Toto Moto
5/27-5/29
The Mad Toto Scooter Club believes that people haven’t really experienced Kansas City until they’ve seen it while straddling a sweet scooter. So the three-year-old group has incorporated plenty of local landmarks and neighborhoods into its inaugural weekendlong Tornado R’alley. On Friday night, this benign biker gang rolls from Overland Park to the Plaza for Italian eats. Then its members hit the road for a Raytown warehouse party with rock bands (Aphasia, Garrett Nordstrom) and a retro-dance DJ (Michael Bradshaw). Saturday opens with a pancake breakfast. (Participants in the Scooter Games immediately after the morning meal might want to take it easy on the flapjacks.) After testing their speed and maneuverability in the games, R’alliers scarf pizza and play poker, then inhale some barbecue. On Saturday evening, the ever-competitive caravan travels to a bowling alley in North Kansas City to play for awards. Sunday sightseeing includes a sputter-by fountain tour and an en masse jaunt to Lawrence that figures to disorient unsuspecting K-10 drivers. For more information, see madtoto.com. — Andrew Miller
Last Comic Standing
5/28-5/29
If “all work and no play make Jack a dull boy” weren’t an issue, could you write 24 pages in 24 hours? That’s the annual challenge issued by the Comic Creators Network for its 24-Hour Party. Instead of trying to complete the goal in a comic book store, organizers have moved operations to the Clarion Hotel (formerly the Adam’s Mark, 9103 East 39th Street, off Interstate 70 and the Blue Ridge Cut-off), where we expect the ink to flow and the discussion to center on this summer’s film version of the Fantastic Four. The fun begins at noon Saturday and lasts until noon Sunday — if artists and writers can make it that long. Stock up on the No-Doz and see www.comixclub.com for more information. — Rebecca Braverman
Smoke Signals
There’s a new barbecue contest in town.
5/26-5/28
When several folks from the American Royal’s barbecue contest left to launch the Great American Barbecue contest, we were dying to uncover the juicy scandal that prompted the move. Sadly, these diplomatic dissidents just won’t give up the gossip. We’re infuriated by their maturity. But that doesn’t mean we won’t be on hand to help sample the goods. The “Mardi Gras of Meat,” as it’s been unfortunately dubbed, kicks off with an Ida McBeth concert at 6 p.m. Thursday and runs through 9 p.m. Saturday at the Woodlands Race Track (9700 Leavenworth Road in Kansas City, Kansas). Besides the highly anticipated Barbecue Alley, the festival offers a hot-air-balloon rally, fireworks and live music. A three-day pass is $10 in advance or $15 at the gate; single-day admission prices vary. Call 913-422-9599. — Annie Fischer
