On the Fly

SAT 9/11
Monarch tagging has nothing to do with sticking a paper label on the breast of a foppish royal dandy. Instead, it’s the scientific method of identifying butterflies for the purpose of tracking their population and migration routes as they flutter their way through our latitude. The butterfly followers at Monarch Watch provide hands-on tagging demonstrations and lots of show-and-tell with caterpillars at an open house from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at Foley Hall (2021 Constant Avenue) on the west campus of the University of Kansas in Lawrence. They also have a butterfly garden with specially planted nectar and host plants, and the area is stocked with examples of feeders that can attract the flutter-bys to a home garden. Monarch Watch is in the process of relocating to a less public-friendly facility, so this might be the last chance for butterfly lovers to attend such an event for a while. Kids are encouraged to attend, and refreshments are provided. For more information, call 785-864-4441. —Mark Inman

Grand Tour

9/11-9/12
Legs pumping, hearts pounding, sweat dripping from places we can’t mention here. The MS 150 (a 2-day, 150-mile bike tour) kicks off at 7 a.m. Saturday at the Summit Technology Campus (777 N.W. Blue Parkway in Lee’s Summit), and there’s still time to sign up. Call 913-432-6912 or see www.msmidamerica.org. — Annie Fischer

Hell’s Little Angels

SUN 9/12
Johnny Dare doesn’t like just Catholic schoolgirls; there’s a special place in his heart for babies, too. To prove it, Dare leads the March of Dimes’ tenth annual Bikers for Babies ride at 8 a.m. Sunday at the Kansas Speedway (near the intersection of Interstates 435 and 70 in Kansas City, Kansas). Some 6,000 bikers are expected to fork over the $30 registration fee, plus whatever they can spare for the babies. After they finish rumbling 100 miles across Kansas, the riders each get a shot at winning a custom 2004 Harley-Davidson V-Rod. Now that’s one hell of a baby. Call Kathy Bellew at 816-561-0175 for more information. — Jason Harper

Go “Parking”

SAT 9/11

It’s said that Christian fundamentalists forbid sex while standing because it might lead to dancing. To see people go all the way — in the fundamentalist sense — check out Dance in the Park at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in Roanoke Park (39th Street and Roanoke Road). Although there won’t be any sex, City in Motion Dance Theater and some midtown neighborhood associations do plan for an evening of exotic rug-cutting: flamenco, tap, Balinese and West African, among others. It’s free; call 816-561-2882 for more information. — Harper