The Annual Japanese Fest is coming soon to the Missouri Botanical Garden!
Sumo Demonstration at The Japanese Fest
There are so many things to do and see at the Japanese Fest, there is something for everyone to enjoy! In addition to all the regular garden attractions, there will be tons of interesting demonstrations including bonsai, origami, martial arts, cooking, Ikebana (flower arranging), Sumo demonstrations and more. There will be puppet shows, Japanese Storytelling, karaoke, Kimono Fashion Shows, a children’s game area, Japanese dancing and too much more to list. (Click here to view the full listing of events on the Missouri Botanical Garden website.)
There will also be booths set up selling traditional Japanese crafts as well as food booths selling sushi, yakisoba noodles, green tea ice cream (yum!), crab Rangoon, kebabs, beer, and sake.
Origami Demonstration at The Japanese Fest
The event runs from September 4th and 5th (Saturday and Sunday) from 10 am to 8 pm each day and on Monday, September 6th (Labor Day) from 10 am to 5 pm.
General admission is $15, with discounts for children 12 and under, seniors, and Garden members.
With highs in the 90’s this coming weekend, one option for staying cool around St. Louis is to visit one of the many water parks in the area! There are tons around town that have big pools, slides, lazy rivers, and more. And, there is sure to be one near you! Here are a couple of the best water parks around St. Louis:
Hurricane Harbor has more than 12 acres of water activities, a huge wave pool, tons of slides, a lazy river, a children’s play area, concessions and more.
Hours:
Everyday: 1030 am – 6 pm
Prices:
Admission to Hurricane Harbor is free with ticket to Six Flags, see tickets page for prices, season passes, daily specials, ticket combos, and more.
The Aquaport has a huge pool, several fountains, a lazy river, six different water slides, and concessions.
Hours:
Sat – Thurs: 11 am – 7 pm
Friday: 11 am – 8 pm
Prices:
$15 for adults, $10 for ages 4-15, under 4 are free. There is a discount if you are a Maryland Heights resident. There are also seasons passes available.
There is currently a coupon on the website for admittance for a family of four plus four fountain sodas for $40.
The Chesterfield Family Aquatic Center has a leisure pool, AquaPlay Unit, three water slides, Splash Playground, a competition pool, several diving boards, a lazy river, and concessions.
Hours:
Mon – Fri: noon – 8pm
Sat and Sun: 10 am – 8 pm
Prices:
$7 for adults, $6 for kids 2-18, under 2 are free. There are discounts for Chesterfield residents or if you arrive at the park after 5 pm (at which time admission is half price).
The North Point Family Aquatic Center has a competition pool with 10 swimming lanes, diving boards, a lazy river, a waterfall, a large leisure pool, a kiddie pool, two waterslides, and concessions.
Hours:
Mon – Sun: 1130 am – 730 pm (until August 16th, when hours are then reduced for the remainder of the season)
Prices:
$7 for all ages 3 and up (under 3 are free). There is also a Ballwin resident discount and summer passes available.
If you are in St Louis this weekend, there is no place else to be besides Fair St Louis! There are tons of things to do downtown this weekend at Fair Saint Louis (previously known as the VP Fair or Veiled Prophet Fair) including food booths set up and an activity area for kids with games, crafts and kids performers. There are air shows, live concerts and of course, fireworks! Click here for the official site of Fair Saint Louis to get the fair schedule, concert schedule, parking information and more!
This coming Monday, May 31st (Memorial Day) is the 38th annual Gypsy Caravan in St. Louis. Held at UMSL (University Missouri – St Louis), this huge flea market is held to help raise money for the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. The Gypsy Caravan is one of the biggest antique, craft, and flea markets in the Midwest and 25,000 people are expected to attend. Over 300 booths will be there, offering jewelry, crafts, antiques, furniture, yard art, and more. Last year I bought a beautiful glass mosaic bird house for my yard along with some fun antique jewelry. Also, there are also plenty of food booths – the crab rangoon is my favorite every year!
Faust Park is full of fun things to do year round for the whole family, and also has two special events coming up this month:
May 2010 Events
Faust Fine Arts and Folk Festival
May 15 and 16
10 am – 5 pm
Admission – $2
Shop crafts and unique art including paintings, sculptures, pottery, iron work, stained glass, photography and much more! Plus live music and refreshments available.
Faust Park Historic Village Open House
May 22 and May 23
1 pm – 5 pm
Admission – free
Tour historic homes and cabins from the 1800s, plus a historic garden complete with plants from that era, a smokehouse, carriage house, outhouse and more. Guides in period dress will be available to answer questions as well. A blacksmith may also be there, working in one of the historic barns.
Year Round Activities
Butterfly House – wander through this 8,000 square food glass conservatory and watch 60 species of butterflies as they flitter around you. Admission is $6 for adults and $4 for kids (kids 3 and under get in free). The Butterfly House has different hours based on time of year and are closed on some Mondays and holidays. View their site for hours, plus special events and education classes.
Faust Park Carousel – kids of all ages will love riding the historic Carousel in the park for just $1! The Carousel is open Tuesday through Sunday from 10 am -4 pm.
Historic Village – made up of 4 residences and 7 structures including barns, smokehouses and a carriage house, all from the 1800s. The grounds and the outside of the buildings can be viewed at any time during park hours and free self-guided tour books are available at the visitor’s center. The Village is open on special weekends (see above).
Thornhill House – built in 1819, it is the oldest existing governors residence in Missouri. It is available self-guided tours (free) and guided tours for groups of 10 to 50 people. Call 314-615-8328 for tour information.
Faust Park is located in Chesterfield at the intersection of Olive Rd and I-40. Click here for directions to Faust Park or here for more information about Faust Park and all of the activities listed above.
Missouri has one of the top Conservation Departments in the country, thanks to a dedicated percentage of sales tax. This funding allows MDC to not only maintain and manage the state’s natural resources, but to offer tons of programs free to the public. These programs can be found across the state and range from kids fishing clinics and gardening lessons, to nature walks and cave explorations, and much more. Here are just a few of the many free events coming up in the next couple of weeks around the St Louis area. But, be sure to check their calendar of events frequently to find more activities and information and check out their blog for conservation news! Most events require reservations so be sure to call in advance.
Basic Fishing (Discover Nature Women) – this course teaches women the basics of fishing at Forest Park Hatchery. May 1, 2010 from 10 am – 2 pm.
Sunset Over the Prairie – adults and children (ages 6 +) can view a beautiful sunset and wildlife on the new boardwalk over the wetland at Columbia Bottom Conservation Area. May 1, 2010 from 6:30 pm – 8 pm.
Cave Exploration – kids (ages 7 +) can explore a cave at Rockwoods Reservation and learn about cave ecosystems. May 1, 2010 from 10 am – 11:30.
Camera Walk (Discover Nature Women) – women (ages 14 +) can go on a guided trail walk along the Meramec River and learn to how to take nature photos at Emmenegger Nature Park, just west of Powder Valley. May 4, 2010 from 9:30 am – 12 pm.
Basic Fishing – kids (ages 7 – 15) can learn basic fishing skills and all equipment is provided. Offered at two locations – August A Busch Memorial Conservation Area and Bellfontaine Conservation Area. May 8, 2010 from 9 am – 11 am.
Butterfly Gardening – adults and kids (ages 9 +) will both enjoy learning about how to attract butterflies to your garden and tour butterfly gardens at Powder Valley Nature Center. May 8, 2010 from 10 am – 12 pm.
This coming weekend, the St Louis Zoo has a new exhibit opening – Stingrays at Caribbean Cove! You can watch stingrays and horseshoe crabs swimming through the water and even get the chance to touch and feed them! Caribbean Cove consists of a 17,000 gallon pool that includes a waterfall, and is located under a new pavilion at the Zoo. This new exhibit is a fun way for kids to interact with the animals and learn about ocean life. The exhibit opens April 24, 2010and will run through September 26, 2010. Admission to the exhibit is $3 for non-member and $1.50 for members; free for kids under 2 are free. But, if you get there early, admission is free for the first hour the Zoo is open. You can go to the St Louis Zoo website for more information about the exhibit.
Check out this videos of the stingrays at Caribbean Cove!
It’s baseball season now, so it’s only fitting to write about Busch Stadium. I’m biased, of course, but I believe the St Louis Cardinals are the best team in baseball and that everyone should check out a game while visiting St Louis!
Over years, there have been three Busch Stadiums in St. Louis. The first stadium was Sportsman’s Park, but was purchased by the Busch family and renamed to Busch Stadium. The brewery initially wanted to name the park Budweiser Stadium, but the National League President didn’t want to name the stadium after a beer. So, it was named Busch Stadium instead. But, once the Cardinals opened the season in 1954, Anheuser Busch immediately came out with “Busch Bavarian Beer”! The second Busch Stadium officially opened on May 12, 1966 in downtown St Louis. The newest Busch Stadium opened in April 2006. From the seats in the new stadium, fans have an amazing view of the downtown skyline and the Arch.
View the schedule to find out game times and dates and to purchase tickets. Kids 15 years old or younger can get tickets for $7 – $9 for certain seating sections. Kids 3 years old or younger are free if they sit on parents’ laps.
Check out the schedule for special events at the Stadium as well. Fireworks night and Kids Opening Weekend are both coming up next weekend (April 16th for the fireworks and April 16th and 17th for Kids Opening Weekend). Or go to any Friday night home game for music, prizes and players signing autographs starting a couple hours before the game.
Citygarden opened last summer and is truly a unique oasis in the middle of downtown St. Louis. It is a three acre park that combines beautiful landscaping with modern elements – including sculptures and water features. It is part of the Gateway Mall, a mile long stretch of green space in downtown St. Louis. The park is focused on being green and sustainable with rain gardens, green roofs on the buildings to maximize efficiency and decrease runoff, local ingredients used in the café, native plants, and more. This park has something for everyone – fountains and sculptures for kids to run around and play on, a place for families to picnic or eat at the café, walkways for couples on a stroll or sculptures for art lovers to enjoy!
Some of the things to see at Citygarden:
A 6 ft water fall and spray plaza for kids to play in, with 102 nozzles shooting water into the air with different patterns and colors
24 sculptures designed by internationally renowned artists, all open to kids to climb on and explore
Six rain gardens and numerous fountains
The Video wall, a stone wall that stretches two blocks that displays video art and movies
Audio tour narrated by almost 30 St. Louis celebrities, including Ozzie Smith, Kurt Warner, Jenna Fischer, Jackie Joyner-Kersee and John Ashcroft
Terrace View Café, with indoor and outdoor seating and an amazing, gourmet menu featuring local ingredients (check out their lunch and dinner menus, they will make your mouth water!)
Beautiful landscaping with native trees and plants
The Citygarden has similar regulations as all St. Louis parks – it opens at sunrise and closes at 10 pm. There are no fences or walls, it is free and open to everyone all year round. This is truly a great place for everyone to enjoy and a must for visitors who want to experience all that downtown St. Louis has to offer! Click here to view more photos of the garden or to read about how much one mom’s kids loved playing in the park!
March is Morpho month at the Butterfly House! Morphos are a bright blue butterfly native to Central and South America. This month at the Butterfly House, you can see more than three thousand of these gorgeous butterflies fluttering about the conservatory. You can also check out the educational activities and games available each weekend in March about butterfly conservation efforts and Costa Rican culture. This is such a fun place for kids – they will go crazy for all the butterflies and really enjoy all the activities and classes geared towards children.
Check their calendar of events for what events and classes are going on at any given time. They also host kids’ birthday parties and fun classes that teach kids about butterflies, ladybugs, honeybees, spiders and more!
And, check out slideshows of amazing pictures taken at the Butterfly House here and here. But, pictures don’t do it justice, so make sure to see it for yourself and be surrounded by butterflies!
August 27, 2010 
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