Places to Go, Things to Do

Festivals, football and bicycle and balloon races

The variety of festivals in September provides plenty of good viewing for St. Louis-area kids and their families.

There's Greater St. Louis Hispanic Festival, the Faust Park Folk and Fine Arts Festival, Pioneer Days at Daniel Boone's Home and an all-new Green Homes & Renewable Energy Festival.

One of the most unusual events in the country is the Great Forest Park Balloon Race. That's especially neat for kids when you can get up close to the inflated balloons during the Balloon Glow.

Two of the events on the September "to-do" list are the Tour of Missouri Family Fun Weekend and Shaw Nature Reserve's Prairie Day. We've written full stories on these activities and you can click on them off the home page.

There's a unique sporting event when the Gateway Classic football game matches two historically-black college teams at the Edward Jones Dome.

The Saint Louis Science Center also has announced a new Kids Club to help young kids to get turned on to science.

These are just a few of the events available during September. Enjoy!!

(Each month, Young Saint Louis.com looks up activities and events that are designed for kids and their families. Most of the time, YSL.com is looking for things that don't have much, if any, admission charges.)

Once in a while we make an exception on the "low-cost" tickets. In September, you might want to consider the Disney on Ice presentation of Disneyland Adventure.

Greater St. Louis Hispanic Festival

The Greater St. Louis Hispanic Festival will be held Friday through Sunday, Sept. 5-7, at the Soldier's Memorial in downtown St. Louis. Admission is free.

There will be all sorts of Hispanic activities, including a children's pavilion.

For information, visit http://www.hispanicfestivalstl.com/festivals.htm or call (314) 837-6100.

Faust Park Folk and Fine Arts Festival

The Faust Park Folk and Fine Arts Festival will be Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 20-21. Faust Park is located in western St. Louis County.

Hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission to the historic village is $5.

Among the crafts on display are a blacksmith, rope-making and pottery firing. Also, all the historic buildings in the village will be open for inspection.

Kid's games and activities will be available.

For information, visit www.stlouisco.com/parks or call (636) 532-7298.

Pioneer Days at Daniel Boone's Home

Pioneer Days at the Historic Daniel Boone House and Boonefield Village near Defiance, MO, will be held Sept. 27-28. Hours will be 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The event includes pre-1840 artisans, music and a historic encampment. There will be a black powder shooting demonstration.

For information, call (636) 798-2005 or visit www.lindenwood.edu.

Green Homes & Renewable Energy Festival

The Green Homes & Renewable Energy Festival will be held Saturday, Sept. 27, in the 3600 block of Grandel Square in St. Louis. Admission to the festival is free.

Hours for the festival will be 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The festival is being sponsored by the Missouri Botanical Garden's EarthWays Center.

On Sunday, there will be a tour of 11 "certified green" St. Louis-area homes. Tickets for the Sunday home tour are $10 to $15 each.

There will be a number of activities especially for kids at the Saturday festival. Included will be a chance to create art from recycled materials and build a sun-powered car and then compete in a Solar-Car Derby.

For information call (314) 577-0220 or visit www.greenhomesstl.org.

Great Forest Park Balloon Race

The annual Great Forest Park Balloon Race will be held Friday and Saturday, Sept. 19-20, in Forest Park. Admission is free.

The event starts Friday night with the Balloon Glow. That's when all the balloons are inflated with the hot air and then tethered to the ground. Kids and their families can walk right up to the balloons and see how they work.

The actual race will be on Saturday when all the balloons take off in pursuit of the Energizer Bunny balloon.

For info, visit www.greatforestparkballoonrace.com. Or call (314) 993-2901.

Tour of Missouri Family Fun Weekend

The Tour of Missouri professional bicycle road race will end in St. Louis on Sunday, Sept. 14. Local sponsors have built a two-day Family Fun Weekend around the event.

(For complete details about the race and the weekend activities, go to the full story on this edition's home page.)

One of the key events of the Saturday activities is a chance to ride the same route the professional racers will use on Sunday to complete the cross-state race.

Shaw Nature Reserve's Prairie Day

Prairie Day at the Shaw Nature Reserve will be Saturday, Sept. 20. The hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the reserve which is off I-44 at the Gray Summit exit.

The reserve has been restored to the way Missouri's prairies and forests were before settlement by European immigrants. In addition, there will be old-time artisans and such things as an authentic sod house and an Indian teepee.

(For complete information, click on a full story on the home page of this edition.)

For information, call (636) 451-3512 or visit www.shawnature.org.

Gateway Classic Football

The Gateway Classic football game will be Saturday, Sept. 20, at the Edward Jones Dome in downtown St. Louis. The game starts at 3 p.m. Tickets are $12 to $35.

The game will be between Kentucky State University and Stillman College.

There will be a parade at 10 a.m. from 12th and Market. Another feature of the event is the Battle of the Bands at halftime of the game.

For information, call (314) 621-1994 or visit www.gatewayclassic.org.

Science Center's Kids Club

The Saint Louis Science Center has launched a new Kids Club to give younger kids a chance to learn more about science and have more fun while doing so.

Upon joining the Kids Club, youngsters from 4 through 12 receive an exclusive Kids Club backpack, discounts on Omnimax@ theater tickets and at ExploreStore and Build-A-Bear Workshop.

Kids get an e-mail newsletter. And there will be more discounts at participating stores. There will be special science center activities to Kids Club members.

For information, call 800-456-SLSC or visit www.slsc.org.

Disney on Ice's Disneyland Adventure

Disney on Ice will present a Disneyland Adventure revue Thursday through Sunday, Sept. 4-7, at the Family Arena in St. Charles.

Mickey and Minnie Mouse will be the hosts for the show that includes Baloo of Jungle Cruise, Buzz Lightyear of Space Mountain and Alice and the Mad Hatter. Snow White and Cinderella also will be included along with Pixar's The Incredibles.

Tickets range from $42 to $62. For information, call (636) 896-4000 or visit www.familyarena.com.

Great Fire Engine Rally

The 25th annual Great Fire Engine Rally will be held Saturday, Sept. 6, at the Gateway Arch grounds in downtown St. Louis. Admission is free.

Hours are from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. with a fire truck parade at 10 a.m.

The parade will include 150 fire trucks. A kids' town area will be included.

For information, call (314) 487-9154 or visit www.greatfirerally.com.

National Hunting and Fishing Day

National Hunting and Fishing Day will be celebrated at the Henges Range and Conservation Education Center on Saturday, Sept. 27. The Henges range is located along 1-44, with an exit at Beaumont Antire Road.

Hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The day's activities provide education on the value of conservation funding through hunting and fishing.

A special visitors' perk is one hour of free shooting at any of the ranges. That includes rifle, handgun, archery and shotgun.

For information, visit www.mdc.mo.gov/areas/ranges/henges. Or you can call (636) 938-9548.

Trailnet bike rides

There are two rides sponsored by Trailnet during September.

They are: Flat as a Floodplain ride on Sunday, Sept. 21, starting from the Orchard Farm High School in St. Charles. Registration is from 7:30 to 9 a.m. The routes range from 15 to 40 miles and there are no hills.

Tour de Wildwood will be Sunday, Sept. 28, starting from Lafayette High School in Wildwood. Registration is 7:30 to 9 a.m. Routes are from nine to 48 miles and are moderately to very hilly.

For information, call (314) 416-9930 or visit www.trailnet.org.