In the past week, several moms have e-mailed or commented that it feels as if we’ve lost part of our summer and now we have to scramble to make up for it. Considering the weather in May, it does kind of make sense. All those simple things families like to do as the weather warms up — picnics, playing in the back yard, going for walks — went by the wayside, and now somewhere in the backs of our minds, we feel compelled to make up those activities on top of the usual early summer activities.
What’s really interesting is that I’ve heard several people express they’re making a list of activities they want to do before summer ends. My initial response was “What’s the hurry? Some schools haven’t even let out yet!” But because the list-makers didn’t even know each other, I think they’ve tapped into an emotional response to the lousy spring. Ironically, I’ve already got my list, based around this blog of freebies, and it’s MILES long!
The next item on it is this: the Wehrenberg Theatres’ free family movies at 10 a.m. on Wednesdays and Thursdays throughout the summer (June 4 to Aug. 14). Twelve of the chain’s theaters are participating on the 10 dates, showing current and classic films like Charlotte’s Web, The Bee Movie, and Horton Hears a Who. To see a full list of films and participating theaters, click this link. Tickets can be reserved in advance, but you need to visit a theater in person to do so. It’s not a bad idea, as this free 13-year-old series is now popular with all generations, not just kiddies. There’s also a special deal on popcorn-soda-fruit snack combos. Mmmm, sugar first thing in the morning. Sounds like a can’t-miss special treat!
What’s next on my list? Check back on Monday …
Three great ways to spend Friday night (May 30)
May 29, 2008
I was at our gate talking to a neighbor today when I realized summer is officially here: The first rivulets of sweat ran down my bra when I was doing absolutely nothing except standing in the sun. I’m sure the happiness will wear off quickly, but for today it feels great. Our water-loving plans are made for tomorrow, and for tomorrow evening (May 30) we’ve got three great options, all outdoors:
- Olivette summer concert series in Stacy Park: A friend from Olivette sent out a notice that her neighborhood is ground zero for a summertime series that kicks off with games an inflatables at 5 p.m., followed by snowangeldust from 7 to 9:30 p.m. The series continues June 8 and 15 and July 13 and 20, with Bob Kuban Brass, The Ultraviolets, The Smash Band and Sh-Boom. The flyer says there’s plenty of parking, but according to my sources that depends on your definition of “plenty,” so you probably want to come early. Bring picnics or purchase food on site. For details, call Olivette Parks and Rec at 314.991.1249.
- Jungle Boogie at the Saint Louis Zoo: This annual series needs little introduction — it’s a summertime classic. This week’s band is Motown group Arvell and Co.; music is from 5 to 8 p.m. at the central plaza. Jungle Boogie continues throughout the summer (nearly each week; check the schedule online for details).
- Parents as Teachers end-of-year picnic: At pavilion #2 in Forest Park, one of my favorite early-childhood education programs is celebrating another successful year with a boatload of activities for kids, from parachute games to tie-dye spraying. The event runs from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. and includes a bike-fitting workshop (but you have to call ahead for that at 314.454.5437. Helmets will be available for $8, or you can bring your own). They’ll provide popsicles, but it’s BYO for other foods and beverages.
We finally made it to the Missouri Botanical Garden to see the Niki exhibit. (“See” is the operative word, because really only a few of the sculptures are open for frolicking, and it drives me a little nuts to see parents ignoring the “do not touch” signs while I’m trying to explain to my own kids why they can’t play there.) The boys’ favorite pieces were the guardian lions, which were perfect for both 5-year-olds and 2-year-olds at different levels. M. and S. always have a blast at the garden, but today was particularly fun because the weather was perfect for running around — not too hot, not too cold, not raining!!
Did you happen to hear we got FOUR INCHES of rain over the weekend? If you’re keeping track, we’re now at around 28 inches for the year, about 12 1/2 above normal.
Because I love free, we entered the garden just before noon to take advantage of the free admission for city/county residents Wednesday mornings (the deal is in effect Saturday mornings too). I didn’t realize it applied to the whole group, but I was happy that not only did I get in free and the kids get in free because they’re under five, but the two other adults in our party got in free too. Whoopee! That made the prices at the cafe seem a little less stiff when we indulged in lunch there.
All adults are free to the children’s garden too, as is S. because he’s not 2 yet, so for $3 total we spent a wonderful two hours chasing all around the garden. It’s really beautiful this year — the newly planted look is gone, probably thanks in part to all the rain. We saw quite a few adults without kids exploring the new areas too, which I thought was nice.
It wasn’t quite warm enough for me to let the kids get soaked in the water play sprinklers, and the garden hadn’t turned on the pop jets yet. However, I’m fully expecting Friday to be our big, breakthrough all-the-water-you-can-handle day. We’ll most likely go to Tower Grove Park, because those fountains and pop jets have been on since May 1. I also swear that I saw water in the wading pool Saturday when I was at the farmers’ market, but the homepage says it doesn’t open until June 14. I forgot to call and check it out during business hours today, but if you want to know for sure before you go, try this number: 314.771.2679.
But I digress — I meant to add that tonight is the first of the botanical garden’s late-evening hours: Admission is free on Wednesdays from 5 to 8 p.m. from Memorial Day through Labor Day. The children’s garden has free admission for kids from 5 to 7 p.m. Next week (June 4), the Whitaker Music Festival kicks off with Erin Bode at 7:30 p.m., and it runs through Aug. 13 — but one need not picnic at the concert area to experience a lovely Wednesday evening at the garden.
Movin’ and Groovin’ kiddie-style (May 28 and Aug. 9)
May 27, 2008
After an unexpectedly extended weekend, I’m back with a quick tip on an event bright and early tomorrow morning (May 28): an open house for Kindermusik at the Des Peres Lodge from 9:30 to 10:15 a.m. I’ll admit this is short notice, but my bet is that there are still spaces available (call 314.434.9496 to find out and register). The objective is to introduce new families to the Kindermusik concept (a combination of movement and rhythm-making that gets kids and parents grooving along with music) in the hopes that they’ll find a summer camp or fall session at the St. Louis Kindermusik Academy that fits their schedule. It’s also a benefit for the Saint Louis Symphony (a $5 donation to the cause gets you free admission to the open house).
We’re not eligible for the open house because we’re longtime fans of Kindermusik. M. had a school-year’s worth of weekly classes (thanks to a preschool that hired an excellent Kindermusik instructor, Karen Zelle) and occasional summer sessions too. He has always loved music, but the classes helped him find the beat and really notice that his body could work in unison with it.
If you can’t make the event tomorrow, there’s another chance on Aug. 9 at the Jewish Community Center’s Marilyn Fox Building in Chesterfield. The contact number is the same, or you can e-mail kmacademy@kindermusikstl.com.
I recently noticed a tiny ad for the St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission’s online coupons, and after exploring the site a little, I found a treasure trove. Ted Drewes, the Magic House, the Science Center, the Zoo, the Butterfly House and more classic summertime institutions offer either 2-for-1 admission or discounts on tickets and merchandise. That particular document is a .pdf, so you can print out only the page(s) you need. A few of the savings, like the $10 off on Cardinals tickets in June and $5 off in July, are redeemable online.
And speaking of the Cardinals, as I was buying tickets at the window last week, the cashier reminded me that the very topmost seats in the stadium have children’s pricing, as do the standing-room-only tickets. It’s a good deal — roughly a third the price of an adult ticket — and for kids who don’t care how close they are to the field, it’s definitely the way to go. To see where they’re at, visit the team’s homepage and magnify the seating chart.
Another money-saving deal of which I was only peripherally aware is the St. Louis Family Attractions card. It’s available at Schnucks, Dierbergs and Shop N’ Save, but there’s also an online version that includes savings on hotels, Amtrak tickets, restaurants, museums, and more. You’ll definitely find at least a couple of places to use it, especially if your summer travel plans are shrinking due to the cost of gas and airline tickets.
Experience an African mosaic (May 23-26)
May 22, 2008
About 10 years ago, my husband came up with the idea of a trip to Africa. Not a safari, mind you, or a visit to one of history’s great civilizations … no, he wanted to go to this little nation that no one (myself included) had ever heard of: Sao Tome and Principe. It’s right on the equator, a few islands sprinkled just off the coast of Gabon. The draw for him was that it was a rare destination for ham radio, his beloved hobby, and while he didn’t mind my companionship, I suspect the real reason he wanted me along was for the luggage allowance my ticket would provide him. Our trip in 1999, in hindsight, was a little comical: He and a German friend holed up in a very nice hotel (the kind frequented, we learned, by cacao company executives and UN representatives) working the radios, while I explored the island. Its main historical relevance was as a stopover where slave ships loaded up on potable water for the Atlantic voyage; due to mosquito-bourne diseases and other factors, it was never populated until the Portuguese imported their own plantation labor in the 1500s.
As a microcosm of Africa, Sao Tome and Principe is pretty relevant today: Its cacao industry has a hard time against the larger ones in Cote de Ivoire and other countries, but its off-shore oil fields and fishing grounds are rich, making it a highly popular international partner. When we were there, in 1999 and again in 2000, Taiwan was “sponsoring” all kinds of government buildings — libraries and ministries, for example — in what was rumored to be a quid pro quo for fishing rights. Residents could see the trawlers at night, just on the horizon, and everyone knew the wooden dugouts they still used were simply no match. At that time, the American presence was minimal, just a Voice of America radio station staffed by a few engineers. Today, on the other hand, thanks to Sao Tomean oil, I’ve heard that the American presence is much larger, including a military presence.
What does all this have to do with free events in St. Louis? It’s an introduction to one of the many little pieces that make up the African mosaic, something most of us have almost no knowledge of — to us it’s one large, uniformly mysterious continent, but in fact it has a huge diversity of peoples and histories, and its future is wide open. This weekend’s St. Louis African Arts Festival (May 23 to 26) is a great opportunity to learn a little more, particularly about the arts from various countries and cultures. The schedule on the homepage is full of dance troupes, drummers, musicians and storytellers, as well as a film series (Saturday, May 24 only) and tie-ins at the Saint Louis Art Museum and Zoo. Most of the events take place in Forest Park, centered around the World’s Fair Pavilion.
I’m unfamiliar with most of the performers, but I did note that Coco Soul headlines Saturday’s 6 p.m. show, and I have to say that M. is driving me a little crazy ever since we saw her downtown last Sunday at the Annie Malone Bluesfest. She started off her set there doing a call-and-response that ended with “Somebody scream!” Now he goes around “Wooo-oh”ing and “Da-da-da”ing and SCREAMING as loud as he can.
Be sure to bring cash along for the vendors in the marketplace as well as the food booths, which will have both African-American and straight African dishes. For more info, call 314.935.9676.
In 1855, early on the morning of May 21, a small group of slaves and their conductors from the Underground Railroad attempted to escape across the Mississippi River from Missouri into the free state of Illinois. They left from the home of Mary Meacham, a free black woman whose role in transporting slaves to freedom is legendary. Some of the group were caught, including a woman named Ester and her two children, who belonged to Henry Shaw (a prominent St. Louis hardware merchant of the day whose name you may have heard in conjunction with the founding of Tower Grove Park and the Missouri Botanical Garden, among other philanthropic works). His records are among the official documents supporting the Underground Railroad’s work, a rare piece of publicity for an organization whose work was only possibly thanks to its secrecy. (And I hope someday, someone with some time on his/her hands will update Shaw’s bio on Wikipedia to reflect this piece of history!)
On Saturday (May 24) at 3 p.m., the seventh annual Mary Meacham Freedom Crossing Celebration will feature a reenactment of the daring crossing, complete with costumed participants traveling in secret compartments on wagons to the staging point (part of the National Park Service’s Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Program) and a pursuing posse on horseback. For children who’re old enough to understand both the drama and the underlying history, this promises to be a memorable event — and one that will probably lead to some good questions.
Other action at the celebration, which runs from noon to 5 p.m., includes a gospel choir, an actor portraying Frederick Douglas, food, crafts and historical displays. The sponsor organizations range from Grace Hill Settlement House to Trailnet to the National Black Tourism Network, so I anticipate a well-done festival all the way around.
For details and directions to the site, read the St. Louis Frontpage site’s writeup ( it’s the second brief as you scroll down) or call Doug Eller at Grace Hill, 314.584.6703.
Much as I love the Shakespeare Festival’s annual performances in Forest Park, they are one of the few free events to which I will not bring my kids. They’re mine! I love the natural ampitheater, the picnic-in-the-park atmosphere and the festival on the green before the actual play, but most of all I love the chance to be drawn into another world. I find that while I’m watching a really good production of a Shakespeare drama, I get so caught up by the language and the situation that I start to believe in it. For example, a couple of years ago during Julius Caesar, when I heard his wife’s impassioned plea for him to stay home that day, I thought that maybe, just maybe, this time he would.
I love my kids dearly, but there is no way that I can be in their presence and still concentrate so fully on a play that I lose my historical bearings!
However, last year I made an exception to my no-kids rule. My mom and I took along a teenage friend — mind you, he was not a Shakespeare-loving kid! — and I was a little worried he’d spoil it for me just by not buying into the play. But he succumbed to the spell too; it helped that Much Ado About Nothing was staged in a western town so he could at least relate to the costumes.
But every year I see plenty of parents whose kids are happily running around during the green show, watching fire-eaters and jugglers and wandering troubadours, and maybe even the ultra-condensed version of the play … and then those same kids turn wriggly and sleepy by the time the show starts at 8 p.m. Believe me, your toddlers will NOT want to fall asleep during the show, and you’ll wind up pacing at the rear of the audience, either carrying a bundle of joy or pushing a stroller, trying in vain to lull them to sleep. And then you’ll miss the whole play! It’s not that the kids disturb me — far from it! No, I feel heartsick for the parents who’re missing the world-class entertainment.
And speaking of world-class entertainment, I finally took the boys back to their favorite stream in Forest Park (the rapids a little below the Muny’s lower parking lot) and shot video of S. watching the ducks. He loves, loves, loves that park and that water and those ducks — he asks about them at least once a day, saying in his little voice, “Bye-bye duckies? Bye-bye water? Bye-bye park?” But now he can watch the duckies whenever he wants. And M. fulfilled his aspiration of crossing one of the small waterfalls all alone. Granted, the water is only ankle-deep, but I confess to a little trepidation as I watched him go. Those rocks would be sharp if he fell! He was fine, and now we have footage of his big adventure too.
Aside from playing in the stream, trekking through the pine trees and gathering up free fire kindling throughout the winter on the lower Muny lot (don’t ask me why the kids love this so much — I think it has something to do with being a boy and collecting objects from nature), we have not taken advantage of most of the park’s other activities. We’ve not yet rented a boat, nor have we rented bikes in front of the visitors’ center on Saturdays and Sundays. However, if your kids are old enough to ride, you might want to check it out, because they’ve added kid-sized bikes too. (The rate is $10 an hour or $25 for half a day; call 314.361.4477 for details.)
The Shakespeare Festival’s play this year is The Tragedy of King Richard III. It runs from Wednesday (May 21) to June 16, every night except Tuesdays. Weeknights tend to be less crowded, but you’ll still want to arrive early for a primo spot and plenty of time to picnic. The green show starts at 6:30 p.m.; the play starts at 8. If it rains beforehand but stops by curtain time, and if they can get the stage dry, the show will go on as scheduled. If you’re not sure about the weather, call the rain hotline at 314.631.9800 x7.
Strawberry festivals go on, whether or not the berries are ready (May 17, 18, 24 and 25)
May 16, 2008
This rainy weather that’s driving all our kids stir-crazy is also making farmers a little antsy. Corn and soybeans can’t be planted in soggy fields; berries aren’t ripening because there’s not enough warm, sunny weather. The upside is that cool-weather peas, lettuce, spinach, asparagus and radishes are fabulous! But nobody has a spinach festival … this time of year, it should be all about strawberries. Problem is, they’re just starting to ripen. Eckert’s Belleville location is going ahead with its strawberry festival this weekend (May 17 and 18), even though the pick-your-own patch probably won’t open until next weekend at the earliest. The store will have some home-grown strawberries for sale, as well as other produce, preserves, festival foods and frozen custard.
The festival itself (9 a.m. to 5 p.m.) is free, as are the music (from noon to 4 p.m.) and the wagon rides. Other activities are pay-as-you-go, so be prepared in case your kids want to do the petting zoo, pony rides, inflatable or carnival rides. These fees have caused complaints from parents in the past, and now Eckert’s is careful to publicize them in advance, but I still think they’d do themselves a PR favor to have a completely free event. The drive from downtown St. Louis to the farm on Belleville’s eastern fringe is just under half an hour. For details, call 618.233.0513.
Another Illinois-side strawberry festival takes place Memorial Day weekend (May 24 and 25) at the Macoupin County Historical Society’s grounds in Carlinville. This is an old-fashioned fair in the sense that there’s breakfast starting at 7 a.m. (biscuits and gravy, sweet rolls, applecause, rhubarb sauce, etc. — and you just know someone’s grandma is heading up the kitchen!) Other food later in the day includes homemade chicken and noodles, ham and beans, sandwiches, strawberry shortcake, rhubarb shortcake, barbecued pork chop sandwiches, porkburgers, etc.
What really reminds me of county fairs back in the day is the antique tractor show, the volunteers demonstrating artisan crafts, the blacksmith show, the bluegrass festival, a nondenominational hymn sing, a flea market, a toy show … you get the idea. The drive from our house to Carlinville is about an hour, and although I can’t promise we’ll make it to the Red Barn for breakfast by 7 a.m., I do anticipate getting an early start to the day so the boys can nap on the way home.
If you have questions, you can call the historical society at 217.854.2850. And MANY THANKS to Misty, who sent me the link for the online info site this afternoon — turns out the event is called the Spring Festival on the homepage, but the Strawberry Festival in the Carlinville newspaper, which is where I got my info, thanks to another kind person who sent me a tearsheet!
