Ribstock BBQ Festival is an annual celebration of community, food, and entertainment, bringing together families, friends, and food enthusiasts for a memorable experience. The event showcases a variety of delicious barbecue offerings, live music, and fun activities for all ages.
The story of Ribstock BBQ Festival Omaha centers on the idea of bringing people together for a love of BBQ and community. The concept of hosting a local BBQ festival started with a simple conversation between MBA members and Ribstock Co-founders, Jeff Gehring and Kenny Engelmeyer. Jeff had suggested a BBQ event based his memorable experiences in the south. Kenny loved the idea and decided to take this concept to father and son professional BBQ-ing team, Steve and Jeff Gehring. Having experience with local fundraising, and after seeing Project Wee Care’s Distribution day, Steve and Jeff were so excited by what they saw, they couldn’t help but jump on board. From there, Ribstock was born!
The Nebraska Craft Brewers Guild is bringing back Lager Fest, celebrating the summer’s most crushable beer, ciders, and seltzers with a focus on craft lagers. With 25+ Nebraska craft producers, there will be something for everyone! Lager Fest will be held at Venues at the Granary (indoors) and run from 4:00 – 8:00 pm. Attendees of Lager Fest will receive free entry into Ribstock ($7 savings) to enjoy the 10+ BBQ vendors, activities, live music, and more!
MBA’s Ribstock was founded with the goal of bringing a premier BBQ festival to Omaha while giving back to the community. Each year, the festival supports the Millard Business Community Foundation’s Project Wee Care. In addition, through an application process, a second nonprofit is selected from the MBA membership to receive support.
Learn more about this year’s supported organizations below.
Project Wee Care is one of the signature projects of The Millard Business Community Foundation (MBCF). The goal is to provide Hope to Millard Public Schools’ students and their families through food, gifts, connections to important nonprofit services, and a family event during the holiday season. In 2024, 330 families (more than 900 kids) were helped with a ‘hand up’.
Heartland Equine Therapeutic Riding Academy (HETRA) is dedicated to improving children and adults’ physical and emotional well-being of all ability levels through equine-assisted activities. Their programs are tailored to meet the unique needs of each participant and are led by PATH Intl. certified instructors and licensed therapists. Services include Adaptive Riding, Adaptive Carriage Driving, Therapy Services, Life Skills programs, Equine-Facilitated Mental Health Services, and Equine Services for Veterans and First Responders.
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