Now you have plans for the weekend

You need plans. Fat City has a recycle bin full of event listings. In this post, all of our problems are solved.

The Missouri State Fair kicked off Thursday in Sedalia and runs through August 23. You should go if only for the pork chops on a stick or fried Snickers. The second-to-last-day of the fair will see a world record attempt for most exploding soda fountains, when 2,500 Pepsi bottles filled with Mentos will (hopefully) go off in unison.

UNICO’s first annual Microbrew Festival will feature more than 40 craft brewers — 15 of which are from Missouri. At Zona Rosa on Saturday, you can sample beer between 3 and 9 p.m. A $25 ticket at the gate gets you a commemorative sampling cup.

If you’re saving your wallet for another night of drinking, The Brick is a good bet. Natural Light runs you a $1 a can during Happy Hour (4 to 6 p.m.) and $2 thereafter. Remember, it’s your wallet, not your tastebuds, we’re thinking of here.

Beer’s not your thing? There’s the 14th annual Kansas City Festival of Wine & Food at the Overland Park Convention Center on Saturday. Featuring more than 300 wines and food from 20 local restaurants, this event goes from 6 to 9 p.m. Tickets are $50/$75 for different levels of wine tasting; it’s a fundraiser for the American Heart Association. 

And finally, you probably need a contest to help you introduce your new pitcher plant to competitive eating. Adam’s Rib in Overland Park, Kansas, hosts a challenge in which local celebrities attempt to get through 10 pounds of the Ultimate Brisket Burger in order to win money for their favorite charity. The spectacle begins at 3 p.m.