The American Royal BBQ and other weekend possibilities

There are barbecue competitions, and then there’s the American Royal’s 32nd annual World Series of Barbecue. The grandpappy of all barbecue cookoffs began yesterday and runs through Sunday. The event at the American Royal Complex (1701 American Royal Court) features live entertainment on Friday and Saturday nights, along with close to 500 teams competing for the right to say they won the Royal. Eat your way through the competition and also pick up bottles of award-winning sauce and secret barbecue rub recipes at the BBQ Expo that runs from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.