H14 Sunday, July 24, 2016 | The Repository | CantonRep.
com
Do You Want Fries With That?
By Jessica Holbrook
Repository staff writer
By all indications, the final
Ribs Burnoff in downtown
Canton was hot.
Dangerously so.
In 2002, medics treated
eight people at the three-
day festival for heat-related
problems, including one
woman who was hospital-
ized. Reports said another
12 people were treated at
a Red Cross station for
heat stroke. Temperatures
climbed to 93 degrees but,
because of humidity and
other factors, it felt more like
100 degrees downtown.
That didnt stop crowds
from filling Market Avenue
S. Downtown workers
stopped by during lunch
breaks to eat outside or carry
meals back to the office.
Festival-goers indulged in
ribs, barbecued chicken and
a new favorite: deep-fried
Oreos.
Crowds also congregated
downtown for a series of free
concerts.On Thursday night,
Kool & The Gang rocked the
festival with a 90-minute set
that got folks on their feet and
dancing.
At times, the audience
was a show unto itself. During
Jungle Boogie, a guy held
his cellphone aloft, grinning
ear to ear, as he treated an
absent friend to the deep funk
sounds. During the randy
Get Down On It, I watched
as a guy attempted to do the
dirty bump with a willing
woman without spilling the
two full draft beers he was
holding, wrote The Canton
Repositorys Dan Kane.
And, as always, the fes-
tival wrapped up that night
with fireworks launched from
the roof of Canton Memorial
Civic Center.
Fans and vendors might
have sensed that those
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PRO FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME ENSHRINEMENT FESTIVAL
Hall of Fame time capsule: Final downtown
Ribs Burnoff was a scorcher in 2002
n People pack downtown for the Ribs Burnoff in 2002.
fireworks marked the end of
an era. In October, organizers
announced the festival would
move to the Stark County
Fairgrounds.
It was the second move for
the festival, which started as
a one-day event in 1983. It
moved from Market Avenue
N to Market S in 1999 to
accommodate construction.
By the early 2000s, the fes-
tival had grown so large that
downtown couldnt safely
accommodate the crowds, said
Dennis Saunier, president and
CEO of the Canton Regional
Chamber of Commerce and
former executive director of
the Enshrinement Festival.
It just became gridlock,
he said.
The move was met with
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Canton, Ohio 44718
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Toll-free 800-742-0345
www.omniortho.com
mixed reactions.
To be honest, some prop-
erty owners were happy
about it and some were not,
Saunier said.
The future
The Burnoff spent 12 years
at the fairgrounds, with its
last hurrah there in 2014.
Festival leaders announced
in February 2015 that the
event would not return.
Like anything else, some
things have a beginning and
they have an end, Saunier
said.
Ending the festival had
nothing to do with location,
he said. Rather, it became dif-
ficult to attract national music
acts and ribs vendors, and the
festival saw a gradual decline.
Also in 2015, festival lead-
ers launched the Canton
Kickoff Celebration at Market
Square in downtown Canton
and timed it for September
and the NFLs opening week-
end. The event extends the
Hall of Fame festivities into
the fall and celebrates the
start of a new NFL season.
The event features music,
local foodand beer and enter-
tainment, as well as a visit
from the Lombardi Trophy
and Hall of Famers.
The end of the Burnoff was
tough for vendors.
The Kickoff event in
September has the chance
to grow into something spe-
cial, but it does not replace
the HOF Ribs Burnoff,
Brian Bailey, owner of Old
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Carolina Barbecue Co., said
in an email. The excitement
and energy of enshrinement
weekwasunique. We fed out-
of-town fans and returning
Hall of Famers right over the
same Old Carolina counter.
Old Carolina set up at the fes-
tival for 11 years, before the firsttion have not been finalized,
restaurant opened, and was
featured on Food Networks
All-American Festivals in its
second year, Bailey said.
The restaurant won the
Peoples Choice award nine
times. And, Bailey said, his
Ichor Restuarant Group
used the festival to launch
two other eateries: Baja West
Coast Kitchen and Smoke
The Burger Joint.
I would love to see an jessica.holbrook@cantonrep.com
additional food event created On Twitter: @jholbrookREP
TIM MCGRAW
ALBUM: Live Like You Were
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SONG: Do You Want Fires
With That?
for that early August week-
end, Bailey said.
The Kickoff Celebration
did not replace the Ribs Burn-
off, Saunier said.The event
is a celebration of the NFL in
the city where it was born.
The way we look at it,
theres not another city in the
U.S. that can claim theyre
the birthplace of the National
Football League, he said.Its
also a celebration of down-
town and its revival, he said.
The first Kickoff Celebra-
tion in 2015 drew crowds on
Thursday, but chilly tem-
peratures and rainy skies put
a damper on the end of the
celebration. Fireworks were
canceled, although musical
acts played on.
Plans for the 2016 celebra-
but leaders are looking at
ways to improve the event,
as they do with every event,
Saunier said.
Our goal is always to make
the event safe and pleasant
and affordable for our com-
munity and our businesses
that participate, he said.
Reach Jessica at 330-580-8322 or
Terry Riffle
Managing Principal
Paramount Capital
Advisors, LLC
6422640724
6425210724