| The Great Lenexa Barbeque Battle takes place June 27-28 The Great Lenexa Barbeque Battle presented by Everest A SureWest Company will be held Friday and Saturday, June 27-28, at Sar-Ko-Par Trails Park, located at 87th Street Parkway and Lackman Road. The barbeque, which is the Kansas State Championship, runs from 5-11 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. Teams set up their booths on Friday, and prepare for the competition, which takes place on Saturday. Most of the teams host parties for their friends and guests at the Friday event. On Saturday, judging runs from noon to 3 p.m. Awards are announced about 5 p.m. Blues band, Penelope and the Unusual Suspects, will perform live on stage from 7-11 p.m. Friday. Free barbeque samples will be offered from 11:30 a.m. on Saturday until gone, at a booth near the main stage. Kids' activities, including Mad Science, face painting, balloon artists, arts and crafts, sandy candy art, mechanical bull riding and inflatables will be offered both Friday and Saturday. Lenexa organized the first barbeque, which involved 12 contestants and 12 judges, in 1982. Two years later, Kansas Governor John Carlin proclaimed the contest the Kansas State Championship. This year, nearly 190 barbeque teams, some from as far away as Texas and Oklahoma, will compete for the coveted title of Grand Champion. Parking at the event is extremely limited. Lenexa offers a free, continuous shuttle service to two satellite parking locations: City Hall, 87th Street Parkway and Monrovia Street; and the business park at the southeast corner of 95th Street and Lackman Road. The shuttle, which offers handicap accessibility, runs Friday from 5-11 p.m. and Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $5 for adults on Friday; kids under 12 get in free. Saturday admission is free. More event information is available on the web or contact the Parks & Recreation Department at (913) 541-0209. | 
