Catch some rays while sipping freshly brewed beer and eating smoked barbecue at Leadville’s BBQ and Brews Festival. For two days at the end of each June, Leadville closes off Harrison Avenue and fills it with the country’s top pit masters, all of whom hope to walk away with the “Top of the Mountain” award or one of many other prizes totaling more than $10,000.

Sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbeque Society (KBCS), the Leadville BBQ and Brews Festival is also the state championship and a cup event for the Rocky Mountain BBQ Association.

This event also hosts a Kids Q, where kids, ages 5 to 15, can compete by cooking a meat of their choice on a small weber grill. Live music is played throughout the festival and a family fun zone is set up to entertain the littles ones of the party.