Memorial Day weekend not only started summer, but kicked off the jam-packed schedule of food festivals in the St. Louis area. Did you miss the Greek festivals in Des Peres and Swansea, or Schlafly’s World Pork Steak Championship? Not to worry – they’re only the beginning.
Brace yourself, because the first weekend in June is full of foodie festival fun! Look what’s happening on June 5, 6 and 7…
- Friday night and all day Saturday, hit Belleville’s beautiful public square for the second annual Wine, Dine and Jazz festival. It’s just that – wine tastings (or gulpings), a food court comprised of some of the Metro East’s tastiest restaurants, and lots of live jazz. Admission’s free.
- On Saturday and Sunday, go a smidge north of Belleville and check out Collinsville’s International Horseradish Festival. Did you know that 60% of the world’s horseradish is grown in Collinsville? For real! The strip clubs aren’t the only spicy business in the Metro East. Come check out live music and lots of horseradish-based chow, including the annual Bloody Mary contest. Admission’s free, and the fun starts at 10 A.M. on both days.
- Are you more into beer than Bloody Marys? June 5th and 6th also brings the St. Louis Brewers Heritage Festival to the Upper Muny Fields at Forest Park. If you purchase tickets for the three-day festival now, they’re $30. They’ll be $35 if you buy them at the festival. This gives you the opportunity to sample brews from over 60 breweries and educational sessions from local brewmasters.
While this seems to be rather hush-hush, the Central West End will host its 15th annual Art Fair & Taste with yummies from some of the area’s best restaurants.
What else do you want? Ketchup?
That’s catsup to you, Buster. Come back to Collinsville on Sunday, July 12th for the 11th Annual World’s Largest Catsup Bottle Festival. This is summer festivaling at its finest – live music, a car show, beautu pageant, a visit from the World’s Largest Things Traveling Museum, catsup-covered hot dog eating competition, and of course, catsup taste tests.
You know what goes great with catsup? Mussels. No, not really. You’ve got almost two weeks to get the catsup taste out of your mouth before Schlafly hosts Belgian Beer & Mussel Mania at The Tap Room on July 24th and 25th, starting at 5 P.M. The largest locally-owned brewery will thumb their noses at that giant Belgian-owned brewery a few miles to the south with their own selection of hand-crafted Belgian-style beers and tasty mussels dishes with lots of live music.
Wanting to sample the world beyond Belgium? The annual Festival of Nations at Tower Grove Park happens on August 29th and 30th with over 30 different cultures offering their cuisine.
We’ll close the summer in downtown St. Louis with the Hispanic Festival at Soldier’s Memorial.
This isn’t a definitive list. I’m sure I’m missing some hidden gems. I’m anxiously awaiting the dates for Iron Barley’s annual Tomatofest and its tomato dish competition. Do you know of other foodie parties around town this summer? Tell us!
June 5, 6, and 7 are also the dates for Webster Groves’ Art & Air, billed as “Fine art. Fine music. Fine food…in the heart of Webster Groves.”
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What an awesome list! I always feel like I hear about St. Louis events right as they’re happening, hence I miss them!
I do have to second Summer… Hailing from Webster, this is a really fun little fair!
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Don’t forget Taste of Clayton Sunday June 7th in Shaw Park. Not the biggest, but sorta fun and you get to check out some of the specialties from Clayton restaurants without paying the Clayton price.
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Great list! I’m totally intrigued by the Horseradish Festival. I just might have to check out its spicy goodness!
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Thanks for the additions! See? I knew I’d forget the biggies, since I’m always blindsided by the obscure.
Speaking of which, I just learned about the Peanut Butter and Jelly Festival in Highland, Illinois, thanks to a Tweet from Fox 2′s John Pertzborn. Basically, take the kids to Highland any Friday this summer for free peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and popcorn. More info: http://www.ci.highland.il.us/Public_Documents/FOV1-00011C21/Programs/peanut_butter
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Here’s links to the Webster and Clayton events. Thanks again!
http://www.artandair.com (Webster Groves, June 5, 6, and 7)
http://www.ci.clayton.mo.us/index.aspx?location=233 (Taste of Claytong, June 7)
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I miss the Catsup Bottle. As a kid, whenever we passed it we knew we were headed to my grandma’s (who lived in Collinsville). I always thought it was filled with ketchup (catsup!).
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Courtney, my friend Sally will be visiting St. Louis from London for the first time next week. She only has two tourist requests: the Arch, and the catsup bottle! I’m really looking forward to the festival this year, because the World’s Largest … museum looks like trippy, arty, hilarious fun! Besides, I’m a little terrified of oversized things (like the catsup bottle). Seeing the world’s biggest oversized items in miniature might be good for my delicate system.
Just got info on yet another foodie festival, thanks to RFT food editor (and one of my bosses), Ian Froeb: Taste of Maplewood is this Saturday on Sutton Blvd., south of Manchester. More info: http://www.maplewood-chamber.com/news.html
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I think the Italian Festival in Collinsville, IL is in August.
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I think we’ve missed the tartan festival (scottish) and the greek festivals (which if I am not mistaken was last weekend I miss it every year..) and I know the japanese faestival in the botanical gardens is soon – as is the chinese festival at the end of the summer both have great food vendors….
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This is a great list! I did something similar for the free concerts in town, but have never managed to put together a list of all of the festivals.
Any chance you would consider making this a regular feature? Maybe a monthly post with all of the festivals for the next month. I would definitely be checking back each month!
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Hey PoppyMom, Thanks for including us in your blog! It’s very much appreciated! I’ll look forward to seeing you in July at the fest!
Keep pourin’ it on,
Big Tomato
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Karen, I definitely plan to keep doing these foodie festival posts. There are so many in the St. Louis area, even beyond the summer! Look for them at the end of each month, with info about the upcoming months.
Thank for the head’s up about Collinsville’s Italian Fest, Courtney. It’s this fall.
Raquita, I looked for info on the Scottish festivals/highland games, but their website said they didn’t have a date set for 2009. I’ll keep checking because I love Scotch eggs and men in kilts throwing big logs. The Japanese Festival at the Missouri Botanical Gardens is in the summer, though. Just barely – September 5, 6, and 7. Here’s the info: http://www.mobot.org/events/JapaneseFestival. We just missed Chinese Culture Days, which were May 17 and 18.
Big Tomato! Thanks for stopping! I’m a Belleville girl and I love the catsup bottle! Makes me grin every time I drive past it on my way to Bert’s Chuckwagon.
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I’d love to make a comment in which I remember to mention everything that crossed my mind. Forgot to say – Raquita, there’s usually a Greek festival in the CWE on Labor Day weekend. I’m still trying to find info and will post if I can confirm. Also, if you want to come over to the east side, Saints Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church in Swansea usually does a monthly Greek dinner called A Night in Athens. It’s usually the first Saturday of the month, and it is fantastic! My kid loves their lamb sausages, and their pastry selection’s one of the most impressive I’ve ever seen. I’ll post when I see their signs around my neighborhood.
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Speaking of Collinsville, the Horseradish Festival is June 6 and 7 at Woodland Park. Here are more details: http://www.horseradishfestival.com/
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