Places to Go, Things to Do

St. Louis County Fair & Air Show and more

(Editor's note: For other fun opportunities in August, check the This Month in Missouri History feature for details on Strassenfest and the Moonlight Ramble bike ride.)

The St. Louis County Fair and Air Show is always a fun, end-of-summer destination for metro area families. This year's event starts on the last day of August.

There's also an abundance of free music concerts in this last month of summer. We will list some of them but be sure to check your local community for musical events near you.

And, the Cahokia Mounds Archeology Day is something different during August.

Or, if you like to make your own fun, check geocaching opportunities or urban fishing destinations. You can learn to make your own food and househood goods in the wild.

(Each month, Young Saint Louis.com compiles a list of activities that would make good places to go or things to do for you and your family. We provide you with links to get more information on the ones you like. For most, the admission is free or inexpensive.)

Here's YSL.com's listing for August:

St. Louis County Fair & Air Show

The St. Louis County Fair & Air Show is one of the premier events in the St. Louis County parks program. This year's fair will be held Friday, Aug. 31, through Sunday, September 2.

The activities are held at the Spirit of St. Louis Airport in Chesterfield.

The event has a county-fair feel about it but with the added dimension of lots of airplanes and flying machines. And, of course, there are fireworks displays.

For more details, either call (636) 530-9386 or visit www.stlcofair.org.

End of summer music concerts

During the summer, St. Louis has lots of musical activities. And, some of the most fun comes with smaller concerts. Be sure to check your hometown to see if there won't be one just down the street from where you live.

The Compton Heights Concert Band will windup its Sunday Serenades and Musical Mondays concerts in early August. These two-hour concerts feature "Sousa-type" march music.

The final Sunday concert is August 5 and the last Monday concert is August 6. Both concerts start at 7:30 p.m. Admission is free.

For information, either call (314) 776-2227 or visit www.chband.org.

The Music on Main concert series in downtown St. Charles also ends in early August. The final concert will be on its regular 3rd Wednesday slot, August 15, from 5-7 p.m. Admission is free.

For information, call (636) 946-7776 or visit www.historicstcharles.com.

Cahokia Mounds Archeology Day

Cahokia Mounds Archeology Day in Illinois will be Saturday, August 25, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

There will be demonstrations of ancient crafts, artifact washing, tours and storytelling.

For directions and information, call (618) 346-5760 or visit www.cahokiamounds.com.

Geocaching opportunities

If you're going to do any geocaching, you'll need to get yourself a GPS device. But, once you get that, you'll be able to find all the other directions on the Internet.

And there are plenty of geocaching sites in the St. Louis area. For instance, there are more than 50 cache destinations along the Grant's Trail in South St. Louis alone.

The St. Louis Area Geocaching Assn. has a website, www.geostl.com. If you're going to be in other parts of the country, you can get more comprehensive information by using the official geocaching website, www.geocaching.com.

Urban Fishing destinations

You don't have to be a country kid to be able to find fishing opportunities near home.

The Missouri Department of Conservation has an Urban Fishing Program. St. Louis got its first urban fishing opportunities as far back as 1969. Some of the fishing sites are in community parks and others are in MDC conservation areas.

The state department stocks these lakes with fish ranging from trout in the winter to catfish, carp and bullheads in warmer months.

To find out more about urban fishing opportunities, visit www.mdc.mo.gov/areas/stlouis/fish/fishing/ufp/index.htm. To find out about upcoming fishing clinics, visit www.mdc.mo.gov/areas/stlouis/fish/educate/gofish.htm

History Museum's honors Tuskegee Airmen

The Tuskegee Airmen were African-American flyers who participated in World War II as an all-black flying group. The Missouri History Museum will present two programs in August highlighting their accomplishments.

A number of the flyers were from St. Louis. Joseph Robinson of St. Louis is the president of the Hugh J. White Chapter of the TAI. He will present a Short History of the Tuskegee Airman on Sunday, Aug. 12. The free program begins at 2 p.m. in Lee Auditorium.

Then, on Tuesday, Aug. 14, the museum will show a PBS documentary, Tuskegee Airman. The show starts at noon in the AT&T multipurpose room. Admission is free.

For information, call (314) 746-4599 or visit www.mohistory.org.

Homemade food and household goods

The MDC's Rockwood Reservation has three programs for kids that lets them make household goods and food from wild plants.

The first is Papermaking with Plants on Saturday, Aug. 4, from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. With a minimum of equipment, a small harvest of backyard plants and guidance from papermaking expert Karen Kelly, to can make your own paper.

The second is Soap-Making for Kids on Wednesday, Aug. 8. There are two classes: one from 10:30 a.m. - noon and the other, 1:30 p.m. - 3 p.m. Learn how wildlife is critical to making kid-friendly soaps.

The third is "Wild Jams and Jellies" on Wednesday, Aug. 15, from 10 a.m. - noon. Learn how to turn wild berries into some favorite jams and jellies.

For information and registration for these three, call (636) 458-2236.

Trailnet August ride schedule

Trailnet has a couple Forest Park fun rides for kids in August.

The first is the Puffin Pedal on Friday, Aug. 3, from 3:30-4:30 p.m. This 5-mile ride starts from the St. Louis Zoo and then includes a chance to see new things at the Zoo. You'll also be able to take part in the Friday Night Jungle Boogie Concert Series.

The other ride is the Planetary Pedal on Friday, Aug. 10 from 6 to 7 p.m. This also is 5-mile ride beginning at the McDonnell Planetarium. After the ride, you see a special show from at the Orthwein StarBay at 8 p.m.

For information on other Trailnet rides, visit www.trailnet.org.

Free food at Butterfly House

The Sachs Butterfly House in Faust Park has a special free-food program during August. For every admission to the Butterfly House, a kid receives a free meal voucher for Qdoba Mexican Grill in Chesterfield.

The deal is good for an admission on any Sunday in August.

Or, if you buy a kid's meal at the restaurant, you get a free admission to the Butterfly House.

For Butterfly House information, call (636) 530-0076 or visit www.butterflyhouse.org.

For Qdoba restaurant information, call (636) 530-9595 or visit www.qdoba.com.