So, you missed the International Festival in Tower Grove last weekend, but you still want to get in some foreign culture?  Or maybe the number of Nations gathered was just too overwhelming for you.  Maybe you are looking for something a little more peaceful.

You are in luck, Labor Day Weekend the Missouri Botanical Gardens is hosting its 36th annual Japanese Festival.  This is one of the oldest festivals of its kind in the country.  It predates the Hello Kitty Craze, it predates the American obsession with all quirky things Japanese.  Plus it is just simply beautiful.  If you have never been to the Botanical Gardens you have been missing out on one of the St. Louis’ greatest treasures and a truly inspiring place.  This would be the perfect opportunity for you to right that wrong.

Art, dance, food and entertainment plus all the beauty of the gardens. You can watch traditional Sumo wrestling, an anime movie presentation, see a display of Bonsai trees, watch Taiko drumming and there is a children’s area with traditional games and origami.

There are way too many activities to list but the Candyman grabbed my attention, it’s described this way on their website: “Masaji Terasawa, the Candyman, creates fantasy sculptures of spun sugar, combining conjuring and lion-dancing to create exciting street theater.”  You can check out the full weekend schedule here.

The festival runs from Saturday September 1st – Monday September 3rd

General Admission is $15.00, Seniors $10.00 and $5.00 for children 13 and under

Brought to you by: Mills Properties

Photos Courtesy of: Missouri Botanical Gardens

Melissa Jensen

Melissa is a native of the Greater St. Louis region. She is addicted to anything Google, and cannot understand why motion activated paper towel dispensers never see her hands.

More Posts - Website

Follow Me: