ARtechBBQ is back, bringing Oktoberfest vibes to KC’s best-smelling celebration of tech

While the party has grown larger each year, Greg Kratofil said, the goal of the ARtechBBQ remains the same: to highlight Kansas City’s tech community at what he calls the closest thing the city has to Mardi Gras.

The hotly-anticipated, one-night-only event returns 6 p.m. to midnight Nov. 1 at the Kansas Speedway during the American Royal World Series of Barbecue.

A crowd gathers to celebrate Kansas City’s tech community in 2023 at the ARtechBBQ during the American Royal World Series of Barbecue; photo courtesy of ARtechBBQ

“There are a lot of different corporate events out there and a lot of different industries and areas represented, but the technology community didn’t really have their event,” explained Kratofil, Polsinelli shareholder, chair of the technology transactions and data privacy practice, and co-office managing partner for the KC office. “The American Royal is one of Kansas City’s most well-known events and attracts people from all over the world. I have always wanted those people to see how vibrant and fun our tech community is.”

Click here to register for the ARtechBBQ for free using the sponsor code “START.” RSVPs are required.

To join the ARtechBBQ, attendees must first purchase tickets into the American Royal BBQ grounds here or at the gate. Once inside the grounds, entry into the VIP tent is complimentary for those who registered in advance.

With this year’s event moving deeper into the fall schedule, it will feature an Oktoberfest theme, shared Emma Sterbenz, Polsinelli senior firm events coordinator. 

“We’re kind of leaning into the fall vibes,” she said. “We’re doing a beer garden, lots of pretzels, bratwurst, string lights. I joke that I’m going to make Greg wear lederhosen, but we’ll see about that.”

“To be determined,” Kratofil added.

“I’m excited about the return to cooler temps in the fall after some scorching days in early September the last few years,” he continued. “We may need to look at bringing the old ice luge back in the future.”

A crowd of startup and tech community members gathers for the first ARtechBBQ in 2011 at Kansas Speedway; photo courtesy of Greg Kratofil

Smoking the collaboration

The ARtechBBQ started as a few Polsinelli tech partners and associates with a smoker at the American Royal in 2011, slow-roasting into one of Kansas City’s biggest celebrations of tech, he said.

Greg Kratofil hands off a beverage during the ARtechBBQ, which also served as a launch part for Aglocal; photo courtesy of Greg Kratofil

“Each year when it would come back around and we’d have more people that would want to participate or get involved with it,” Kratofil said, noting it now is presented by Polsinelli, RSM, SecurIT360, NextEra Energy Resources, Sailes, Rack Coach, and the KC Tech Council. Startland News serves as the event’s media sponsor.

The first year, he continued, organizers had no idea what the ARtechBBQ would entail — nor eventually become.

“I had two associates that were really into barbecuing and brewing beer,” Kratofil recalled, noting they highlighted tech companies Firewire and Shark Attack Cocktails that year. “We got a little tiny spot — like the smallest spot you could possibly have — and we thought we’d just cook for people. It ended up being an absolute circus with people coming in and hanging out.”

“We had no security, no wristbands, and were trying to serve food on the fly,” he added.

Over the years, the event has been used to showcase new tech companies or to announce fundraising rounds. 

Some of the past highlights include the AgLocal launch party in 2012 — which was attended by Ben Horowitz with Andreessen Horowitz; partnership with Arsalon Technologies/DataBank in 2013 and 2014; live painting by John Bukaty of the 2015 event at Arrowhead Stadium that now hangs in the offices of the Jackson County Sports Complex Authority; and the Hyperloop pod on display in 2019, Kratofil said.

Hyperloop One at the ARtechBBQ in 2019; photo by Tommy Felts, Startland News

“We’ve done some really cool things,” he added.

The last couple of years, Kratofil noted, the Mid-America Healthcare Investor Network has hosted its annual fly-in event in KC and used the ARtechBBQ as the social event after the meetings.

The band Lost Wax performs at the 2023 ARtechBBQ, the biggest-ever, according to event organizers. Lost Wax has played the annual tech celebration for years, before gaining notoriety as the Kansas City house band during the NFL Draft event; photo courtesy of ARtechBBQ

BBQ and beats 

At the top of the menu for the ARtechBBQ: meat, of course.

But as in past years, the event also will feature live music by the local party band Lost Wax.

“We had them before they became the house band for the NFL Draft party,” Kratofil said. “So they’ve continued to say, ‘As long as you want us out there for this event … you guys throw a really good party and have a really good vibe.’”

A post shared by Lost Wax Band (@lostwaxband)

“They always tell me that they test out all their new music for the following year at our party,” Sterbenz added, “because there’s so much energy in the space.”

And the ARtechBBQ wouldn’t be complete without a spotlight on tech in Kansas City.

“We’ll kind of use it to look ahead to some of the things that are coming down the pike from Kansas City from a technology community perspective,” Kratofil said.

ICYMI: Nearly 10 percent of KC’s economy is tech; How AI is reshaping the way world sees Kansas City

Click here to register for the ARtechBBQ for free using the sponsor code “START.” RSVPs are required.

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