Places to Go, Things to Do

County fairs, home movie day and more

If you'd like to visit a rural county fair, Washington, Mo., has one in early August. If you're more interested in an urban fair, St. Louis County has one early in September.

There are lots of other area outdoor activities for you and your family during the last month of summer vacation.

Each month, Young Saint Louis.com puts together a list of events and activities for the current month that you and your family might like to attend. YSL.com focuses mostly on events where admission is free or inexpensive.

Here are some brief write-ups for August Places to Go, Things to Do:

Washington Mo. Town and Country Fair

The Washington County Town and Country Fair will be held in Washington, Mo., Wednesday through Sunday, Aug. 2-6. It features a Family Fun Center and a number of contests for kids.

The fair is one of the largest county fairs in Missouri.

At the Family Fun Center, where are such exhibits as the Swampmaster Gator Show and Family Martial Arts demonstrations. There's also a "mule nuggets toss."

Among the contests for kids are a bubblegum blowing and jalapeno pepper eating.

For more complete information, visit www.washmofair.com.

History Museum's home movie and kite days

The 3rd annual Home Movie Day will be held Saturday, Aug. 12, at the Missouri History Museum in Forest Park. Hours are 1-3 p.m.

The event is a chance for kids and families to learn more about their own family movies. Experts will tell about preserving the movies and how home movies help to capture 20th Century history.

You'll get a chance to screen your 8mm, Super 8 and 16mm films. No videos or DVDs. You should visit www.homemovieday.com to learn more about signing up for projection time.

Another family event at the museum will be Ben Franklin Kite Day on Sunday, Aug. 13, from 1-4 p.m. Admission is free. Kids can celebrate Ben Franklin's most legendary experiment in finding electricity by flying a kite in a thunderstorm. Kids can create and decorate their own kites from free Frustration Flyer kite kits.

For more, visit www.mohistory.org.

Live on the Levee and "Eats" Bridge events

The "Live on the Levee" and "Eats" Bridge weekends continue into August. Those are a part of the revised Fair St. Louis. Instead of a giant 4th of July weekend, organizers have changed to a series of smaller weekend events.

The "Live on the Levee" musical entertainment and the "Eats" Bridge combination of entertainment and food will be on Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 4-5 and Aug. 11-12.

For more complete information, visit www.fairstlouis.com.

Cahokia Mounds Archeology Day

The Cahokia Mounds Archeology Day will be held on Saturday, Aug. 26, at the Mounds historical site across the river in Illinois. The site preserves the remains of one of the largest Indian communities in North America.

The archeology day event will feature ancient crafts, artifact washing and processing, hands-on activities, tours of the Indian mound excavations and storytelling.

For more information, visit www.cahokiamounds.com.

An Ozark Stream tour and cave exploration

An Ozark stream tour is among a variety of activities for kids and families at Missouri Department of Conservation facilities in the St. Louis area. The stream tour originates from the Powder Valley Conservation Nature Center.

For kids 7 and up, the tour will be on Friday, Aug. 18, from 10 a.m. to noon. Kids will tour a shallow shoal on the Meramec River to look for aquatic insects, crustaceans and minnows.

For reservations, directions and information, call (314) 301-1500.

Another outdoor exploration will be of Rockwoods Cave at the MDC's Rockwoods Reservation in western St. Louis County. The hike is for kids 7 and up and will be on Thursday, Aug. 17, from 1:30 to 3 p.m.

For information and reservations, call (636) 458-2236.

Two County Parks' kids' camps

Among August activities at St. Louis County Parks are two kids' skill camps.

Kid Fit Sports Camp and DramaRama Theater Camp will all be held Monday through Friday, Aug. 7-11. The fitness camp is at the Affton Community Center for kids 5-13. The DramaRama Theater Camp is at the Kennedy Recreation Center for kids 6-12.

For these and other County Park activities, visit www.stlouisco.com.

"Kid Friendly" bicycle tours

Trailnet has four "kid friendly" Kids Bike Club tours during August. Also, there's one more of the Pedal Series of rides associated with St. Louis cultural institutions.

The Kids Bike Club tours are:

On Sunday, Aug. 6, the Fahrrandtour und Augustfest tour from Mascoutah, Ill.. This is associated with Mascoutah's German Heritage Festival.

On Sunday, Aug. 13, the I Scream for Ice Cream tour from Edwardsville, Ill. This includes a stop at Annie's Frozen Custard where riders get a discount on treats.

On Sunday, Aug. 20, the Peach Pedal from Marine, Ill. At the end of the tours, riders are invited to stop at the Mills Apple Farm for peach treats.

On Saturday, Aug. 26, the Gateway of Hope Bicycle Ride from Forest Park. This ride supports the Lance Armstrong Foundation's fight against cancer. A foundation celebration in Forest Park will be from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. with entertainment and refreshments.

The Pedal Series ride on Friday, Aug. 11, is the Planetary Pedal from the St. Louis Science Center's Planetarium in Forest Park. At the end of the 5-mile ride from 5-6 p.m., riders get a free program and can join the outdoor public telescope viewing.

For information, visit www.trailnet.org.

Missouri Botanical Garden free, reduced-rate admissions

The Missouri Botanical Gardens will feature some free and reduced admission days during August.

On Tuesday, Tuesday, Aug. 13, admissions will be only 35 cents in honor of Dr. Peter Raven's 35 years as president of the Garden. Also included is a drawing for a 35-minute, golf-cart tour of the Garden with Dr. Raven.

The Garden also has extended hours on Wednesday evenings, Aug. 13, 23 and 30, with free admission after 5 p.m. The Garden will be open those evenings until 8 p.m.

For more about Garden events, visit www.mobot.org.

St. Louis' Strassenfest

The Strassenfest celebrates the role of German culture in the area's history. This year, it runs from Friday, Aug. 4, through Sunday, Aug. 6, at the Poelker Memorial Park in downtown St. Louis. Admission is free.

Besides the German music, food and other heritage activities, there's a Pepsi Children's Village with special kids activities such as magicians, jugglers, a petting zoo and storytelling.

Hours are from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. each day.

For more information, visit www.strassenfest.org.

 

And now early notice of two events that occur very early in September:

St. Louis County Fair and Air Show

The St. Louis County Fair & Air Show will be held at Spirit of St. Louis airport in west St. Louis County, Friday, Sept. 1, through Monday, Sept. 4.

In addition to daily air shows and fireworks, the fair this year will feature the Dierbergs' Craz E Crew BMX stunt team, the Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, the Boeing "fly-in flight simulator" and the Purina Incredible Dog Team.

For complete information, visit www.stlcofair.org.

Garden's Japanese Festival

The 2006 Japanese Festival will be held at the Missouri Botanical Garden on Saturday, Sept. 2, through Monday, Sept. 4.

This regular feature at the Garden this year will include martial arts, taiko drummers, bon odori dancers and ikebana floral arrangers.

Also, back by popular demand, retired sumo wrestlers Koryu and Sunahama will demonstrate that ancient sport. They have promised to let members of the audience to have a go at them during the one-hour daily event.

For more about the festival schedule, visit www.mobot.org.