The River Rat Rally and 1000 Islands Family Ribfest is fast approaching with three days of fun and entertainment, great food and thrills of all kinds that begins July 3.

The Gananoque Rotary Club and Lions Club, along with the RRR, will be hosting the weekend as a collaborative effort with funds being donated to various organizations in the community. Last year, the event raised $10,000, but that was without the help of the RRR.

Friday afternoon, registration will be held for the bikers with a meet and greet at the arena, which will be the location of their events. A barbecue is planned for Friday night and a pancake breakfast Saturday morning. The motorcycle tours are arranged in the township for Saturday morning with a return to the arena for a show and shine of the bikes and a strong man competition in the afternoon. At 8 p.m. Saturday night, a motorcycle parade to the town park will be held. Entertainment includes Trevor Walsh on Friday, Mach 5 band and Split Decision on Saturday afternoon and the Boogie House Band on Sunday afternoon.

In town park, the rib fest kicks off at 11:30 a.m. Friday morning with a “Support Our Troops” lunch special. Wear something red to show your support or your military identification and receive a $5 pulled pork sandwich and a free soft drink.

Enjoy finger-licking great food and fun on Friday and Saturday until 11:30 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. The ribbers include the Bad Wolf Ribbers, Camp 32, Jack the Ribber, Crabby’s Shack and the Kentucky Smokehouse.

The Lions and Rotary Clubs have joined forces with their own food tent, serving hotdogs, fries, soft drinks and desserts and will be staffing the beer and wine tent.

Other events scheduled for Saturday morning include a pancake breakfast at the Legion, a book and cookie sale by Services to Assist Independent Living, a silent auction by the Gananoque Youth Group and an afternoon children’s program by Dreams in Motion. St. Andrew’s Church will have a cookie shed and the Visual Artists of Gananoque Area will show their art in the park.

Rib fest non stop entertainment starts at noon on Friday and features Filet of Soup at 9 p.m. and the Coachmen Saturday night at 9 p.m. Bring your lawn chair for this one.

Sunday afternoon on the stage, entertainment starts at noon and headlines Spare Change at 4 p.m.

Clark’s Bus Line will be operating a shuttle bus on Saturday between the two events at the arena and town park.