P&L District Hosting Downtown BBQ Street Festival in Late May

Some of Kansas City’s top barbecue joints will be joined by several great barbecue places from St. Louis and the South at the first annual Kansas City BBQ Festival, or KC Q, in downtown May 30-31.

The new street festival event is co-sponsored by the KC Power & Light District and will be held on Grand Boulevard and 14th Street bordering the district, according to a press release.

“KC Q is a celebration of the nation’s top award-winning barbecue, both here in Kansas City and from other true barbecue hot beds,” Nick Benjamin, executive director of the P&L District, said in a statement.

“We can’t wait for downtown to be consumed with that beautiful barbecue fragrance that all of us here in KC love.”

More than 18,000 pounds of slow-smoked meat will be served up by local brands Joes’s Kansas City, Slap’s, Jones’ and Plowboy’s BBQs, and a host of all-star out-of-towners.

The visiting barbecue line-up will be Black’s BBQ, Lockhart, Texas; Ubons BBQ, Yazoo City, Miss.; SugarFire Smokehouse and Pappy’s Smokehouse, St. Louis; The Shed Barbeque and Blues Joint, Ocean Springs, Miss., and the Memphis Barbecue Co., Memphis, Tenn.

The event will be held in partnership with Eximius Productions, founder of Q in the Lou and the Denver BBQ Festival, according to the release.

“We’ve gathered some of the best pitmasters from Kansas City and around the country to cook great BBQ this summer in the Power & Light District,” Brian Wahby, Eximius owner, said in a statement.

“It’s a BBQ lovers’ paradise right in the capitol of BBQ, Kansas City.”

Admission is free for all ages and food will be available for purchase at each BBQ pit. VIP Pit Passes will be available for purchase for an all-you-can-eat opportunity. More information is available here.

The event also will offer cold beer and drinks, live music, barbecue tutorials and demonstrations, and family-friendly games and activities.

(Editor’s note: Beginning in December 2019, CityScene KC has become a paid subscription publication)