Mark your calendars, because St. Louis’ own Forest Park offers
enough activities to fill your weekend afternoons all year round.
With all kinds of exciting and free events, Forest Park is the poor
college student’s dream. The park is not just for strolling
sweethearts, buggy-pushing parents and dog-walkers anymore–and
with everything from hayrides to ice skating, stargazing,
performances, lectures, workshops and exhibits, there’s something
for everyone.
Autumn
Forest Park’s 45-minute hayrides provide all kinds of seasonal
fun, with room for up to 20 people (Permit section of the Parks
Department, 289-5330). After touring the park, riders are dropped
off at the picnic grounds, where they can roast hotdogs or make
S’mores over a sizzling bonfire. The wagons, which are pulled by
tractors, cost $100 to rent and make a great outing for your
dormitory floor or student organization. They run from Oct. 1 to
Dec. 11.
If you’re in the mood for some childlike fun, you should check
out the St. Louis Zoo (One Government Drive, 781-0900). Not only
was it rated No. 1 zoo/animal park in the nation by Zagat Survey,
in association with Parenting magazine, but the Zoo was also boasts
yearly improvements, including the recently added, ever-popular
Penguin and Puffin Coast exhibit.
Right now, the zoo is celebrating Otteroberfest, which began
Sept. 18 with a parade and will go through Oct. 10. Throughout the
event, visitors can shop at the new international marketplace,
which offers handmade artwork, jewelry and crafts from Africa,
India, Latin America, Turkey and more. Featured bands throughout
the month include the Waterloo German Band, the Danny Krausz Band,
the St. Louis Czech Express Band, the Deutchmeister Brass Band and
others.
On Oct. 2-3, the Zoo will host the Gingerbread House Showcase, a
competition in which local pastry professionals compete for prizes,
including best design, with a chance for young contest observers to
build their own gingerbread house at the Zoo’s craft corner.
The St. Louis Art Museum (One Fine Arts Drive, 721-0072), with
collections of ancient, Asian, decorative, European, modern,
oceanic and American art, also hosts special events including the
upcoming talk by Michael J. Fuller, a professor of anthropology at
St. Louis Community College-Meramec, which will discuss sites from
“The Da Vinci Code” in terms of “art, architecture, history and
mystery.” This is only one of the many events offered by the
museum, which hosts free lectures, performances and workshops
year-round. The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Fridays,
which are the best days to go because admission is free.
The Science Center (5050 Oakland Avenue, 289-4444) has always
been a favorite Forest Park attraction. If you love storms, you
won’t want to miss the Science Center’s OMNIMAX Theatre’s “Forces
of Nature,” a film narrated by everyone’s favorite, Kevin Bacon.
The show will be playing through January.
If you ever dreamt of being an astronaut as a child, then check
out “SPACE: A Journey to our Future,” a traveling exhibition that
will be at The Science Center until Nov. 28. You can touch pieces
of the moon and Mars, design your own spacecraft or ride the
centrifuge, and if you can fit into one of the astronaut’s
jumpsuits–which are meant for kids–you can try them on, or work
on your own giant rocket. Admission for this and other Science
Center exhibits ranges from $3 to $10. Permanent galleries feature
exhibits on DNA, ecology and the environment, structures and
more.
The Science Center also boasts the James S. McDonnell
Planetarium, which is one of the nation’s leading space-education
facilities. You and your beloved can gaze up at more than 9,000
stars projected onto an 80-foot dome by the Zeiss Model IX, which
has been likened to a “personal tour of the cosmos.”
And where else, besides Forest Park, can you see a rabbit that
weighs 1,170 lbs., and is 15 ft. taller that the statue of liberty?
The Energizer bunny, the star of Forest Park’s yearly Hot “Hare”
Balloon Race, will be present once again at the Park’s 33rd annual
race next September. Attendance to both the Balloon Glow (lighting
of the hot air balloons the night before the race) and the race
itself is free, but make sure you get there early.
Winter
Steinberg Skating Rink (east side of Forest Park, near
Kingshighway, 367-RINK), a seasonal favorite, has recently
undergone a $1.4 million renovation. The rink, which has been open
for over 45 years, costs $6 for adults, $4 for children 13 and
under and $2 for skate rental. It has an indoor cafe area with food
and drinks and features bands from 7:30 to 11:30 p.m. on Fridays
and Saturdays from November through March, weather permitting.
Art Hill is a popular spot for sledding throughout the winter
months.
If you like baseball–and what St. Louisan doesn’t?–then you
should check out “Baseball as America,” a traveling exhibition
organized by the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum at the
Missouri Historical Society Museum (corner of Lindell and
DaBoliviere, 454-3150), which will be on display from Dec. 2004 to
April 2005. With a special section on baseball in St. Louis,
historic uniforms and other baseball paraphernalia, this is an
exhibit that baseball fans will never forget.
SPRING
Forest Park’s Boathouse (6101 Government Dr., 367-2224) offers
paddleboat and rowboat rental for up to four adults for $15 an
hour. While floating on the park’s Post-Dispatch Lake, you can take
in the beauty of the wildlife and picnic islands and the lake’s
eight new fountains. The Boathouse also offers family-style
lakeside dining.
The Jewel Box, Forest Park’s recently renovated greenhouse,
features over 100 varieties of flowers (intersection of Wells and
McKinley drives in Forest Park, (314) 531-0080). Admission is $1,
but thrifty college students can get in free by going on Monday and
Tuesday mornings between 9 a.m. and noon.
Triple A Golf & Tennis Club is open to the public and makes
a good alternative to expensive private courses (5163 Clayton Road,
652-2433). Besides an 18-hole course, the Club also has a “19th
Hole” cocktail lounge so that you and your friends can wind down
after a long afternoon on the course.
Forest Park is also home to three 9-hole courses, which can be
combined to be played as 18 holes (6141 Lagoon Dr., 367-1337). Each
course is par-35 and named after a tree found here in the city. The
courses provide something for everyone, from the tame Redbud course
to the Hawthorne and even more challenging Dogwood.
Springtime is also a great time to grab your closest friends or
that special someone, a picnic basket, blanket, Frisbee and kite
for an afternoon of picnicking.
SUMMER
If you are from the St. Louis area, taking a few courses or
otherwise lucky enough to be in town next summer, there you won’t
want to miss St. Louis’s own Shakespeare Festival (361-0101). The
festival, which debuted in June 2001, will feature “The Tempest”
from May 27 through June 19, 2005. They’ll have a bicycle valet
service and you can bring your own blanket or law chair or rent one
for $5. Concessions will also be available.
You can also catch a show at The Muny (on Grand Drive in Forest
Park, 361-1900 x550), Forest Park’s historical outdoor theater.
Last summer, productions included “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,”
“Annie,” “Guys and Dolls,” “Cats,” and “The Music Man.”
So, as you can see, Forest Park provides enough activities to
keep you busy all year long. To find out even more about the fun
and exciting things Forest Park has to offer, check out its web
site:http://stlouis.missouri.org/citygov/parks/forestpark/.
-Annie Mulligan
