St. Louis Wine Festival is a great annual event that includes wine sampling from a selection of…read moremore than 200 wines from around the world. Live local music, food from local restaurants, and a beautiful view at the basin of Art Hill are the backdrop for the festival. Wine seminars and cooking demonstrations are also included. Ticket includes a souvenir wine glass, ten tastings, & Festival Program. This year the event will be held September 27-28, 2008. Saturday, September 27 12:00 to 7:00PM Ticket sales end at 5:30PM, alcohol sampling and sales end at 6:30PM Sunday, September 28 12:00 to 6:00PM Ticket sales end at 4:30PM, alcohol sampling and sales end at 5:30PM Advance tickets are available for $20 (purchase by 9/26/08) or $25 at the door. Order on-line http://www.stlouiswinefestival.com/InPLAY-FestivalFacts.htm or call 888-210-0074. Volunteers are also needed. Contact Fuel to sign up to volunteer for a shift and attend the event for free volunteer@fuelforthecity.org.

What an awesome event! I can't believe it's been going on for 5 years, and yesterday was my first…read moretime attending! The whole thing takes place on Art Hill. A TON of wineries participated in the event, which was neat. I'm not a huge wine person. I couldn't tell you the difference between pinot grigio and chardonnay. I don't know how to pair wines with particular foods. All I know is that I like sweet wines! Every vendor that I spoke with had representatives working who seemed to be very knowledgeable about wines, which was a plus. I tried lots of tasty wines! The entry fee isn't too bad; $25 a person, which gives you 10 tickets for 10 tastings of wine (additional tickets can be purchased for $5 per 10). This year they also had a Stella Artois beer seminar (free!) which was very interesting and informative. I have so much more respect now for (good) beer! If you're not into wine, they also had booths with food from various local restaurants, as well as live music. Super cool event! Can't wait to attend again next year!

Kudos to the LouFest organizers on a fantastic festival this year! This year had a wonderfully…read morediverse lineup of talented acts. I loved the established favorites like Huey Lewis, Snoop Dog, Nathaniel Rateliff, and Weezer as well as the newer artists. ZZ Ward and Lecrae are definitely being added to my playlist. The food options were fantastic! They had everything from Dewey's Pizza and Sugarfire to Vicia and Evangeline's. Something delicious for everyone to nosh on. The lines got long at times as expected, but they moved well. The drink lines were the same. We loved the addition of the Malibu Beach House and the Fizz and Folly area. A bonus that you hardly ever witness at a festival: we never had to wait for more than a minute or two for a porta potty...and there was always paper. This was by far the best festival experience I've had in St. Louis. I can't wait for next year!

Ah, Loufest! 2010-2017. I think its safe to say that the festival is now a thing of the past - but…read moreif it does return sometime in the next few years, go ahead and say "I told you so!". In short, it was fun while it was happened. LouFest was supposed to be one of many "smaller" music and arts festivals that would be nothing like the "big boys" (Bonnaroo, Coachella, Lollapalooza) but more of a community-based festival like the ones that were popping up all over the country. I didn't attend the first five Loufests, regretfully, but the last three years were fun for me and my friends. It seemed that it was getting bigger each year, and the lineup of artists/bands was getting better. Loufest had one of the best diverse lineups, with genres of all kinds as well as past and present acts. 2018 was supposed to have classic acts like Robert Plant and hometowner Michael McDonald, along with current artists like Kacey Musgraves, the Brothers Osborne and Gary Clark Jr. You couldn't find another great lineup nearly anyplace else. Some of the middle-rung acts on the roster were found at some of the other festivals that year (caught some at Bonnaroo) and the headliners were very random. It was always like there was something for everyone, whether you enjoyed local goodness, Christian hip-hop or up-and-coming acts. Because of LouFest, I discovered plenty of great acts I still listen to and enjoy today (Lord Huron, Delta Rae, etc.). You had some of the best indie/alternative headliners such as TV on the Radio and Weezer, along with those that were headlining "big boy" festivals at times (LCD Soundsystem, OutKast). It was no wonder LouFest would have a sell-out attendance in recent years. People came from all around to attend this one-of-a-kind festival. And it wasn't just about the music: it was all about supporting local small businesses - including record stores, and of course the food! It was always great to check out some of the St. Louis-area restaurants and local brews. You had it in a great location in Forest Park - up until last year when they temporarily moved it behind the Muny. It was supposed to happen again this year for different reasons. As the old saying goes, "All good things must come to an end...". Unfortunately, it was a very sad, sudden end as it was announced three days before the 2018 festival that it was cancelled. Let me give you a little background: LouFest was going to continue into 2018, straight after the '17 one. Limited tickets were available in October of last year as well as Black Friday (me and my friend both bought ours that day). Their social media presence was alive and well up until May (the usual time when they announced the lineup). People like me got worried as there was no lineup, but finally in late June of this year, it was announced. Next came all the rumors behind all of the backstage drama. This was all about the financial part, but the people behind Loufest's social media accounts assured things were still happening on 9/8 and 9/9. Well, those rumors were put to rest on 9/5/2018. I really don't need to get into much detail about the cause(s) of the festival's demise. That can be found anywhere online. I do believe one of the reasons the 2018 festival didn't happen was crime. Yes, the C-word that is a common cancer to the St. Louis area. Near the end of August, St. Louis' Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner announced she would be no longer accepting cases from 28 St. Louis police officers. Way to go, Kim. (please note the sarcasm) Coincidentally, this is around the same time the festival's main sponsors bowed out. I'm sure it wasn't just for financial purposes. Of course, the lamestream media is not going to report this. I am glad that people did step up and support the businesses that were to participate in 2018's LouFest. I am still bummed to this day that it didn't happen and how it ended. What even stung more is that Robert Plant (while I'm glad he did perform in St. Louis) played at the Pageant and Loufest ticket holders didn't get first dibs (you know, like a lottery-type of thing...). What really should have been done was moving it to the Dome...after all, it's not like anything is going on there! But, St. Louis and logic don't usually go in the same sentence. Or common sense.

There's nothing like great music in a great park to cool you off during St. Louis' sweltering…read moresummer nights. One of the richest samplings of musicians from across the U.S. can be found at the St. Louis Jazz Fest. Upcoming and past artists like Cassandra Wilson, Tito Puente Jr., Chris Botti, Arturo Sandoval and Al Jarreau provide a musical who's who with some meat to it. The Festival also showcases local talent.

This was an amazing event! Great for the entire family with so many different art forms to embrace…read more Oil, acrylics, acrobats, jewelry, sculptures...you name it, it's at the Clayton Art Fair. Streets are blocked throughout the perimeter so plan to park and walk. Bring a little cash (or a lot) depending on your lifestyle and pay grade lol.. There's so much to see and do. Make a day of it. Thank me later.

This year 2019 was even better. Great jazz bands! I loved…read morethe Syrian foods, and draft beers! The food court have improved tremendously. Love the art works! Excellent weather!!!!

I came by Craft Alliance before the holidays looking for some cute ornaments. Their selection of…read moreglass blown ornaments is beautiful and kept my tree very pretty. The people working there were very nice and helpful in teaching me about the artist and pointing out other items that might be of interest. I plan to keep these for years to come!

Craft Alliance offers camps for kids, classes for kids, teens, adults and 1 day craft seminars. All…read morethe teachers I have had there do a great job of balancing the students interests and aptitudes in the class while allowing freedom to explore and for projects in. I am so thankful to have a place like this in St. Louis. I highly recommend joining as a member and taking some classes (you get a discount as a member)!

What's that, you say? You say it's still too cold in March for the Maplewood Farmers Market?…read more Well. I would've said the same until I realized that the good folks at the Bottleworks allow the farmers to sell their goods indoors during the chillier, off-season months. Having had lovely weather earlier this week, they decided to hold the market outdoors this morning, which, in my opinion, was still a bit too early. Brrrr! But, there was hot coffee and other belly-warming goods on hand, so all was well. Cheery, freshly-cut Spring daffodils waved at us as we checked out the farmers' wares. Farm fresh eggs! Grass-fed beef! Fresh pasta! Amazing goat cheese! Overwintered spinach and fresh arugula and kale! Baked goods, jams & jellies and all sorts of things to make tummies happy! I love farmers markets and the Maplewood one is pretty great. Even better when it's warm and sunny outside, because then the harvest is particularly diverse and bountiful. Once it's growing season and the market is in full-swing, I recommend showing up when the market opens. Lines will already be forming. And I *will* elbow my way through the crowd for a few pints of Biver Farms strawberries.

Farmer's Market mid-week, in front of one of my favorite breweries?!…read more Please and Hell Yes and Thanks. (weekly growler fill-up and cheese stop)