When Cindy Briggs picked up the phone to call longtime friend Tom Woods to ask if heB次元官网网址檇 help put on a Ribfest in Esquimalt, Woods didnB次元官网网址檛 hesitate to answer.
B次元官网网址淚 like eating ribs and I like drinking beer,B次元官网网址� he says with a laugh, remembering that he hardly knew what he was getting himself into.
But Briggs was the sort of person who regularly made these calls, drawing on friends and family to support countless community efforts she brought forth over the years. When the returns to Bullen Field next weekend (Sept. 8 to 10) for its fifth year, it will be bittersweet. Briggs passed away suddenly in May 2016 and her empty shoes are hard to fill.
B次元官网网址淪he was the organizer, the spark plug, the energy and the drive,B次元官网网址� Woods says.
Her talent for organization is one of her legacies. Woods calls her festival blueprints B次元官网网址榯he bible,B次元官网网址� adding that the volunteer team will use them again this year.
Briggs came from a family of six sisters and this year and theyB次元官网网址檒l all be at Ribfest volunteering in her honour.
Woods says the BriggsB次元官网网址� are the epitome of what it means to be a family. They were always there to help whenever she had an idea or a brainstorm, he says. B次元官网网址淭heyB次元官网网址檝e always leaned on each other. ThatB次元官网网址檚 just the way they are, they do it with their heart and soul.B次元官网网址�
Giving back to the community runs in the Briggs family. CindyB次元官网网址檚 father, Tillman, coached Woods at the James Bay Athletic Association and Cindy started a legacy project to get kids on the field who couldnB次元官网网址檛 afford to play, after Tillman passed away.
SheB次元官网网址檇 often drop by after practice to bring the kids freezies, recalls her sister, Janice Briggs. After Cindy passed away, volunteering at Ribfest was one way Janice and her family found to recognize her sister and stay connected to what she was involved in and contributing to.
B次元官网网址淪eeing how successful and how much [Ribfest] contributed to the community, made it special for her,B次元官网网址� Janice says.
The idea Cindy had for a little community festival has now grown into an event that fed 50,000 people last year.
Of the six rib rigs this year, two will have CindyB次元官网网址檚 sons, Penner and Oliver behind the grill.
Live music, craft beer and tons of kids activities round out the free festival. All funds raised go right back into the community, Janice says, and thatB次元官网网址檚 what makes it so important that she and her sisters keep coming back. An ongoing fundraising project to build an all-weather playing field in Esquimalt is one of the goals Ribfest supports.
B次元官网网址淪he was always so busy,B次元官网网址� Janice says, but never one to take centre stage. B次元官网网址淪he wasnB次元官网网址檛 someone who would make a lot of noise about things that she did. She got the job done with humour and lightness.B次元官网网址�
In the community and in the BriggsB次元官网网址� family, Janice adds, there is a gap and a missing energy.
B次元官网网址淔ew people in your life that you meet are absolutely 100 per cent genuine, and you sort of cherish those people more than the specific memories,B次元官网网址� Woods says.
B次元官网网址淭hat would be my memory of Cindy. It was never about Cindy, ever.B次元官网网址�
