The St. Louis weekend events guide for Thursday, March 31st through Sunday, April 3rd, 2016.

Downtown

Rock ‘n’ Blues Fundraiser Concert: As part of the National Blues Museum Grand Opening, Lumiere Theater will be hosting a pre-opening event this Friday. Blues artists Big George Brock, Shemekia Copeland, and the legendary Bobby Rush will each perform at the concert. The evening will be emceed by Big Llou Johnson, the host of Sirius XM’s Bluesville channel. Tickets are $125. Proceeds from the event will support the museum’s efforts to serve the community with inspiring exhibits, engaging educational programs and entertaining special events.

Date: Friday, April 1
Time: 7pm
Place: Lumiere Theater – 999 N 2nd St

National Blues Museum Grand Opening: The grand opening will begin with a musical procession from the Normandy High School marching band at 9:30am. The band will start marching at the corner of Sixth and Washington Avenue and lead a procession to the front door of the museum. The procession will be followed by remarks from Chairman of the Board Rob Endicott, Executive Director Dion Brown, and Mayor Francis Slay. After the ribbon cutting, the museum will officially open its doors to the public at 10am. Once the doors open, there will be an all-day rotation of live entertainment inside the Lumière Place Legends Room until 4:00 p.m. Blues rock band Phi will kick off the day, followed by performances from blues musicians David Dee, The Jeremiah Johnson Band, Marquise Knox, Jim McClaren, Mickey Rogers, and Renee Smith. Rogers, a singer-guitarist, and McClaren, a harmonicist, are both featured within the museum. The concerts will be emceed by Big Llou Johnson, host of Sirius XM’s Bluesville channel. Visitors can also tour artist H.C. Porter’s “Blues @ Home: Mississippi’s Living Blues Legends” exhibition, which will be on view in the Scott and Diane McCuaig and Family Gallery.

Date: Saturday, April 2
Time: 9:30am to 5pm
Place: National Blues Museum – 615 Washington Ave

Wizard World Comic Con: It’s Comic Con time! Get your costumes ready and come out to see your favorite gaming, comic book, superhero, drama, and sci-fi actors, writers, artists, illustrators, and creators. Celebrity guests include: Dr. Who’s David Tennant, Billie Piper and Matt Smith, Daredevil’s Charlie Cox, Elden Hensen, and Jon Bernthal, William Shatner, S.H.I.E.L.D‘s Elizabeth Henstridge, Halo voice actors Steve Downes and Jen Taylor, Lou Ferrigno, animators Phil Ortiz and Tom Cook, Marvel and Luke Cage & the Defender‘s Mike Colter, and many more. There will be a costume contest for all ages on Saturday and for kids on Sunday.

Date: April 1-3
Time: Fri: 3-8pm, Sat: 10am-7pm, Sun: 10am-4pm
Place: America’s Center – 701 Convention Plaza

St. Louis Blues: Friday night the Blues take on the Boston Bruins for Heritage Night: to honor those who have worn the Blue Note and the special moments that have touched fans over the decades. The first 15,000 fans will receive a commemorative canvas with the theme from that evening. Friday is Hull & Oates Night: Celebrating the 25th anniversary of this incredible 86-goal season of Brett Hull and the 90-assist of Adam Oates. You can also purchase tickets for just $25 to Hull & Oates Unplugged on Thursday, March 31st. Join Brett Hull, Adam Oates, and other friends for a night great stories from their time in St. Louis.

Date: Friday, April 1
Time: 7pm
Place: Scottrade Center

Opening Day Brunch and Watch Party: The St. Louis Cardinals play the Pittsburgh Pirates in the Pirates’ home opener this Sunday. Ballpark Village will be celebrating the start of baseball season with an Opening Day Brunch from 10am to 2pm at Cardinals Nation. They will have brunch, bottomless mimosas and bloody mary’s, prizes and giveaways. Stick around for the watch party on the 40 ft TV with FOX Sports Midwest’s mascot Cleatus, live television broadcast, giveaways inlcuding a VIP Experience for 4 to Saturday’s home game, and Fredbird and Team Fredbird.

Date: Sunday, April 3
Time: 10am
Place: Ballpark Village – 601 Clark Ave

An Evening with Styx: The multimegamillion-selling rock band that has forged an indelible legacy both on record and onstage, is coming to St. Louis. After more than a decade together on the road, this incarnation of Styx is looking forward to performing as many shows as it can as long as it can. The six men comprising Styx are entering their second decade of averaging over 100 shows a year, performing chart hits including: “The Grand Illusion,” “Blue Collar Man,” “Lady,” “Miss America,” “Man in the Wilderness,” “Crystal Ball,” “Come Sail Away,” “Renegade” and so many more. Tickets are $126.50, $56.50, $46.50, $36.50 & $26.50.

Date: Sunday, April 3
Time: 7:30pm
Place: Peabody Opera House – 1400 Market St

Central

Twisted Belly’s BBQ Blowout: This 2nd annual event is part of the Budweiser BBQ Series. Enjoy free concerts from Cree Rider & the Family Band at 4:30pm and Tullie Brae at 7pm. There will be live Cooking Demos by Kuna Meats & Foodservice’s Executive Chefs. There will be cold beer from Budweiser, cigars from Smoking Hot Cigars, and the best BBQ in St. Louis all for sale. Watch over 50 teams compete for a $5500 prize in the main four categories (Chicken, Ribs, Pork and Brisket) plus the “Anything Pork” ancillary category on Friday night.

Date: April 1 & 2
Time: Fri: 4-9pm, Sat: 11am-3pm
Place: Chesterfield Central Park – 16365 Lydia Hill

5th Annual Pillow Fight Day: A free, fun event for all ages. This event, hosted by STL Improv Anywhere combines community, costumes, and pillow fights! This is a huge pillow fight done all over the world on this day. Costumes are encouraged, pillows with feathers are not allowed.

Date: Saturday, April 2
Time: 1-2:30pm
Place: Tower Grove Park

7th Annual Maplewood Coffee Crawl: Get ready to get caffeinated at this self-guided tour through the delicious coffee shops of Maplewood. Participating hosts include: Travelling Tea, Tim Horton’s, Living Room, Strange Donuts, Great Harvest Bread Co, The Post, The Crow’s Nest featuring I Scream Maplewood, Vom Fass, Larder & Cupboard, All Out Wellness, Foundation Grounds, Kakao Chocolate, Mystic Valley, Schlafly, and Stone Spiral. Tickets are $10.

Date: Saturday, April 2
Time: 8am – 1 pm
Place: Manchester Rd, Downtown Maplewood

St. Louis Earth Day Recycling Extravaganza: The Earth Day Festival isn’t until April 24th, however one big part of the Earth Day activities is the recycling extravaganza, being held this Sunday at STLCC – Forest Park. Check the list for all of the items being recycled (inlcuding Mardi Gras beads, pet leashes, food, pet food bowls, toys and more, shoes, belts, purses, books, so many ways you can contribute and do some Spring Cleaning at the same time. The Pi Pizzeria food truck will be on site from 11am to 1pm.

Date: Sunday, April 3
Time: 10am – 2pm
Place: STLCC-Forest Park – 5600 Oakland Ave

St. Charles

River City Raiders: The Raiders take on the Cincinnati Bulldogs at home this Sunday. Come check out St. Charles’ professional indoor football team. During halftime, the River City Raiders will have a special guest: Climb for PTSD. If you know someone with PTSD or would just like to help their organization, they will be set up in the concourse during the game. The Raiders are giving out tons of free tickets. Click here for the free ticket coupon – each coupon is good for 4 free tickets.

Date: Sunday, April 3
Time: 3:05pm
Place: St. Charles family Arena

Illinois

Murder Mystery Dinner: Muuurder in Maaay-bury: Aunt Dee is throwing a garden party to raise money to buy fertilizer for the Garden Club. Unfortunately, someone has tried to sabotage the garden spot. Earnest D. Sass shows up to cause trouble and someone stops him “cold.” Who could it be? Aunt Dee? Otis? Andy? Or any one of the numerous other characters that the audience members will play. Whoever “did it” expect lots of mayhem! There is nothing better than a murder mystery to spice up your dinner and no better place to enjoy it than Eckert’s Country Restaurant. Show starts at 5:30pm in Eckert’s Country Restaurant. $45/person includes meal, soft drink and entertainment.

Date: Saturday, April 2
Time: 5:30pm
Place: Eckert’s – 951 Green Mount Rd

Mills Apartments