Places to Go,
Things to Do
Fine outdoor events and more in September
Some great outdoor events highlight the September schedule
of Places to Go/Things to Do for St. Louis area kids
and their families.
One of them is the Great Forest Park Balloon Race and another
is the Faust Park Folk Festival.
Another of those events is the Shaw Reserve Nature Day.
The balloon race and folk festival are highlighted in this
article. For information on Nature Day, see the full article
listed on the home page of this edition.
Two other September events that were happening early in the
month were previewed in the August Places/Things feature.
They were the St. Louis County Fair and Air Show (Sept. 1-4)
and the Missouri Botanical Garden's Japanese Festival (Sept.
2-4.)
Each month, Young Saint Louis.com compiles a list
of family-friendly events and activities that are happening
in the current month. We focus mostly on interesting activities
where admission is either free or inexpensive. (Also, when
available, we include Internet links for more information.)
Here are brief write-ups of September Places to Go, Things
to Do:
The Great Forest Park Balloon Race
One
of the neatest outdoor events in St. Louis is the Great Forest
Park Balloon Race. The 33rd anniversary event will be held
September 17-19 and admission is free.
The event opens with the "Balloon Glow" on Friday evening,
Sept. 17, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. This is the time when the anchored
balloons are inflated with their burners working.
The combination of burners' light and evening dusk makes
a wonderful, colorful sight. With balloons tethered, spectators
get an up-close look at the giant balloons and crew.
The race will be held on Saturday, Sept. 18, from Forest
Park's Central Field. Hours are noon to 6:30 p.m. Before lift
off, there will be plenty of other things for kids to do.
The Purina/Alpo Children's Entertainment area will have pony
rides, games and other activities for kids. The U.S. Cellular
Performance Stage will feature local youth talent. The Pepsi
Skydiving Team also will perform.
The
Energizer Hot "Hare" Balloon starts the race with lift-off
at 4:30 p.m. The "Hound" balloons start the chase at 4:45
p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 18, is set up as an alternative race day if
the Saturday race is rained out.
For more information and directions, visit www.greatforestparkballoonrace.com.
Faust Park Folk Festival
The
9th annual Folk Festival will be held Saturday and Sunday,
Sept. 30 and Oct. 1, at Faust Park in western St. Louis County.
Hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day and admission is $3 per
person.
The Faust Historic Village comes alive with re-enactors and
artisans demonstrating pioneer activities and crafts. Demonstrations
include blacksmithing, rail splitting, wheat weaving, cornhusk
doll making and woodcarving.
Other free activities for kids will go on throughout each
day.
For information, call (636) 532-7298 or visit www.stlouisco.com.
Big River Rendezvous
The
11th annual Big River Rendezvous boat trip aboard the Tom
Sawyer Riverboat will be held Saturday, Sept. 23. Hours of
the cruise are from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The cruise will be to the confluence of the Missouri and
Mississippi rivers.
Organizers hope the cruise spectators will get a glimpse
Lewis & Clark re-enactors still on the water as they return
from their two-year Corps of Discovery trip. That trip celebrates
the 200th anniversary of the Lewis & Clark exploration of
the Louisiana Purchase.
Reservations for the Big River Rendezvous will be accepted
until Sept. 20 or until the 150 boat tickets are sold. For
tickets, call (636) 949-2793.
After the boat trip, cruise guests are encouraged to join
the welcoming riverfront activities for the Lewis & Clark
re-enactors. The National Council of the Lewis & Clark Bicentennial
and various Indian environmental groups are planning the welcoming.
For more about that riverfront schedule, visit www.currentsofchange.org.
MDC Outdoor Skills Training Classes
With
various hunting seasons coming soon, the Missouri Department
of Conservation has a number of hunting-related classes scheduled
in September. Most of the classes will be at the Busch and
Henges Range and Conservation Education centers.
Among the classes are instruction in bowhunting, firearm
safety, muzzleloading rifles, turkey hunting, how to zero
your rifle and how to mount a rifle scope.
For a full range of the range classes, visit www.mdc.mo.gov/areas/ranges
and click on either "busch" or "henges."
Trailnet Bike Rides
There
are three kid-friendly Bicycle Fun Club rides scheduled by
Trailnet for September.
The
Mississippi River valley is one of the best places to view
the fall migration of waterfowl. It is estimated that 40%
of all North American waterfowl use the Mississippi as a flyway
to get to wintering grounds in the south. 
Now's
a good time to find out which sites offer the best viewing
of the migrations.