STL Free For All

The screen printing and screaming will not be simultaneous — unless they’re doing a whole different technique from any I’m familiar with!  (To see for yourself how painless the process is, check this link.)  The St. Louis Public Library’s screen-printing workshops are in coordination with the Contemporary Art Museum, guaranteeing that they’ll exceed the ordinary.  The first one is Thursday (July 10) at the Baden branch from 4 to 5 p.m; the second is at the Carondelet branch on July 29 from 4 to 5 p.m.  The tagline is Metamorphosis Meets Fashion, which didn’t lure me much, until I read the details on the library’s events page (click this link, then click on the dates, 10th or 29th, on the calendar at top left).  The Metamorphosis part comes from the groups of teens who’ve helped the art museum come up with images for the screen printing; the Fashion part comes from the instructors’ assisting participants in selecting the garments that best suit them and individually guiding them through the screen-printing process using professional products.

So, you ask, what about the screaming?  Well, the intrepid performer Babaloo is again doing his summertime library tour, with dates throughout the St. Louis region (most in the St. Louis County Library system) and across Illinois too (check out his city park show, those of you in O’Fallon, Illinois!).  His homepage has a schedule for July, along with numbers to call for more info on each of the venues.

For weeks now there’ve been some creepy-lookin’ critters hanging around on the walls at four St. Louis shops that otherwise might not have much in common. It’s an invasion of sorts — straight from the wildest dreams of very creative crafters. The creatures are on display during a four-part art show, “Crammed Organisms,” that debuted early in June at Star Clipper, a comic store in The Loop, and includes Subterranean Books (also in The Loop), Cranky Yellow and APOP Records (both on Cherokee Street). Each Friday in June, one of the locations hosted an exhibit opening; its respective show will run for six weeks from that date. You can figure out the whens and wheres on the homepage; if you’re still in doubt, call the organizer, David Wolk, over at Cranky Yellow, 314.773.4499.

If you’re crafty — or, better yet, if your kids are crafty — and want to participate in next year’s show, start putting your brain to work now! Jot down nightmares, take inspiration from preschoolers’ artwork, picture your boss as the monster she is … then take a needle to it, because that’s the unifying theme of the exhibit: all 700 “plushies” are stuffed animals. To get an idea of what kids did for this year, under a theme of Fairy-Folk-Fable, check out the exhibit at Subterranean Books, where the children’s creations are in the front window.

And, naturally, while you’re hitting these venues to see the show, you’ll want to browse the four eclectic, independently owned stores — a comic store, bookstore, junque shop and record store, respectively. Which reminds me, I’m almost out of the pirate stationery I picked up at Star Clipper the last time I wrote about it, for the munny show …

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.

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.

The Festival of Nations in Tower Grove Park is one of our summer highlights, despite the August heat and the hordes of culturally curious people. To avoid those two downsides but still get a taste of the international aura, head to the Central branch of the St. Louis Public Library on Saturday (May 3) for a Mini-Folkfest. There’ll be storytellers and bands, demonstration booths and games — just like at the regular festival — but this free event is indoors (no heatstroke risk!). It runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with activities scattered throughout the library’s multi-purpose rooms. Although there’s no schedule posted yet, some of ethnicities represented by performers or artisans include Korean, Turkish, Mexican, German, Hungarian and Native American. For details, call 314.539.0348.

The only downside that I can see is that the fabulous food booths of the International Institute’s big event on Aug. 23 and 24 won’t be present at the library. There’s still food nearby — check out the vendors at the Christ Church Cathedral’s Flower Festival or the nearby restaurants, especially along Washington Avenue (keep in mind that this is downtown, though, so some eateries will be closed at lunchtime on a Saturday).

Ever since we moved to St. Louis seven years ago, Cherokee Street has fascinated me. There’s the eastern half, with the antique shops and modern art galleries and a handful of eateries, separated by the great Jefferson Avenue divide from the western half, where the flavor becomes more deliciously Mexican and Central American. Then there’s the far-western fringe with interesting ideas for art galleries, shops and theaters percolating.

What’s great about all the sections of Cherokee, even the dicier ones, is the pervasive sense that soon things will improve, that some unknown tipping point has almost been reached, that everyone is finally working together. You’ll get a good sense of that this Saturday (May 3) at the Cinco de Mayo street festival between Nebraska and Iowa (west of Jefferson). In past years it’s had ups and downs — one year was freezing cold, another there was internal wrangling that scrapped the whole thing — but for the past two years both Mother Nature and the organizers have been on the same page, and some good ideas have blossomed. My hopes are high for this year’s festival, which combines the best from 2006 (lots of mariachi music) with the best from 2007 (getting rid of the ridiculous fenced-off area for the bands and alcohol sales).

The music lineup runs the entire day, 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., and alternates between authentic Mexican and rock-funk-jazz groups (see the schedule here). We’re having trouble deciding when to go; Javier Mendoza is one of my favorite local artists; Boogie Chyld is one of my husband’s, and the mariachis are just plain fun — they get the whole crowd salsa dancing (and if you’re up for it, you’ll have no shortage of partners, because this is the kind of festival where strangers embrace each other in the best sense of the term). My enthusiasm for the food — authentic seafood ceviche, corn on the cob with mayo and shredded cheese, open-face savory tacos and smooth, cool horchata — runs a close second to my enthusiasm for the music.

The festival is a great introduction to Cherokee, and while you’re in the neighborhood you should definitely explore a little further to the east. My pick for this weekend (and yes, I’m a bit biased about it, because it involves my kids!) is an art show, Only Connect, at Boots Contemporary Art Space, 2307 Cherokee, featuring the work of students from the Soulard School. M.’s preschool class will have a display, a “found object” sculpture based on the work of Sarah Tse, but the bulk of the exhibit is work by older students, some of whom were mentored over the winter by local artist Cbabi Bayoc. The exhibit runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday (May 3).

After visiting those two events, you’ll have your bearings — and you might just be lured back the following weekend for two more new gallery exhibits. One is across from Boots, at PDH Gallery, where there’s a fun-looking show involving Hello Kitty! and miniature copies of masterpiece paintings by Leslie Holt. It opens next Saturday (May 10) in the evening. The other is on the western fringe, at the Fort Gondo Compound for the Arts, 3151 Cherokee. That new exhibit — described as a peaceful yet powerful montage featuring sculpture by Wesley Fordyce and paintings by Jenna Bauer — opens Friday evening (May 9).

Then you’ll be hooked! And you’ll be hauling your friends along to Cherokee later this spring, when The Stable, one of Missouri’s newest distilleries, opens its restaurant/bar on the site of the old Lemp Brewery stables, near the very eastern end of Cherokee.

It’s back to lousy weather today, but I’m undeterred — I’m still going to post about two outdoor events. And if we’re all wearing parkas, oh well!

The first is the weekly Twilight Tuesdays concert series on the front lawn of the Missouri History Museum. The spring half of the season (it skips the hottest summer months) commences tomorrow (Apr. 29), with smooth jazz from the Bosman Twins from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Over the coming weeks the music will range from classic rock to disco/funk/soul to Motown to classic jazz. The spring finale on June 10 with The Smash Band will have a party feel — and by then the weather will be nice and warm, so hundreds of groups will be scattered around the lawn. Tomorrow’s show may be a little sparser, what with the daytime high predicted in the 50s — but that’s good for you and the kids, because you won’t have to arrive quite so early to find a primo spot. (In case of rain, the concert will be rescheduled; keep tabs by calling 314.746.4599 or by listening to the sponsor radio station, KEZK 102.5.)

In some ways it surprises me that so many people come to a venue where the sightlines to the stage are better from the back, but I think people come as much for the picnic and the Forest Park ambiance as for the music, as great as that music is. And although there’s food for sale from Patty Long Catering, people really do tend more toward picnics — some organizing very elaborate potluck affairs complete with wine and candles, others throwing together brown-bag sandwiches. (That’s my realm, although I usually do find a bottle of wine to bring too!)

At this week’s other outdoor sure-bet series, on Friday night (May 2), there’ll be plenty of music but no band in sight; it’s the Union Station Twilight Under the Train Shed movie series featuring a Grease sing-a-long. You might have already heard about this one — Grease is the second movie — but if not, you’ll definitely want to mark the first Friday of the month on your calendar to see some of the other well-chosen movies (The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Independence Day, Singing in the Rain). There’s a recommended age cutoff of six years, which makes sense since showtime is 8:45 p.m. And I don’t know that I’d bring the young’uns to Rocky Horror anyway! For details, visit the homepage.

Now for one final note: If you read Saturday’s post you’ll know about our crazy daisy experiment. It didn’t go so well! The flowers sucked up some of the food-colored water, but veeeeery slowly and unevenly. They made more progress once we dumped in about 20 drops more food coloring to the half cup of water in the glasses, but it’s been four days now and I think we’ve got all the tinting we’re going to get. Still, it has made for a good lesson in how flowers pull water through their veins, especially in the daisies where we slit the stems and put them into two colors of water.

What surprises me about my kids’ relationship to puppets isn’t that it’s imaginative — that’s a given. It’s that they each branch out immediately in such different directions. M. wants the puppeteer to tell stories, usually by reading along with books and having the puppets act out the drama. S. wants to dance as the puppets sing, and the puppeteer is well advised to choose one of his favorite songs, either Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star or Pop Goes the Weasel. He’s only seen one “real” puppet show where the marionettes were telling a story, and he promptly fell asleep.

On Saturday (Apr. 26) the Missouri History Museum and the Regional Arts Commission are co-sponsoring a tribute to the genre to mark the National Day of Puppetry. There are 45-minute puppet workshops at 11:30 and 1:30 p.m., followed by performances of the same length at noon and 2:30 p.m. These are hands-on events that take place throughout the museum, and they’re all free. For details, visit the museum’s calendar (scroll down the right date) or call 314.454.3150. The regular weekly Storytelling in the Galleries (also free, Fridays at 10:30 a.m. for ages 2 to 6 and Saturdays at 1 p.m. for ages 10 and under) also picks up the puppetry theme, with kids using hand puppets to act out the stories. Ah, perfect for M.! It meets in the exhibit Seeking St. Louis: Reflections.

Other free events at the museum this weekend include a self-guided, five-mile bike ride through some of Forest Park’s lesser-known routes, teens acting in Streetcar Stops on the front lawn at the trolley at 11:30 a.m., and the 2 p.m. Gallery Talk about what the condition of artifacts can tell us about their history.

Yesterday M. and I went to see his babysitter sing in a recital — she’s one of the Opera Theatre Artists-in-Training (see a Fox News segment on the program here). It was a wonderful afternoon, hearing those beautiful voices and seeing 21 teenagers who’re so passionate about their talents.

I haven’t seen the new documentary “Girls Rock!” yet, but I suspect it’s uplifting in the same way as yesterday’s recital. I base that opinion on the review in last Friday’s Post-Dispatch and on the film’s Web site, including background on the Rock ‘N’ Roll Camp for Girls, where the movie is shot. Reviewers say this is a movie you should bring your daughters to, and I’m all for encouraging kids’ aspirations through the example of their peers. That’s why I took M. to see his babysitter in the recital.

You can see the documentary in screenings Tuesday (Apr. 22) and Thursday (Apr. 24) at Webster University’s Moore Auditorium. There is an admission charge for the shows, which begin at 8 p.m. (for admission prices and details see the Webster University Film Series site).

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.