Some people say he is dead, others say he was kidnapped by aliens, and others say he secretly walks the earth helping people in times of need by serenading them and sharing his fried peanut-butter-and-banana sandwiches.

Whatever happened to him, it is certain that the world will always remember Elvis Aron Presley. And the most appropriate memorial for Elvis is happening today and Saturday in Murphysboro at the 10th Annual Murphysboro Barbecue Championships.

It’s our 10-year anniversary and the 20-year anniversary of his disappearance, said Nancy Fager, publicist for the championships and one of its judges.

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We started having themes for the championships the second year. We’ve had Country and Western Days, Frontier Days, and we celebrated the Chinese Year of the Pig. This year we are celebrating the memory of Elvis.

About 40 entries are expected in the championships.

Everyone who attends the events is encouraged to dress up as Elvis. If enough contestants are available, an Elvis lip-synch contest might be scheduled.

If the Elvis impersonators are not enough entertainment, there also will be the annual hog-calling contests with junior and adult divisions.

We started the hog-calling contest a few years ago just for fun, Fager said.

The main focus of the championships is, of course, barbecuing, and the championship is the pennant race for barbecuers. The winner of the Murphysboro Barbecue Championship will be crowned the Illinois State Champion Barbecuer and automatically will be qualified to enter the international barbecue championship, Memphis in May in Memphis, Tenn.

We received a proclamation from the governor that says that whoever wins here is the Illinois state champ, Fager said. Memphis in May is the large cookout. They have 200 to 300 teams entered each year.

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She said being a judge is not as easy as it might seem.

The teams judge you in return, Fager said. Judges have to be courteous to the teams.

In the past the Murphysboro Barbecue Championships have drawn as many as 20,000 people, and Fager said this is the largest barbecue festival in Southern Illinois.

So if barbecue, hog calling and Elvis impersonators sound like fun, head over to Murphysboro today or Saturday to attend the 10th Annual Murphysboro Barbecue Championships. It will take place between 17th and 18th streets, north of Pine Street under the yellow water tower. If these directions confuse you, just follow your nose. Depending on which way the wind blows, Fager said, you can smell the barbecue two or three blocks away down on Walnut Street.