Mmmm, good ribs in Lake in the Hills

Providing much-needed relief for both wallets and lingering post-work hunger pangs, the fourth Lake in the Hills Rockin' Rotary Ribfest attracted hundreds of visitors for its opening night Thursday.

As the smell of barbecue sauce permeated Sunset Park on Miller Road, crowds appeared more than willing to pay the $5 admission fee for what promised to be a weekend filled with delicious food, live music and moist towelettes.

The ribs and other food cost extra, but that didn't stop some visitors from lining up well before the fest kicked off at 4:30 p.m.

"I saw the signs for Ribfest on the road, found out that it was open and rushed on over here," Martin Piatek of Algonquin said.

Piatek, his wife Cynthia and their 4-year-old daughter Kylie were so eager to get to Ribfest, which will run Thursday through Sunday, that they ended up arriving an hour before the fest actually opened up. Piatek insists the wait was worth it.

"We love the atmosphere, especially for our daughter, too. We wanted to spend time together as a family and we think this whole event is put together really nicely," he said.

The Rockin' Rotary Ribfest has seen exponential growth since the first time it was held in 2005, when it had only about 10,000 visitors, according to Rotary Club President Paul Shamoun.

This year the Rotary Club expects to have double that number of people attend the fest, their biggest fundraiser. Seven ribbers from across the U.S. will be there and every night will feature live music performances like Mickey Thomas' band Starship on Saturday and Christian Rock group Superchick on Sunday night.

"All the proceeds from this event are going to be reinvested into the community. We do this because we want the community to enjoy it and think it's a terrific opportunity to help out the community," Shamoun said.

Even after many other suburban festivals have seen a decrease in turnout this year thanks to poor weather and an even worse economy, it appeared that the promise of ribs, pulled pork and festival favorites like elephant ears and corn on the cob assuaged any monetary concerns people might have.

"The food is absolutely great and the prices weren't that big of an issue. We're just going to pig out on ribs," Joe Dunat of Elgin said. Dunat and his wife, Sue, came last year and returned again for their favorite rib vendor, Pig Foot.

Fun: Attendance has grown since fest's first run in 2005, Rotary Club President says