The 35th Annual Apple Butter Festival kicks off this weekend in historic Kimmswick, MO. The event, which is expected to draw about 100,000 people, runs Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day. Be sure to bring a jacket because temperatures are expected to only reach the mid-50s this weekend. The Kimmswick Historical Society will be making and selling its famous apple butter at the Apple Butter Pavilion on Market Street. Visitors will also be entertained with live music throughout the two-day event, which will feature hundreds of craft and food booths. The town of Kimmswick will be…

Nationally known musical performers, a parade with two marching bands, spectacular fireworks, marvelous mutts and plenty of carnival rides and food highlight the O’Fallon Heritage and Freedom Fest July 2-4 at the Ozzie Smith Sports Complex. The free festival, in its 32nd year, keeps growing and improving, particularly because of the national acts and the fireworks. “We have an absolutely amazing lineup this year, and I think we’re going to have a really great crowd because of it,” said Festival Coordinator Megan Steinmann. “They’re all really great entertainers, and they’re all relevant. A …

Sea Lion Sound, with a transparent walk-through tunnel and an outdoor environment modeled after the rocky Pacific Northwest coastline, will be a terrific addition for St. Louis Zoo visitors and dwellers when it opens June 30. The 35-foot-long acrylic tunnel, which will allow the 11 resident California sea lions plus four harbor seals to swim over and around visitors, is the first in a North American zoo. “You will be surrounded by sea lions, and it’s an absolutely spectacular experience,” said Steve Bircher, the zoo’s curator of carnivores. “We believe it’s the only one like it in the U.S. …

From action and adventure to romance and comedy, there is something for everyone in the 2012 summer season of shows at The Muny in Forest Park. Mike Isaacson, The Muny’s executive producer, said the cast and crew relish The Muny experience. “We’re very fortunate,” said Isaacson, who took over at the end of last season for longtime Muny executive producer Paul Blake. “It’s fun for a couple of reasons. Everybody here loves what they do, and loves being able to support these people. That generosity of spirit just sort of flows through everything we do, which is really great. The real key of that…

If money is tight for a big trip this summer, you can still travel back in time to a 16th century France full of jousters, strolling minstrels, sword fights and more during the 14th annual St. Louis Renaissance Faire this weekend at Rotary Park in Wentzville. Bob Stanza, president of the Renaissance Faire’s board of directors, said the Faire offers equal parts education and entertainment, with some enthralling elements. “If they haven’t been there before, certainly they want to go see the jousting, because that’s something you’re typically not going to see (elsewhere),” he said. Unlike the TV…

With a top-notch array of musical performers, a tribute to veterans, and an emphasis on food and drink options a cut above most fairs, this weekend’s Ballwin Days celebration promises to be an experience to remember. Ballwin Days co-chairman Jim Lieber, who is instrumental in choosing the bands, is excited about this year’s offerings. “It’ll be fun,” he said. “Every year I think it’s better than the year before. We’ve got some great bands. We have an awesome lineup.” Local country-rock group the Well Hungarians kicks it off 7-11 tonight, with Night Moves, a Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet …

Editor's Note: Patch was informed Friday morning that Aloha Mi’sho has had a death in the family and cannot be at Fair U City this weekend. A packed musical roster featuring blues vocalist Kim Massie and “American Idol” alumni Nikko Smith and Aloha Mi’sho plus carnival rides and a classic car show highlight the second annual Fair U City Saturday through Monday at Heman Park. “I’m very pleased,” said University City Mayor Shelley Welsch. “I think we have a good mix and it will encourage people from around the region to come, which is what we hope because this carnival is really about building …

One of Justin Blanchard’s fondest memories from performing in the Shakespeare Festival St. Louis production of Hamlet two years ago is the time he spent talking with audience members after each show’s final curtain. “I always like to come out afterwards. We kind of just mingle with the crowd, and talk with people,” he said. “You can grab me afterwards and ask me questions or tell me what you thought. I always welcome that kind of feedback and interaction with people who have questions. I think that’s a really wonderful part about the festival.” Blanchard plays the villainous Iago in this …

Artists in a variety of styles from visual to vocal highlight the 25th annual Laumeier Art Fair today through Sunday at Laumeier Sculpture Park in Sunset Hills. The fair, which also offers a packed lineup of musical entertainers including vocalist Erin Bode and the group Farshid Etniko, has become a tradition to many area people. “It’s fantastic,” said Marie Oberkirsch, special events manager at Laumeier. “I was just reviewing one of our old binders from 1989, and it was just so much fun to see how the event has really grown. Just from my own experience, I know that there are a lot of …

Live music with a Latin and a rock flavor, art demonstrations and a quirky, colorful parade highlight Cinco de Mayo on Cherokee Street. The event starts runs from 11 a.m. until 9:30 p.m. Saturday in south St. Louis. “It’s definitely one of the most unique parades that I’ve ever seen,” said Jason Deem, who co-organizes the celebration with Will Liebermann. “It’s something I think would only happen on Cherokee, because we’ve got so many artists and so many creative people who come together to make it happen." The festival, in its 15th year, should be muy bueno. “The festival’s been increasing …

When it comes to hot exhibits sure to get visitors fired up, the First Due Fire Museum at the St. Louis Mills in Hazelwood is sizzling. The museum was founded on May 10, 2004, by firefighters Eric Kiehl, Chester Jones and Steve Arnold as a way to promote fire safety education. “The goal for the museum was education,” Kiehl said. “Letting the public know what firefighters are all about – the type of work that we do, the type of equipment that we use, the gear that we wear – mainly it was an educational thing.” But there was another reason the three decided to open a museum packed with a …

Acoustic rock/current alternative group Stranger’s Almanac takes pride in being an atypical bar band. “Last time (we played) we got a lot of compliments on our particular song selection,” said band leader Chris Brokaw. “Like, ‘Wow, you guys do a really interesting version of that song,’ or ‘Wow, I love that song. I’ve never heard a band play that out.' That’s kind of what we’re going for.” Stranger’s Almanac features Brokaw on guitar and vocals, drummer,percussionist and backup vocalist Aaron Brokaw (Chris’s brother), Josh White playing guitar, mandolin and harmonica and adding vocals, …

Scottish-American culture and character will be on display through lively music and dance, unique athletic contests, fascinating storytelling and more during the 12th annual Missouri Tartan Day Festivities today through Sunday at Frontier Park in St. Charles. “It’s just a fantastic weekend,” said Tartan Day Chairman Vickie Struckmann. “Just come down and wander.” Tartan Day started as an observance of the April 6, 1320, Declaration of Arbroath, when Scots gained independence from English rule. “I look forward to this every year because it’s a wonderful thing to celebrate freedom and liberty …

Most people think about  the future while in college, but David Gerrold took it several steps further by envisioning the future and writing about it. While enrolled in a college screenwriting class in 1966, he contacted a new TV show called Star Trek and submitted several story ideas. One of them was “The Trouble With Tribbles,” which became one of the show’s most popular episodes ever and launched Gerrold’s career as a writer. “It was a career choice that grabbed me, rather than the other way around,” Gerrold said. Gerrold, who will appear at the St. Louis Science Center tonight as part of “…

On October 29, 1862, Rufus Vann and the other members of the First Kansas Colored Volunteers regiment made history at the Action of IslandMound as the first African Americans to fight as Union soldiers during theCivil War. Vann, who became a corporal in the Union Army after enlisting at age 46, is the focal point of “Resurrection 150,” a short play presented at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Missouri History Museum in Forest Park as part of the museum’s “The Civil War in Missouri” exhibition. The play commemorates the 150th anniversary of a skirmish between the First Kansas regiment and Confederate …

Cavalia, the equine and equestrian extravaganza being performed in St. Louis through April 8, combines all the flash and spectacle of a circus with the serenity and beauty of a walk in the woods. The show, called “A Magical Encounter Between Human and Horse,” explores humankind’s longstanding relationship with horses. Cavalia features 37 highly skilled riders, acrobats, aerialists, dancers and musicians and 49 magnificent horses. Over the course of two hours, the horses gambol, trot and gallop across the expansive 160-foot-wide stage, sometimes free to wander, occasionally guided by a trainer…

In an award-winning career that has spanned 40 years and over 25 recordings, singer-actress Maureen McGovern keeps coming back to her true passion – performing live. “I just love performing,” McGovern said by phone from an extended concert stop in Palm Springs. “The show is a journey every night. It’s a train we get on together – the audience and myself – and take this journey. It’s cathartic in a way, for me. It’s also just a joy – I work with such incredible musicians, and I feel very blessed about that. And at 62, to still be doing what I love, I’m grateful for that too.” McGovern is the …

The Theatre Guild of Webster Groves is offering patrons more bang for the buck with their current production of “All in the Timing” – it’s buy one ticket, get six one-act comedies. Comedy, however, just hints at what audiences can expect from these one-acts, all written by David Ives. “They are mind-numbingly fun, because they will blow your mind,” said Krystal Stevenson of south St. Louis, who has roles in two of the one-act plays. “They are kind of an interesting, existential view of the world in a way, and I think that’s what makes it more interesting, because it’s done in a very comical …

In one stride, visitors to the Sophia M. Sachs Butterfly House in Chesterfield go from a low humidity temperate zone to a steamy tropical jungle. A fairyland of dancing, vibrant colors – both butterflies and blooms – bursts on the inside of the Butterfly House’s 7,900-square-foot Tropical Conservatory. Blue Morphos, the sky blue stars of the March Morpho Mania exhibit, are seemingly everywhere, meandering up, down and sideways like performing marionettes, stopping to feed on nectar or rotting bananas, racing from brilliant pink variegated orchids to searing red hibiscus blooms and darting in …

With a 17-piece big band heavy on brass instruments, the Dave Dickey Big Band will deliver room-filling tunes during their Sunday performance in Kirkwood. “The band’s got a big sound,” band leader and trombone player Dave Dickey said. “They’re all professional guys, so they’re all very good soloists and players.” The performance will be 6-9 p.m. at the Kirkwood Station Brewing Company, which features a good restaurant and a great area for music. “It’s a big room – it’s fun,” he said. “They actually have a dance floor. We had a gig there last January, and so many people showed up, it was great…