Winter 2009 Events

JANUARY 2009

The Big Read Activities - To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee The Big Read is a national program designed to encourage literary reading by helping communities come together to read and discuss a single book.
FEBRUARY 2009

February 14. Hearts On Fire Valentine’s Party, 6 – 10 p.m. FREE Out with your sweetie and looking for an out-of-the-ordinary romantic adventure? Passion is like glass – beautiful, timeless, and hot. Come to Third Degree Glass Factory for Hearts On Fire Valentine’s Party. Unlock your romantic genius and together create a Token of Affection glass tile. Only $20 or FREE if you dine at a St. Louis Originals Restaurant on February 14 before you come by and bring both the receipt and postcard coupon. Limited offer. See master artists, flown in for Third Degree’s Midwest Glass Experience, work with torches. Be curious and discover beads, bugs, and sculptures made by masters and priced to sell. Cash bar and a dessert bar. Sweet.

February 20, Third Friday Open House, 6 – 10 p.m., F REEFeeling the love? Stop by Third Friday! Nothing like free fiery entertainment to get your hearts pounding. See glassblowers blow glowing hot glass. Shop for glass gifts in the HotShop Gallery. Make a Token of Affection glass tile keepsake. Only $20. At 8 p.m. it’s lonesome harmonies and hard-driving bluegrass by the Local Gents. Third Degree East Gallery presents St. Louis University Department of Fine and Performing Arts: Selected Faculty Artwork. Exhibit features works in a variety of media. Third Fridays are free and family-friendly. Cash bar provided. Third Degree Glass Factory, 5200 Delmar, smack dab between University City’s Loop and the Central West End. For more info: www.stlglass.com or 314-367-4527. Play with fire!

Saturday, February 28, 2009
6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Missouri Botanical Garden Trivia Night
The Ridgway Center
Doors open at 6, trivia starts at 7:00

On-going Events

November 29, 2008 - March 1, 2009
George Washington Carver Exhibit
Missouri History Museum
Adults: $10; Seniors/Students: $ 8; Children (6-12): $6; Free on Tuesdays

November 2, 2008 - November 8, 2009
Katherine Dunham: Beyond the Dance Exhibit
Missouri History Museum
Adults: $7; Seniors/Students: $5; Children (6-12): $3; Free on Tuesdays

Free Sushi Wednesdays
5pm
Drunken Fish Happy Hour
Buy 1 drink and get free sushi. Arrive early

Breakfast and a Movie at the St. Louis Science Center
Get a group of 10 or more together and host your own movie party. Time and movie title arranged by you and full hot breakfast provided by the Science Center.
Weekdays only. A great holiday party idea.
Cost: $13 per person

STL New Year's Eve 2008

Fete Member Rebecca Rodgers recommends some great activities for News Year’s Eve. She shared them in an article in the St. Louis American.
Here are a few suggestions for STL NYE 2008: Most wonderful time of the year.
Enjoy & Happy Holidays!

Before making those 2009 New Year's resolutions, consider these options to make 2008 an unforgettable New Year's Eve celebration in St. Louis.

Praise Explosion

Consider a non-traditional watch experience at Shalom Church (City of Peace) at the Lindbergh Campus, beginning at 10:00 p.m. on December 31st. Call 314.653.2300 for more information.

Family fun

Why not kick things off early with a "Noon Year's Eve" celebration at Saint Louis Science Center's The EXPLORADOME with Radio Disney AM 1260. This affair, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., features music, games, prizes and n of course n noise-makers! Log onto: www.slsc.org for more details.

Then, keep the party going with the ultimate family-friendly, alcohol-free New Year's Eve party at "First Night® St. Louis 2009: Kaleidoscope." Ring in the new at the Grand Center arts and entertainment district from 5:30 p.m. n midnight. The first batch of fireworks launch at 9 p.m., and the Grand Fireworks will wrap up the night n and the year n at midnight. Visit www.firstnightstl.org for information.

While in Grand Center, stop in and take pleasure in the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra New Year's Eve Concert beginning at 7:30 p.m. For ticket information, call (314) 534-1700 or (314) 534-1111, or view www.slso.org.

Or rock in the New Year at The New Year's Eve celebration at the Hard Rock Café St. Louis. No cover charge and all ages are welcome. The full dinner menu is available until 11 p.m. and the bar stays open 'til 1 a.m. Call 314-621-7625 for details.

Laughter

Get your laugh on at STL's House of Comedy. The two shows include: an open bar, hilarious comedy show, six gut busting comics, and a Champagne Toast and an after Party with The Later Show. For a list of acts, go to: http://www.stlhouseofcomedy.com/home.htm.

Virtual Connection

Log onto to: www.foxy955.net, www.hot1041stl.com, and www.stlamerican.comfor your virtual connections to additional events and parties going on during New Year's Eve. Couples and Groups Get an early jump on the evening with dinner cruises aboard the Gateway Arch Riverboats. Reservations are required, call 877-982-1410 for information, or book online at www.gatewayarch.com.

Holiday Inn Select n Downtown features Majic 104.9's radio personality Sylvester the Cat & Live Jazz Band starting at 8 p.m. There's an open bar, hors d'oeuvres, a prime rib buffet, champagne at midnight, free party hats, noisemakers and free parking. Call Donnell to make your party reservations at 314-521-3599, and call 1-800-HOLIDAY to make hotel room reservations. Log onto: www.kmjm.com and www.100.3thebeat.com for additional suggestions.

Afterwards, get your basement bash on at The Lower Lounge at Mike Shannon's (www.shannonsteak.com, 314.421.1540.) For additional ideas on how to wrap up '08, go to: http://www.stlnye.com/. Or, head over to Westport Plaza and ring in the New Year with free fireworks and free carriage rides.

What Would You Pay for Such a Fabulous Time in St. Louis? Week 3 Recap

Go Directly to the December 2008 or Winter 2009 Calendar.

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Sunday, Dec 14 - Attended the Lafayette Square Holiday Parlour Tour.

Cost: $0

We toured twelve beautiful historical homes in the Lafayette Park neighborhood. If you love history or architecture or housing design, then you would love house tours, this one especially. Later, we enjoyed a fabulous banquet of food and wine. See the special label for the Lafayette Square House Tour by Chaumette Winery of Ste. Genevieve, MO.Now this house tour cost $20 person. How did we enjoy all of this culture and fun for free? We volunteered with Fuel for the City to serve as docents for the tour. Fuel for the City is this city's most vivacious all-volunteer organization. Network, socialize, and serve. And membership is free. Join now.

At the Post-event banquet.

Some home owners dressed in period clothing.

Tuesday, Dec 16 - An elegant evening of Classical Music with a String Quartet of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and Soprano Marliss Hudson.

Visit this link to read the recap and check out the photos.

Cost: $0

It was a full house of music lovers. Later there was wine and cheese. Tower Grove Park Piper Palm House hosts weekly free music concerts all the time. See you at one soon.

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Thursday, Dec 18 - A Night to Remember at the New Roberts Brother Hotel

Cost: $0

Visit this link to read the recap and check out the photos.

The Holiday party was spectacular and food and wine and cocktails poured. A truly beautiful evening complete with some elbow rubbing with local celebrities and policy-makers.

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Saturday, Dec 20 - A Reggae-licious night with Mario Pascal and Roots Fusion at Meskereem Ethiopian Restaurant

Cost: $5

Live music is always good and I love their style - a reggae, Afro-caribbean, R&B fusion. Reminded me of Stevie Wonder, Doobie Brothers, and India.Arie all stewed together in a delicious spicy peanut butter soup. Umm-umm good. It really took me back to my youth. On my BioDad side of the family - he and my uncle performed music like this at the family house. Acoustic & bass guitars jamming, saxophones blowing, African dancing, and lots of love fatigue-clad happy-nappy dredlocked peoples. It was great. Check Mario Pascal & Roots Fusion out and download some free tunes. Also enjoying the show were songstresses COCOSOUL and Marlisa Hudson and photographer Lance O Thurman on their evenings off.

The Band: Mario Pascal and Roots Fusion

Mario Pascal

Group shot with Marlissa Hudson, CoCo Soul and Lance O. Thurman

Having a truly great week, Hanging out with Great People, and Blogging all About it - Priceless!

Oh, What a Night! - Dec 18th Recap.

Go Directly to the December 2008 or Winter 2009 Calendar.

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My goodness gracious, it seems the weather did not keep everyone at home last night. We were among hundreds of other souls eager to see what the new Indigo Hotel of the Central West End looked like. First of all, that old Best Western needed something to happen to make it habitable. Second, I like organizations that 're-use and re-purpose'. Why take up more space? Work with what you've got. And let me tell you, the Roberts Hotels Group has created a phoenix with this property.

As you can see the property has a very Esoteric Caribbean feel to it. Three-dimensional silouettes of branches and bright colors of lime green, ocean blue and orange are through-out the hotel. Beautifully scripted phases written backwards in the lobby. Signs with words and phrases assembled in odd grammatical patterns. So, you know your hostesses, two scientists are taking everything too literally, so found Ms. Kathy Stuart who explained the whole Indigo theme to us.

Your Hostesses with Kathy Stuart

It starts with the Phi:- The Golden ratio. of 1.618. Most natural patterns fits this "perfect ratio" - the intervals between veins in leaves, relative proportions of our body - see the Man created by Da Vinci - and being inspired by Da Vinci is where the backward written phases come in. Da Vinci did all of kinds of mysterious things, including writing many of his human anatomy notes backwards because of the all of the detail. And the nautilus shell - hotel's symbol, is an example of a visual pattern of math, because it's segments adhere to the Phi ratio.So, words that begin in FI are re-spelled to begin with PHI - like fitness to phitness' and the directions are in Haiku form - 17 syllable poems. All of this visual math. Neat.

It was a nice time and we had a chance to meet some great people. Before we could get in the door, Mayor Francis Slay walked right up to your hostesses, smiled, introduced himself, and extended his hand. My camera was ready yet. I also met UM-St. Louis Chancellor Dr. Tom George (another scientist), but alas no picture. And we met Cheresse, of Cheresse Ink. Big Kudos goes to her and her team. They planned the entire event and it was SPECTACULAR. Her people were flashing away and took a picture of us with her. But we managed plenty of pictures of other politicians and key St. Louisians.

The Fête Society with State Senator Jeff Smith & State Representative-Elect Don Calloway

The Fête Society with Mr.Mike Roberts and State Senator Jeff Smith

Missouri State Senator congratulating Mr. Mike Roberts, Sr.

Me with Mrs. Roberts (mother of Mike Sr and Steven Roberts)

Crowd Shots

The open spaces hosted guest with free food and drinks, a live blues band, a 2-piece holiday songs ensemble, and a hip-hop DJ downstairs. And a local artist was there creating art live. He paints bird caricatures. Very colorful - like the hotel, perhaps that is why they invited him - and adorable. I tried to talk him into painting mammals. No dice, only birds. Check him out - Jeff Kapfer.

Artist Jeff Kapfer

The Fête Society Mixing and Mingling

with Virvus Jones - Roberts Brothers Co. Vice President of Real Estate

Amina Terry - Architect and Designer with the Indigo Hotel project. Standing in the room she designed.

with Person on the Move - Darcella Craven

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Later that evening, I stumbled upon "Political After-party". Local Aldermen are preparing for what will be an exciting and historical Presidential Inauguration. As a prelude, President-Elect Obama is encouraging everyone to keep the momentum and be a part of the Change We Need. MLK Day 2009 will be a Day of Service and there will be a grand community service project that Monday to get everyone involved and address this madness of violence in our city neighborhoods. So save the date, Monday, January 19th and stay tuned.

Alderman Davis discussing the MLK Day Service Event

Aldermen Quincy Troupe & Marlene Davis

Aldermen Sam Moore, Kacie Starr Triplett, & Quincy Troupe

Aldermen Sam Moore, Quincy Troupe, & Marlene Davis

Alderman Sam Moore and City Comptroller Darlene Green

Alderman Kacie Starr Triplett and Attorney Shira Truitt