in

Mississauga's formerly free Amacon Rotary Ribfest is, for the first time, going to cost attendees a few extra bones.

A Ribfest spokesperson recently confirmed that guests will be charged a $2 admission fee on the Friday and Saturday. Families can pay a flat $5.

"Rotary Ribfest is pleased that the partnership we have with the City of Mississauga has created an opportunity for our event to approach fundraising in a creative way," wrote 2016 Ribfest chairwoman Lucie Shaw in an email. "This year as part of a two-year pilot we will charge an admission of $2 a person or $5 per family on Friday and Saturday. This admission will be returned to our community, directly supporting Rotary's local partners and charities."

Fees aside, the annual celebration of succulent red meat shouldn't be too different from previous festivals.

That said, not everyone is a fan of the fee model, including, it seems, Mayor Bonnie Crombie.

According to a recent QEW South Post article, the mayor told council that the fee could deter long-standing title sponsor Amacon from backing the popular event.

"I do have some information for you, and this may change your mind and you may want to defer this until you can get clarification, but I was with Amacon [recently] and they told me that if you charge an admission fee, they will not sponsor," Crombie told Rotary Club officials at a February 24 council meeting, as reported by the QEW South Post.

We reached out to the Rotary Club for clarification, but they did not comment on Crombie's statement. The official website for the highly-anticipated summer event still shows Amacon as the title sponsor.

As far the charitable and community organizations that will benefit from the new fee structure go, the organizations include the Trillium Health Partners Foundation, the Lighthouse Program for Grieving Children, Wellspring Cancer Support Foundation, Mississauga Food Bank and more.

Ribfest 2016 will run from July 14-17 and admission fees will only be charged on the Friday and Saturday.

For more information on this year's ribfest, go to the Mississauga Ribfest website.



UPDATE:

We are pleased to have the support of Amacon, our title sponsor for the 12th consecutive year, in partnership with Rotary for the 2016 Amacon Mississauga Rotary Ribfest. Their endless support of this fundraising festival has impacted countless groups in Mississauga. Amacons dedication, commitment and involvement is representative of their “Live WellaEU philosophy and the ongoing relationship with Rotary and our community demonstrates their continued support for local events and fundraising initiatives.

