Coming up on the calendar of big summer blow-out food events is the L.A. BBQ Festival. These Drink Eat Play ticketed gatherings sometimes sell out ahead of time, so plan in advance.

Deets: Saturday and Sunday May 9 and 10. Costs $10 each day (entrance only, food and drink cost extra) or $50 VIP pass. It's all next to the Santa Monica Pier so that ocean breezes can co-mingle with sweet smokey scents. Pit styles and BBQ posses from the South to the Midwest to the Southeast and up our very own California coast will be in full effect. (If you're experiencing some déjà vu, it's because the last BBQ fest wasn't too long ago; it took place just this past September.) The $50 pass includes two-day entrance for BBQ gluttons, line-cutting privileges, a 2009 CozmoDeck and t-shirt. Buy tickets here.

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