Consider Ribfest Expo, just for the fun of it

Above / After numerous tries and getting as many as 24 in a row before missing, this youngster finally got 25 in a row.  She was determined to win a Cock Robin commemorative t-shirt!

Update July 4, 2015 / Since the Exchange Club of Naperville Ribfest opened its gates on July 2, 2015, hundreds of youngsters and adults have played PN’s free Wiffle Ball Game of Angles for silly prizes featured in the Positively Naperville Expo Booth.

Asking questions to Naperville teens, baseball players from Indiana in town for a tournament, and girls from northern Illinois who were here just for the fun of it , we’re happy to report a kind attitude of gratitude with competitive spirit among determined teens who played way after dark while Sammy Hagar entertained from the Navistar Main Stage in the distance.

On Thursday, one person hit 25 in a row to win a Cock Robin “One in a Million” shirt. On Friday, we had four winners of a Cock Robin t-shirt.

Above / (Caption Update July 5, 2015) After winning the Cock Robin t-shirt Friday evening just before Ribfest gates were closed, this young game player returned to PN’s Expo Booth on July 4th wearing the shirt.

We also gave away hundreds of party-favor-type prizes and treats the size of what used to be called “penny candy.”

Thanks to all who stopped to say “hello” at PN’s Expo Booth along Martin Avenue.

Cheers.  Happy Independence Day!

Update May 29, 2015 / PN will go for three with its Wiffle Ball Game of Angles at its Expo Booth during 2015 Ribfest, July 2-5 held at Knoch Park.

Look for the Positively Naperville banner along the row of sponsoring business exhibits during the popular summertime four-day barbecue event held in conjunction with Independence Day, complete with a spectacular fireworks display just after dusk on Sat., July 4.

Play PN’s simple game of skill and chance where knowledge of angles creates winners of all ages. Win silly prizes. Learn about independent businesses that are the backbone of this community.

Much more than a tasty rib competition with summer menus from dozens of vendors, Ribfest features live music from the Navistar Main Stage to the One Main Financial Stage every day and evening as well as carnival rides and family play areas just for kids.

Mostly however, Ribfest, hosted by the Exchange Club of Naperville, is a family-friendly fundraising event aimed to benefit local nonprofit organizations that provide services to help prevent child abuse and domestic violence.

Ever since that first Ribfest on Father’s Day weekend in 1988 over at Rotary Hill, the Exchange Club of Naperville and thousands of volunteers have raised millions of dollars to give back to the Naperville community.

All support and volunteers are appreciated. Thanks for including Ribfest in your plans for Independence Day weekend. Celebrate safely.

A review of the PN Wiffle Ball Game at 2014 Ribfest

July 6, 2014 Ribfest, Day #4 / One of many fun things about the Positively Naperville Wiffle Ball Game of Angles along the Ribfest Expo was it attracted individuals of all ages to return again and again, trying their skill and strategies to bank shots into the crate as they attempted to hit 25 in a row to win an iconic Cock Robin t-shirt.

Most folks were happy to hit six in a row to win a “bag of silly prizes” or a plastic sandbox shovel to “Dig into Naperville’s history.”

Above / After Ribfest, these friends are headed to high school—Benet, Naperville Central and Naperville North.

And many spectators simply provided encouraging commentary, counts and cheers while their friends played the game.

A small sign on the target mentioned that the highest score so far had been 69 in a row, shot on July 3 by 14-year-old John Sekowski. Every day Naperville youngsters saw Sekowski’s score and tried to break his record without success.

Near the end of the final day just before PN folded up for Ribfest 2014, Connor Hepburn stepped up to the line and finished with the highest score for July 6. Hepburn shot 20, just five balls short of his goal to win a Cock Robin t-shirt.

Thank you!

All of us folks at Positively Naperville appreciate the hundreds of festival-goers who stopped by our booth. Thanks to everyone who told us what they liked about the PN publication, website, favorite featured columnists, our Facebook posts and our Anchorman postcard. We even had several individuals inquire about becoming a contributing columnist or event writer for the monthly publication.

We aim to bring our game with its silly prizes back in 2015.

And on that note, thanks to the Exchange Club of Naperville, City of Naperville and the Naperville Park District for the spirit of cooperation that it takes year after year to produce Ribfest for the kids.

—PN, July 7, 2014

July 5, 2014 Ribfest, Day #3 / As PN provides an overview of July 5 on the final day of Exchange Club of Naperville 27th Annual Ribfest, editors are mindful the fundraising event is about kids. It’s also about volunteers, sponsors and connections to many worthwhile causes. And, of course, Ribfest is about good, dry weather.

Above / During pitches, PN discovered many Hoosiers from northern Indiana had ventured to the Exchange Club of Naperville event.

The high scores on Saturday for the Positively Naperville Wiffle Ball Game of Angles fell short of the 25 needed to win a Cock Robin t-shirt. Still, players hit six in a row enough times to deplete the supply of silly prizes. The high score of 18 for the day on July 5, went to Israel Bantista, a resident of Hammond, Ind.

Above / Ribfest also is about kids winning prizes from all kinds of vendors throughout the four-day fundraising festival.

The family-friendly game provided an opportunity to take many folks down Memory Lane.  Illinoisans who grew up in the western suburbs with fond memories of square scoops of ice cream were curious about how Cock Robin was associated with Positively Naperville. The PN Cock Robin Project is posted on this website.

If you attend Ribfest on Sunday, stop by the Positively Naperville booth along the Expo and have a great day!

—PN, July 6, 2014

July 4, Independence Day at Ribfest, Day #2 / From noon to 9PM, Positively Naperville ‘s info booth in the Ribfest Expo welcomed plenty of activity along the way to Ribber Row in the south section of Knoch Park.

Thanks to all the individuals of all ages who stepped up to the red line to try to pitch six balls in a row into the crate just for the fun of it and silly prizes. (And thanks to the West Suburban Irish Quiz Nights at Quigley’s for teaching PN that silly prizes with name recognition are all many competitors need to play a game.)

The game allows players to compete against themselves as they try to find the best way to bank their shots with colorful wiffle balls so they fall into the crate.

The game of skill and strategy is simple and the creation of Tim Penick, web editor and designer for Positively Naperville.

Listening to encouraging advice from the sidelines from one player to the next was priceless as fellow players kept count for the individual up to toss.

“One… Two… Three… Four… Oh! So close!”

“Aim for Naperville! Aim for Naperville,” some kids prompted.

“Throw underhanded,” most suggested. “And not so hard.”

Many mothers waited patiently as more than one child insisted, “Mom! I’ll get it this time. I’ll quit after I get six in a row.”

During attempts to hit 25 in a row to win a Cock Robin t-shirt, Jimmy Mikuta was victorious again and again and again, always returning to beat his high score of 28, the highest score on July 4.

Above / Jimmy Mikuta was high scorer on July 4 with 28. However, if all his six-in-a-row tries were combined, he likely shot better than 300!

The Positively Naperville Booth will be open again July 5 and 6.

—PN, July 5, 2014

July 3, Opening Day of Ribfest / The Positively Naperville Wiffle Ball Game of Angles returned to Ribfest 2014 on opening day in the Ribfest Expo area, just south of Martin Avenue and just for the fun of it.

PN’s Wiffle Ball Game of skill and chance is set up across the front of booth, located next to the sights and sounds of Harley-Davidson’s booth. It’s easy to find and hundreds of visitors found it fun to play with an opportunity to win a Cock Robin “One in a Million” t-shirt.

This year, the object of the game, free to play, is for every player to pitch six wiffle balls toward the easel, banking each shot at an angle so the ball drops into the crate.  To score, the ball must hit the easel first before it falls into the crate. And six balls must fall in the crate all in a row.  If you miss, you get a chance to begin again unless there’s a very long line.

Sounds easy enough.  Looks easy enough.

Any player who dropped six balls in a row into the crate won a prize.   For starters, prizes included several hundred assorted items—water blasters, bubbles, post cards, punch balloons, book marks and American flags—and entertaining conversation.

The first evening between 4 and 10PM, after several hundred players pitched their skill, dozens of youngsters successfully had hit six in a row and PN was out of prizes.

Several ball tossers wanted to keep on going to try to win a Cock Robin t-shirt by hitting at least 25 in a row.

First, Matt Daciolas hit 17 in a row. Abby Ward set the next record with 28 in a row and she won the first t-shirt.  Then came John Sekowski with 38 in a row!  He later returned to top his own record with 69 in a row, just to compete with himself. (Note: Only one t-shirt per person that first day.)

Above /  After winning a Cock Robin t-shirt with 38 balls in a row, John Sekowski promised to return on July 4 to break his record.

Just prior to closing, Brenda Schaffer from Buffalo Grove dropped in 46 in a row. She also won a t-shirt.

Restocked with more prizes, Ribfest visitors are welcome to visit the Positively Naperville Expo Booth from noon to 9PM July 4-6.

And remember to pick up one of PN’s postcards and spread the word, “Don’t just have a great day, have a Naperville day.”

Celebrate safely!

Note: Thanks for all the interest in the Cock Robin t-shirts Thursday evening. No sales are permitted from any of the Expo booths. Cock Robin t-shirts are available at Oswald’s Pharmacy and online via the Positively Naperville.

For some of PN’s Latest N.E.W.S., visit Latest N.E.W.S.!

—PN, July 4, 2014