Tifton’s 10th Annual Rhythm and Ribs drawing foot traffic

TIFTON, Ga. (WALB) - People from all over our region are visiting Tifton this weekend for the 10th Annual Rhythm and Ribs Festival.

Besides the food cooking and the great music playing, there’s also a car show drawing people to this park.

“It’s amazing and the energy is great. I mean you got all kinds of food and vendors, and there is a lot to look at and smell with the food vendors. There are tons of people, so that’s great,” Chastity Moore, a first-time visitor, said.

Jacob Parrish is the pit master at Grateful Dawgs and is one of the people competing at the festival. He says every year the turnout gets larger.

“I’ve always had a passion for cooking, and doing the backyard competition has helped me get better with what I like to do with BBQ. So to see it grow from a small event to a big event with thousands of people, is just amazing to see,” Parrish said.

Ron Whetson is a former Tifton native and first-time visitor at the festival. After 25 years, he says he can see the growth from when he lived here.

“It’s a whole different city now. When I lived here well it wasn’t much here, I just kind of slept here, and worked in Warner Robins. I’m surprised at the growth, and I was just telling my wife a minute ago that it’s so much stuff here now than it was back then,” Whetstone said.

Another aspect of the festival that draws a lot of traffic is the car show. One girl tells me how seeing this event sparked her interest in cars.

“It’s been great, they haven’t done the cars since we’ve been here and it’s so cool to see the cars. I want a truck when I turn 16, and I know most girls don’t but the old truck, I saw an old Ford and it was cool,” Caroline Womack, Tifton resident, said.

We came here to see some nice cars and see the vendors and things like that. So far it’s been a nice turn out, and so it’s going good so far,” Brayton Folsom, a visitor from Ohio, said.

Everyone that I spoke with today said they are glad the event continues to grow each year.

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