Sports heroes (Apr. 19 and 23)

This early in the baseball season, there’s still hope for everyone. Even the Cardinals fans who’ve spent all winter nay-saying have toned down their bluster. The honeymoon period is on, and I’m happy to spread the love of baseball a little further by publicizing two former players on book tours in St. Louis this week.

Ozzie Smith, of course, needs no introduction for St. Louisans. Well, maybe for kids he does, being as he’s been retired long enough to be inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2002 … kids are probably more familiar with his son Nikko, of American Idol fame. And that’s where the book ties in, because the two collaborated on a story for Chicken Soup for the American Idol Soul about a lucky coin Ozzie gave Nikko to see him through the audition process. They’ll be signing their book and Nikko’s CDs (but not sports memorabilia, apparently) at 2 p.m. at the Creve Coeur Borders store, 11745 Olive Blvd, on Saturday (Apr. 19).

The other author, Cal Ripken Jr., is a Hall of Famer too; he was inducted last year after playing 20 years for the Baltimore Orioles. His book is titled Get in the Game: 8 Elements of Perseverance That Make the Difference. And considering his amazing ability to play no matter what — over the course of 16 years the “Iron Man” played in a record 2,632 consecutive games — I for one would definitely like to read his wisdom on sticking with it. He’ll be at the St. Louis Public Library’s Central branch, 1301 Olive St., on Tuesday (Apr. 23) at 7 p.m. Admission is free, but the first-come, first-seated limit is 300 people. It’s part of the new Great Rivers Authors Series, of which Left Bank Books is a sponsor (which means customers who’ve purchased his book there will get to go to the front of the line when book-signing time comes; Ripken will not autograph memorabilia). For details, visit the Left Bank Books events page or call 314.367.6731.

Hooray for Earth Day (Apr. 20 and other dates)

Earth Day this year has a sense of urgency, doesn’t it? Maybe it’s the whole oil thing, or food prices going up, but it feels as if people really do want to make a difference right now. As I scrolled down the list of events this month at the St. Louis Earth Day homepage, I wished I could write about each of them — plays, lectures, clean-ups, art shows, vendor fairs — and I learned a bit just by reading the descriptions. (Did you know athletic shoes can be recycled? I didn’t either.)

The main festival takes place in Forest Park on Sunday (Apr. 20) in the Muny grounds from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Its musical and cultural offerings (on two stages) are unique — many musical, theater and dance groups I’ve never heard of, with themes of stewardship and harmony and conservation. The list of vendors and info booths is exceptionally long — you will definitely need to find sustenance at the food stands!

If you have electronics sitting around that need recycling, I highly encourage you to take advantage of the collection point set up at St. Louis Community College-Forest Park (get info on the location here). Earlier this year I sent the hubby out with a load of old monitors and stuff, and he came back with a full report on the scariness of the metal-recycling district over on the North St. Louis waterfront.

And if you’re wisely conserving fuel this year, be aware that there are Earth Day events in many part of the metro area — St. Charles has a great one on Friday; Carondelet Park has one Saturday; Hazelwood and Chesterfield have events the following weekend (Apr. 26).

But back to the main festival. I had been debating bringing the kids (it’s hard to ask serious questions of vendors when you’ve got to keep one eye and half your brain focused on a 2-year-old) but then I saw the list of youth activities (stream table, recycled art station, Science Center MySci van, oil-to-biofuel demo). Maybe, I thought. A few days later I read that the Gateway Kite Club is partnering with the Saint Louis Art Museum for a demonstration and kite-making area on Art Hill. The boys will definitely get into that, I thought. And then I realized that simply exposing them to the festival atmosphere and explaining why all the people had gathered would leave an impression.

Munny of the future (Apr. 18 until May 30)

I remember my first purchase from Star Clipper in The Loop very distinctly: It was a three-eyed stuffed space alien, the perfect size and shape for M. (then age 18 months) to snuggle up with and rest his head on when we had him in the backpack and he needed a bit of a snooze. He loved it, we loved it … and apparently someone else loved it, because it got ripped off from our checked luggage on the way home from a family vacation to Italy.

Naturally, I headed straight out to replace him, not at all sad about going back to browse the ‘zines and toys and games. That’s the thing about Star Clipper — it’s ostensibly a comic book store, but it’s got so much more that even a not-so-hip thirtysomething like me can browse for quite a while. (And who knows, maybe someday I’ll get into graphic novels. I just read my first one, Persepolis, and it was great!)

On Friday (Apr. 18), Star Clipper kicks off something you’ll definitely want to browse: the St. Louis Munny Show 3.0. Munnies are vinyl dolls that serve as a blank canvas for artists (to get an idea of how that canvas can be covered, check out the photos from last year’s show). This year’s theme is The Future, and the munnies have all converged on Star Clipper in preparation for their big show, which runs until the end of May. Although you can see the display anytime the store’s open, Friday’s free-admission event will be well worth attending. For starters, the shop has lined up DJ Mahf, one of the movers and shakers on St. Louis’ hip hop/DJ stage right now, to spin at 7 p.m. (A note of shameless self promotion: I interviewed him a few weeks ago for an article in the May issue of Alive magazine and was greatly impressed by both his eloquence and the sheer number of projects in which he’s involved.) The exhibit opening gala also serves as a celebration of the store’s 20 years in business, so there will be prize giveaways and other attractions (like beer for the parents!).

For details on the show, visit the event Web page on the store’s site or call 314.725.9110. And if you can’t make it Friday, you might want to mark May 3 on your calendar, because Star Clipper is participating in the national Free Comic Book Day.

Union Station kicks off the outdoor free concert season (Apr. 17)

The forecast for Thursday (Apr. 17) promises spring, and I’m exceedingly excited to take in our first outdoor concert of the season over at Union Station. OK, so technically the stage is in a covered pavilion, but the roof is high enough that you’ll still feel the tantalizing, 70-degree caress of open air. (And maybe this time spring will stick around like it’s supposed to!)

Although we’re big fans of setting up a picnic on grass at outdoor concert venues, at this time of year the concrete patio on the west end of the downtown mall (called the South Plaza Lake Stage) will probably be more comfortable than any soggy patch of grass. As is typical with outdoor concerts, you can bring snacks and chairs and plan to camp out, as it were, for the duration, 5 to 8:30 p.m. The opening band is Klose’nuff (led by Mark Klose of K-Hits radio station, 96.3 FM), playing classic rock favorites. Then Heartsfield takes over, with its tagline “Rockin’ the Country,” and that pretty much describes what you’ll be hearing.

The Sounds at the Station series is every third Thursday from April to September, and the lineup posted online looks great. Next month’s show, Gentleman Auction House, is a great opportunity to see one of St. Louis’ hottest bands without paying a cover at a bar or buying concert tickets. And that sums up what I love so much about St. Louis’ open-air concert tradition — it seems every musician and band in the city is willing to play these shows, even if their next gig will be at a sold-out concert hall in New York City.

A squeaky clean theater classic (anytime)

In a little room tucked away across from the Old Spaghetti Factory on Laclede’s Landing, there’s a set of 3-foot-high fiberglass teeth that ring a small stage. For those with dentophobia, the room full of tools and dental relics could be a torture chamber — but the whole point of the Dental Health Theatre is to get at kids before their attitude toward dentistry takes that turn toward phobia. The theater’s been around 31 years — some of my friends remember attending it as kids themselves — and the message is so simple that I initially wondered how they’d get an hour-long show out of encouraging kids to brush and eat healthy foods. I also wondered if S. would sit still for an hour of talking that would be completely over his head.

No worries on that score — the light-up teeth fascinated him, as you can see, and he stayed tuned in for way longer than I expected, until the marionette performance about a boy who ate too much candy. Then he climbed into my lap and took a little snooze until the lights came back up. Some of the other toddlers in our group lost interest too, but the rest of the audience, grade-schoolers on a field trip, seemed quite fascinated by it all.

The theater books groups of 15 or more (counting parents and kids) on weekday mornings at 314.241.7391. It’s free admission thanks to Delta Dental and all the local dentists who sponsor it through the Greater St. Louis Dental Society. Our own dentist’s name was on that list, and I thought of her as the schoolchildren eagerly anticipated their free toothbrushes as they exited the theater — she hands out toothbrushes at Halloween, and I’m sure she gets such a much less enthusiastic reception for her message then!

Inventive music for young and old(er) kids (Apr. 12 and 19)

The upcoming two Saturdays showcase two ends of the music spectrum for kids. The first, for ages 2 and up, is Robert Fishbone, a local musician, drummer and storyteller. We haven’t seen his show before — and therefore I’m really curious — but his Web site has some interesting songs posted and the PR description sounds appealing: He performs “musical selections from cultures around the world, plays unusual instruments, and sings in strange vocal styles during an interactive, family-friendly show.” Unfortunately, the event is not being well promoted (the library’s main site doesn’t have it listed, but it is on the family section of the events calendar) but it is definitely on for 1:30 p.m., and you can call 314.241.2888 and ask for youth services to learn more. The location at this point is the Central Library’s children’s room, but it may move to the events pavilion depending on the size of the crowd.

The second event is also at a public library, this time the Baden branch, where a group of local rappers will present their craft to young adults from age 16 to 25 on Saturday (April 19). They’ll demonstrate different rap styles and explain how they compose lyrics using poetry and riddles. They’ll also talk about the music industry. It’s at 1 p.m., and it is listed on the library’s events calendar.

Three cheers for the missionary [sandwich] (anytime)

In her quest to pair wine with every food imaginable, oenophile Natalie MacLean mentioned in her e-newsletter recently that April 12 is national grilled cheese day. Since she’s Canadian, I had to check out if she meant in her country or mine … and that’s when I found out that this whole MONTH is dedicated to grilled cheese. M. is going to flip when he hears that, because grilled cheese is far and away his favorite food.

It turns out that the April 12 holiday is an American one. In the course of my research, I also learned that the classic bread-butter-cheese combination is called the missionary sandwich. Who knew? Find that and other related factoids at The Official Grilled Cheese Blog.

M. is a missionary sandwich man. He doesn’t necessarily have to have Cheddar, but he does need a yellow cheese. But the rest of us have long since branched out. The current favorite is raclette cheese with fig jam on hearty, whole-grain bread. This summer we may veer toward something lighter, especially when we’re firing up the grill more often and can actually “grill” our cheese rather than “toast” it in the frying pan!

The magic of worm poop (Apr. 12)

We don’t have “real” pets at our house. Allergies preclude cats and dogs; fish are out because I’m not a water person; gerbils and hamsters are too likely to die (and M. got so upset about the Christmas tree that I know exactly what would happen, and I REFUSE to go through similar mourning for rodents).

Instead, we have worms. Thousands of ‘em. In the backyard compost bin. Well, in the ground too, and the boys love to dig them up (especially at this time of year when the huge ones are still right near the surface). But for five or six years now we’ve been vermicomposting our fruit and veggie scraps in a plastic tub in the back yard, and I have to say it’s been phenomenally easy. And the compost has gone a long way to making the salt-and-asphalt-doused flower beds along the street habitable for live plants again.

There are plenty of sites with directions on how to get started, so I’ll leave the explanations to them. I do have a couple pieces of advice:

1. Don’t bother mail-ordering worms. Get red wigglers from your local bait and tackle shop (ours is the 42-year-old family business Paul’s Bait and Tackle on Chippewa).
2. Use plenty of shredded newspaper, especially if your waste tends to be soggy (lots of coffee grounds, etc.) because worms don’t like sogginess.
3. If the worms die, and the kids happen to check on their “pets” and freak out, it’s easy to replace them with no one the wiser.

If you’re not sure how your kids will do with worms, check out the class at the Columbia Bottom Conservation Area in St. Louis this Saturday (Apr. 12) at 10 a.m. Participants will learn about vermicomposting and create a suitable habitat where the magic can happen (you can bring an old cooler if you have one). Registration ends Friday, so call 314.877.6014 to sign up.  Parents can sign up for the simultaneous session on native plants (also free) at the same number.  For details, visit the Web site.

And don’t be surprised if soon your kids, like mine, are pointing out worm poop in the garden!

Combatting sticker shock at the grocery store (anytime)

Yesterday I made a quick stop at Jay International Foods on South Grand, and I happened upon a run on rice. Customers in the aisles were quoting the recent prices of rice to each other, and at the checkout there were customers whose carts were loaded with 20-pound bags of rice — and nothing else. The checker said the price will go up again next week, and I confirmed this later in the day with a neighbor who’s a food wholesaler. He said the eventual price rise could be 40 percent. And since this is cheap imported rice, the rise is due to transportation costs, not more U.S. farmers planting corn (since corn doesn’t grow in those rice bogs down in Mississippi and Arkansas anyway).

It really got me thinking about how immigrants must feel when these price jumps occur. We Americans aren’t used to them — but imagine if you were coming from a country where they used to happen a lot, because of civil unrest or some other reason. Wouldn’t it be disconcerting?

My market experience dovetailed with an article in the Post over the weekend, “Belts tighten as everyday costs balloon.” One of the sources in it is a mother of a 2-year-old who started a coupon exchange Yahoo group last month. I know parents coming up with other communal ways to save money, too — a playgroup organizing a babysitting co-op, for example — and while I’m as uneasy about the economic future as everyone else, I think it’s great that people seem to be reaching out to one another to overcome potential cash shortfalls.

And in that spirit, here are some worthwhile links:

• Money Saving Mom blog
• A national database of thrift stores, searchable by zip code
• A community of bloggers who’re all about saving money — some more a propos than others
• The AgriMissouri list of local farmers’ markets for this region (some, like Kirkwood, have already started their seasons; the rest begin in May)

Cool Art, Hot Jazz festival (Apr. 5 and 6)

This weekend is one of the best opportunities in awhile to get a look at local artisans and artists in fiber, clay, wood, photography, sculpture, mixed media, painting, jewelry, glass and more. And, as the Cool Art, Hot Jazz name implies, the music is going to be first rate, too, starting Saturday (Apr. 5) at 10 a.m. with the excellent guitarist Dave Black (who happens to be extremely kid-friendly — he’s even let M. handle his guitar strings a time or two).

The festival runs until 5 p.m. Saturday and from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday (Apr. 6). The location is Queeny Park, 550 Weidman Road in Manchester, a space large enough to handle the scores of artists exhibiting. Admission is free for kids under 18 and $5 for adults. There’s a kids’ area (what would an arts festival be without one???) but no special food court. For details, visit the Web site or call 314.889.0433.