphitheater seating.

The following bands are scheduled to perform on June 8:

Noon – Bend in the River Big Band

1 p.m. – Genesis Jazz Orchestra

2 p.m. – Just Friends Big Band

3 p.m. – Acme Orchestra

4 p.m. – River City Jazz Orchestra

5 p.m. – Good News Jazz Band

6 p.m. – Jazz on the Prairie Big Band

A third major draw for Rib Fest is the “Seventh Swine of a Seventh Swine” Disc Golf Doubles Tournament. One hundred twenty entrants are registered to compete on a 20-hole course.

Boom Island Brewing supplies the beer for Rib Fest, which the Rotary Club is allowed to buy at cost to help boost event proceeds. Boom Island has representatives on hand throughout the event to ensure supplies don’t run out. They also help serve the beer and answer questions attendees may have.

In addition to Boom Island Brewing, Culver’s of Minnetonka donates the ice cream for the event. It’s sold for $4 per cup, with all profits going to the Rotary Club’s service projects. Like the Boom Island crew, Culver’s staff helps keep supplies stocked during the event.

Another sponsor is Culligan Water of Minnetonka, which donates the bottled water sold at the event. Other sponsors include Rick Johnson Insurance and Old National Bank Eden Prairie.

Last year, the club raised about $25,000 at the event.

“We hope to raise $30,000 this year for our local, regional and international service projects,” Urbanski said.

“We want to raise up the importance of where this money is going,” Rathjen said. “It’s being used to make a difference in our community and investing in others’ lives.”

One of the club’s service projects is “My Book Day.” Now in its 21st year, the project has resulted in donations of more than 15,000 books to first graders in the Eden Prairie School District.

“Each child gets a book to keep,” Urbanski said.

The club generates a list of books approved by educators. The books are presented in the classroom, and each student picks the one they would personally like. The club orders the books based on the individual requests. Each book includes a bookplate with the student’s name and a bookmark placed in the front.

The presentation of the books is also an event. All first graders in the school district – 650 this year – gathered at Eden Prairie High School on May 16. The high school choir performed, and the Robotics Club gave demonstrations.

Students from the Drama Club performed a play written by John Jorgenson, founder of “My Book Day.” The story features Good Queen Sue, a character inspired by Jorgenson’s late wife who loved books and children.

As the students left the auditorium, the high school orchestra played. Each teacher also received a book.

“For the last few years, we’ve had a high school student talk about his Book Day when he was a first grader. The message is always, ‘Keep reading,’” Rathjen said.

Rib Fest will be held rain or shine. Parking is available in the Staring Lake lots as well as at the Flying Cloud ball fields across the street. Shuttles will run between the venue and the Flying Cloud lot. The city asks attendees not to park on the grass at the park.

“We appreciate our partnership with the City of Eden Prairie,” Rathjen said. “Medori Marble, the recreation specialist, helps us with all the arrangements.”

For those interested in learning more about the club, the Eden Prairie Noon Rotary Club meets the first three Thursdays of each month at Tavern 4 & 5 in Eden Prairie.

“You’re welcome to sit in on three lunches for free,” Urbanski said. “We are a relatively small club – 34 or 35 members. Everyone’s always welcome to join us for a meeting.

Both men and women can be members. Membership dues are $75 per quarter, plus the cost of meals. Meetings last one hour and typically feature a guest speaker.

For more information, visit the club’s website at epnoonrotary.org.