Ribs and The Rolling Stones: Who can beat that combo?

Rolling Stones fans are in for a treat at this year's Downtown Sudbury Ribfest, set to take place Sept. 4-6.

Organizers are bringing in the Toronto-based Rolling Stones tribute show Hot Rocks as the Saturday night headliners.

The band, which performs a two-hour show starting at 8 p.m. Sept. 5, features performers who look a lot like the genuine article, including Bob Wotherspoon as an uncanny Mick Jagger.

“It's the Rolling Stones music, so it's a genre that crosses a lot of ages,” said Downtown Sudbury executive director Maureen Luoma, the event's organizer. “I think it should attract quite a few people.”

Ribfest, which takes over parts of the downtown during the Labour Day weekend, also features two dozen other acts, most of them from the Sudbury area, including Chicks with Picks, Hugh Jazz and Dani Star, to name a few.

Of course, Ribfest is mostly about the food, and as usual, there'll be plenty of that. Six ribbers will be on site with their ribs, pulled pork and chicken, and a variety of other festival food will also be available.

A number of awards are on the line for the ribbers. Judges will hand out awards for best ribs, best chicken and best sauce, and everyone has a chance to vote for the people's choice award.

If great music and great food wasn't enough, there's even more to do.

A classic car and motorcycle show will set up on Durham and Elgin Saturday and Sunday. The festival also features plenty of children's activities, including inflatables, face-painting and wagon rides.

On Friday night, starting at 9 p.m., the September edition of Movie Night Under the Stars takes place in the parking lot next to the TD bank.

The Northern Ontario-shot film “Skating to New York” will be screened. It's about five boys who leave their small town behind and risk skating across Lake Ontario to New York.

To help pull off the event, the people at Downtown Sudbury need a lot of help, provided largely by volunteers with the Sudbury branch of the Canadian Red Cross. Part of the festival's proceeds go to that organization.

The formula for the festival, now in its seventh year, doesn't change much from year to year, but that's OK, said Luoma.

It's one of the most popular festivals in Northern Ontario, attracting about 45,000 people each year. “I guess if it's not broke, don't fix it,” she said.

Ribfest runs from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. For the festival's full schedule, visit the event's Facebook page.