The American Royal Barbecue - The World Series of BBQ

In perusing the news today, I discovered that this weekend, in Kansas City, Missouri, the 30th Annual American Royal Barbecue was held.  With nearly 500 teams of international origin (this year there are teams from as far away as Germany, Australia, and Jamaica), the festival includes musical entertainment, a Texas Hold-Em tournament, kids activities, and fireworks, but the ultimate focus is the culinary competition.  The Royal is apparently the largest barbecue contest in the world. As the competition is combined with a barbecue-related trade expo, this two-day food festival is truly the “World Series of Barbecue.”  I need to go to this one year.