Photos: ARtechBBQ party gets the beer cheese flowing with a salted pretzel tech twist
November 4, 2024 | Nikki Overfelt Chifalu
Sweater weather returned Friday night alongside Kansas City’s premiere after-hours celebration of tech, and ARtechBBQ organizer Greg Kratofil couldn’t have been happier, he said.
Greg Kratofil, Polsinelli, and Michael Graber, RSM, speak from the stage during the ARtechBBQ; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News
“How about this being back in the fall?” Kratofil asked a crowd of well-fed revelers at the party within the party on the grounds of the Kansas Speedway. ARtechBBQ — now in its 13th year — coincides with the annual American Royal World Series of Barbecue.
“I’ve got hot chocolate right now,” added the Polsinelli shareholder, chair of the technology transactions and data privacy practice, and co-office managing partner for the law firm’s Kansas City office. “Beats the hell out of 95 degrees.”
The ARtechBBQ — presented by Polsinelli, RSM, SecurIT360, NextEra Energy Resources, Sailes, Rack Coach, and the KC Tech Council — brought together hundreds from the tech community at what Kratofil calls the closest thing that Kansas City has to Mardi Gras.
Click here to read more about the history of the ARtechBBQ.
Check out a brief event photo gallery below, then keep reading.
Members of the party band Lost Wax perform during the 2024 ARtechBBQ; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News
“There’s a lot of exciting things going on in Kansas City right now, especially around our tech community,” Kratofil said.
“We’ve been a sponsor and have been investing in the tech community for a long time,” added Michael Graber, RSM partner and blockchain lead, joining Kratofil in front of the ARtechBBQ crowd. “We just love being out here and being part of this.”
With this year’s event moving deeper into the fall schedule, it featured an Oktoberfest theme, complete with bratwurst, a biergarten, pretzel bites with beer cheese, and string lights. Of course, no ARtechBBQ would be complete with smoked meats, so brisket and pulled pork was also on the menu.
Attendees also enjoyed live music from local party band Lost Wax.
Startland News served as the event’s media sponsor.
Check out a photo gallery below by Startland News reporters Taylor Wilmore and Nikki Overfelt Chifalu from the ARtechBBQ below.
2024 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Black farmers are losing ground in the fight to feed their communities, advocates say
More than a century of systemic land dispossession and discriminatory practices has left Black farmers with less than 0.6 percent of U.S. farmland — less than a third of the 16 million acres they operated in 1910, according to local urban farming advocates. They gathered Tuesday at Independence Boulevard Christian Church to confront this history…
Cracking egg-flation: How farmers, substitute ingredients help restaurants mitigate price spike
Editor’s note: This story was originally published by Kansas City PBS/Flatland, a member of the Kansas City Media Collective, which also includes Startland News, KCUR 89.3, American Public Square, The Kansas City Beacon, and Missouri Business Alert. Click here to read the original story. Whether ordering an omelet, French toast, chicken n’ biscuits, chilaquiles, corned beef hash…
Soccer tennis comes to KC ahead of World Cup; here’s how a weekend street festival is kicking it across the map
Ryogoku Soccer Academy — with the help of local businesses like MADE MOBB, Café Ollama, and Café Cà Phê — is taking soccer from the pitch to the streets of Kansas City’s historic Northeast, Brad Leonard shared. As the metro gears up for hosting World Cup games in 2026, the neighborhood-based international school and soccer…
KC celebs, sports icons and tech stars stick around; a hall of famer’s interviews reveal why
Sportscaster Frank Boal could’ve just retired; his wife (and Kansas City’s pull) made other plans Former sports broadcaster and Pittsburgh native Frank Boal knows a thing or two about the pull of Kansas City, he shared. The longtime media personality moved here in 1981 for work and never left. Now, Boal and his wife, Sarah…