Your St. Louis Weekend Events Guide for Thursday, August 25th through Sunday, August 28th, 2016.

Centennial Commemoration Ceremony & Birthday Party: The National Parks Service is celebrating its 100th birthday on Thursday, August 25! The public is invited to join city and state leaders at 11am in Luther Ely Smith Square—the newly renovated park located between the Old Courthouse and the Gateway Arch in downtown St. Louis—for a Centennial commemoration ceremony. Immediately following, visitors can enjoy lunch from local food trucks, free birthday cupcakes from local dessert eateries, and a free concert from the Centennial Band from the New Orleans Jazz National Historic Park.

Date: Thursday, August 25
Time: 11am-1pm
Place: Luther Ely Smith Square-1 S Memorial Dr

St. Louis Cardinals: The Cardinals play the Oakland Athletics this Friday through Sunday. In addition to the games, it’s also Hall of Fame weekend. On Saturday, the newest members of the Cardinals Hall of Fame – Chris Carpenter, Joe Torre, Terry Moore and Sam Breadon, will be inducted! The ceremony is free to attend and located in FOX Sports Midwest Live! at Ballpark Village. Promotion for Hall of Fame weekend include: Bob Gibson Hall of Fame Red Jacket Statue on Friday night, a third class of 2016 Hall of Fame Inductees Plaque on Saturday, and an Adult Replica Batting Practice Hat on Sunday.

Date: August 26-28
Time: Fri: 7:15pm, Sat: 6:15pm, Sun: 1:15pm
Place: Busch Stadium

Arts & Craft Brewfest: Join the St. Louis Post-Dispatch at the inaugural Arts + Craft Brewfest. Samples 12 breweries including: Odell Brewing Co, Schlafly, Logboat Brewing Co, Recess Brewing, Earthbound Beer, Kirkwood Station Brewing Co, PaPPo’s Brew Co, Six Mile Bridge Beer, Bastard Brothers Brewing Co, Broadway Brewery, Hopskeller Brewing Co, and Morgan Street Brewery. Samples from featured restaurants including: Three Kings Public House, PaPPo’s Pizzeria & Pub, Urban Eats Café & Bakery, and The Rice House. Featured Entertainment includes: Jazz St. Louis, Interactive Art by Sarrita Hunn in collaboration with Christine Wong Yap, Stand up Comic Rafe Williams, and more. A portion of event proceeds benefit Old Newsboys – St. Louis. GA tickets are $30 and include tastings and a commemorative tasting glass.

Date: Friday, August 26
Time: 7-10pm
Place: St. Louis Public Library-1301 Olive St

Show U St. Louis Regional College Festival: The first annual Show U St. Louis Regional College Festival will bring thousands of college students together downtown to have fun and learn about the region. The event will feature exhibitors, music, entertainment, and free admission to local attractions. There will be a scavenger hunt with great prizes, swag bag, games including a climbing wall, life size chess set, human bowling and more, free food and drinks, and the music of Mastermind, Roland Johnson & Soul Endeavor, Ice, and DJ Sinamin. Registration is free, however you must be enrolled in college to register and register in advance with your college email.

Date: Saturday, August 27
Time: 10am-2pm
Place: Soldiers Memorial-1315 Chestnut

Bissinger’s Bourbon & BBQ: It’s Not Just a Tasting, it’s a Bourbon Bash! Taste more than 60 Bourbons and enjoy Bissinger’s Chocolate Pairings with Chief Chocolatier, Dave Owens, and BBQ by Executive Chef, Nicholas Miller. GA admission is $85 and includes commemorative tasting glass, 3-hour premium open bar, bourbon inspired signature cocktails, BBQ food stations with a pig roast, live music by The Root Diggers & Stephen Paul, and complimentary parking. Or go VIP for $135. DD’s can get all the chocolate, BBQ and soft drinks they want for $40.

Date: Sunday, August 28
Time: 1-4pm
Place: The Caramel Room at Bissinger’s-1600 N Broadway

Central

Fringe Festival: 109 performances.33 productions.7 venues.2 weekends. St. Lou Fringe bolsters cultural identity in St Louis by providing a support structure to connect independent performing arts with accessible, affordable showcase settings for audiences. Fringe showcases theatre and dance, storytelling and spoken word, burlesque and acrobatics, visual art and more in a one-of-a-kind pressure-cooker of artistic expression. Ticekt prices vary per show but are never more than $15.

Date: Aug 19-27
Time: times vary
Place: Grand Center

Food Trucks at The Farm: The last month of the 2016 season to enjoy food trucks at Grants Farm. The trucks participating in this month’s events are: Que Sazon, Slide Piece, STL Doughboy, and Destination Desserts. There will also be live music in the Tier Garten, Goat Feeding, Carousel Rides, and Camel Rides. The parking lot will open at 5:45PM and trams will begin running through the Deer Park at 6:00PM. Parking is $12 per car with no per person admission. Walk-ups will be $5 per person.

Date: Friday, August 26
Time: 6-10pm
Place: Grants Farm-10501 Gravois Rd

Luke Bryan and Little Big Town: Luke Bryan is stopping in St. Louis on his Kill The Lights Tour with Little Big Town. Country music star and hottie, Luke Bryan, is known for shaking his booty and getting his dance on during his concerts. With hits like “Take My Drunk Ass Home,” Rain Is A Good Thing,” “Doin My Thing,” “Country Girl Shake It For Me,” “Crash My Party,” “That’s My Kind of Night,” and more, you can see how this will be a fun show! Little Big Town has some fun hits as well including: “Pontoon,” “Little White Church,” “Day Drinking,” “Girl Crush,” to name a few. Tickets start at $32.75 for lawn.

Date: Friday, August 26
Time: 7pm
Place: Hollywood Casino Amphitheater

Festival of Nations: The region’s premier multicultural celebration, featuring over 40 ethnic food booths featuring mouth-watering delights from the four corners of the world. Savor flaky Bosnian or Greek baklava, Ethiopian injera with doro wat, Polish sausage, Turkish borek, Mexican tamales, Thai coconut drink, Afghan sambosa, Filipino kebabs, Belezian beans and rice, Israeli falafel, and plenty more. Enjoy non-stop dance and music, arts and crafts, and an international bazaar with 30 ethnic booths, selling a broad array of colorful gifts including African drums, Mexican silver, Ecuadoran clothing, Israeli jewelry, Russian nested dolls, Chinese shoes, Indian saris and other festival favorites.

Date: August 27 & 28
Time: Sat: 10am-7pm, Sun: 10am-6pm
Place: Tower Grove Park

River Music Fest: A family friendly, relaxing day on the beautiful Anheuser Estate overlooking the Mississippi to benefit Ride On St. Louis. Music Fest goers will enjoy food, games, raffles and live music from All Roostered Up, Tim Session, and Retro Boogie Band, plus ride-a-therapy-horse for the kids! Get your BBQ fix this year by sampling beef, chicken and pork by some of the area’s best grill masters. For the first year we are excited to offer a BBQ cook off competition at the River Music Fest. Fantastic eats will be available for purchase during the event as BBQ competitors will be serving their award-winning meats. Cold drinks, hot eats, beautiful view and fantastic entertainment. Event admission is free.

Date: Saturday, August 27
Time: 12pm
Place: 6000 Windsor Harbor Ln, Kimmswick

Science Uncorked: Join Starlight Events at the Saint Louis Science Center for a wine and spirits tasting event for your brain. Learn about the chemistry and science behind the winemaking and distilling process. $50 Members, $55 non-Members or $60 at the door the dayof the event. Ticket includes live music, small plates, over 70 wine and spirits tastings, Bissinger’s Handcrafted Chocolates, fun science demonstrations, parking and more!

Date: Saturday, August 27
Time: 7-11pm
Place: Science Center-5050 Oakland Ave

A Night With Nelly: The Vatterott College Scholarship Fund presents St. Louis’ own Grammy Award winning, top selling rap artist in America, Nelly. With hits like “Air Force Ones,” “Hot In Herre,” Pimp Juice,” “Grillz,” “Over and Over,” and so many more plus his latest album is now out and includes “Get Like Me” ft Pharrell and Nicki Minaj and “Heaven ft Daley. Tickets are $35.

Date: Saturday, August 27
Time: 7pm
Place: The Pageant-6161 Delmar Ave

Def Leppard: One of the longest running rock bands is making a stop in St. Louis on their Summer 2016 Tour and bringing along REO Speedwagon and TESLA. Def Leppard is one of the world’s best selling music artists and greatest rock bands. With the classic “Pour Some Sugar on Me,” “Love Bites,” Rock of Ages,” “Foolin,” “Rocket” and so many others, this is a must-see show. Tickets start at $29.95 for lawn.

Date: Saturday, August 27
Time: 7pm
Place: Hollywood Casino Amphitheater

Dogs of Society: The ultimate Elton John Tribute band performs this weekend in Chesterfield. Concert is free as part of the Sounds of Summer Concert Series. New this year, each concert will feature a live art demonstration from a local art organization or artist in an effort to showcase art and increase interest within the local community. Concessions will be available for purchase, however concert-goers are welcome to bring their own food and beverage. Bring new or gently used shoes to help provide safe water to people around the world as part of the event’s donation program.

Date: Saturday, August 27
Time: 6:45pm
Place: Chesterfield Amphitheater

Rock ‘n Roll Shrimp Boil: Maya Cafe’s 15 year anniversary celebration includes delicious cuisine and cocktails, and lots and lots of shrimp, and two stages of phenomenal entertainment, featuring performances by Race Simmons & Connor Low, Tommy Halloran’s Guerrilla Swing, Old Man Boo, The Rival Brothers, Bob Koehler, John Boldaun, and more. There is no charge for entertainment although tips for the artists are encouraged.

Date: Sunday, August 28
Time: 1-8pm
Place” Maya Cafe-2726 Sutton Blvd

St. Charles

Food Truck Frolic: Come out and enjoy a free night of entertainment. From 5-8pm, you can purchase delicious food from some of STL’s best food trucks: Locoz Tacoz, Chris’ Smokehouse, Kona Ice, Mel’s Food Truck, Sarah’s Cake Stop, Pyro Pizza, Steak Louie, STLBLT, Slice of the Hill, Southerners, Wayno’s, The Meltdown, StLouisana Q, Yo Salsa, Zia’s, and more. Then grab a seat and get ready for a free showing of Finding Nemo, starting at twilight (8-8:30pm).

Date: Friday, August 26
Time: 5-8pm
Place: STLCC-4601 Mid Rivers Mall

10th Annual Kids Block Party: A FREE family day out for the community, encouraging healthy, active and safe lifestyles among children (ages 3-10). Kids will enjoy inflatables, arts and crafts, games, music and dancing, interacting with their favorite trucks, and more. Utopia Entertainment is teaming up with the Kids Block Party again to bring music, dancing, and games for kids and parents alike to enjoy. Performances and photo-ops by your favorite princesses courtesy of Once Upon An Occasion. Parents will appreciate information on health, nutrition, and safety.

Date: Saturday, August 27
Time: 10am-2pm
Place: St. Charles Convention Center

Race for the River & Festival: Whether you’re an avid paddler looking to get in on a competitive river race, or simply in search of laid-back family fun, Race for the Rivers 2016 is the event you’ve been searching for! With water education, restoration and recreation as the focus, The Greenway Network is set to stage their 10th annual Missouri River paddling event. Paddlers have their choice of two race distances for canoes, kayaks, stand up paddle boards, pedal boats, and open boats.As always, The Festival is open to any and all who are interested in good food, great music and more information about how to encourage and enjoy healthy rivers. All tax deductible pledges will go to support Greenway Network’s various clean water initiatives.

Date: Saturday, August 27
Time: Registration: 8:30am, Festival: 11am-5pm
Place: Frontier Park

Mills Apartments