St. Louis Events for Labor Day Weekend Tuesday August 20, 2024 Share AttractionsEntertainmentFamily-FriendlyOutdoorsShoppingSports By Rachel Huffman Labor Day weekend gives you an extra day to enjoy an abundance of St. Louis events. Watch cyclists spin around iconic neighborhoods, experience an exquisite culture at the Missouri Botanical Garden and explore the St. Louis riverfront aboard a replica 19th-century steamboat. Looking for other activities that won’t break the bank? St. Louis abounds with free summer fun! Riverboats at the Gateway Arch | Photo by JBeauvais Photography St. Louis Cardinals vs. San Diego Padres August 26 to 29 Kicking off Labor Day weekend, the St. Louis Cardinals will take on the San Diego Padres at Busch Stadium. Whether you go to a game or not, you can still enjoy the atmosphere around the stadium. Snap a photo with the bronze statue of Cardinals legend Stan “The Man” Musial, which stands outside the Gate 3 entrance, and then indulge in the food, drink and entertainment options at Ballpark Village. St. Louis Riverfront Cruise August 26 to September 2 Return to a time when steamboats ruled the river. The one-hour narrated riverfront cruise aboard the Riverboats at the Gateway Arch explores the history of downtown St. Louis, including the Mississippi River’s role in its past, present and future. Cruises run daily from March through November, and times vary depending on the season. Hamilton August 28 to September 8 A revolutionary story of passion, unstoppable ambition and the dawn of a new nation, Hamilton follows the rise of Founding Father Alexander Hamilton as he fights for honor, love and a legacy that would shape the course of the U.S. Based on Ron Chernow’s acclaimed biography and set to a score that blends hip-hop, jazz, soul, R&B and Broadway, Hamilton has had a profound impact on culture, politics and education. See it for yourself when it comes to the stage of The Fabulous Fox. Hamilton | Photo by Joan Marcus St. Louis Riverfront Adventure August 30 What better way to experience St. Louis than from the Mississippi River? Join Big Muddy Adventures on this five-hour paddle along the mighty river, which will surely activate your adrenaline! No paddling experience is required. Children ages six and older are welcome, but they must be accompanied by an adult. City Nights August 30 Send summer out with a bang at City Museum. The next iteration of City Nights includes spun beats, seltzer samples, unparalleled views of the illuminated skyline and unrestricted access to the attraction’s wacky wonders. Attendees must be 21 or older. Water Lantern Festival August 30 to 31 Remember the past, celebrate the present and plan for the future at the Water Lantern Festival in Creve Coeur Park. Every adult ticket includes a floating lantern kit with an LED candle, playing cards and a commemorative drawstring bag, and the price covers the cost of retrieving the lanterns and cleaning the water. Filled with happiness, harmony and hope, this is one of the most magical events in St. Louis. Big Muddy Adventures | Photo courtesy of Big Muddy Adventures Queeny Art Fair August 30 to September 1 One of the most reputable art fairs in the bistate region, the Queeny Art Fair brings more than 100 juried artists together to display their original works. As you peruse the arts and crafts, you can enjoy live music, local food and art demonstrations. Gateway Cup August 30 to September 2 Big Shark Bicycle Co. presents Missouri’s top cycling event over Labor Day weekend. The Bommarito Audi West County Gateway Cup features four days of racing by some of the best professional and amateur cyclists, who will put on a show as they zip around Lafayette Square, Francis Park, The Hill and Florissant. The full tilt races showcase “criterium format” racing on one-mile laps. This Americanized style of racing appeals to both athletes and spectators as the peloton speeds by the crowd every few minutes, holding lines only inches apart from one another. Watch the race develop lap after lap and hear commentators announce race strategy as the excitement builds. Japanese Festival August 31 to September 2 Spotlighting and celebrating the history, culture and people of Japan, the Japanese Festival at the Missouri Botanical Garden is one of the oldest and largest of its kind in the U.S. Every year, thousands of visitors flock to the garden to absorb the traditional Japanese art, food and entertainment on display. If you have time, consider taking one of the special tours offered in conjunction with the event. Water Lantern Festival | Photo courtesy of the St. Louis Water Lantern Festival St. Louis CITY SC vs. LA Galaxy September 1 Playing at CITYPARK stadium – which connects the city’s downtown core and its thriving Cortex Innovation Community – St. Louis CITY SC is the first female majority-owned club in Major League Soccer. See the team take on LA Galaxy on Labor Day weekend, and don’t miss the unique elements that accompany the action on the pitch. Match day at CITYPARK promises powerful art, energizing beats, robust chants and local flavor. Dig into the elevated food program here. UniverSoul Circus Until September 2 Celebrating 30 spectacular years, UniverSoul Circus showcases international acts that blend jaw-dropping stunts with culture, comedy, dance, music and more. Now, it returns to St. Louis for performances under the big top next to The Dome at America’s Center. UniverSoul’s fresh approach to kid-friendly live entertainment has garnered a coveted spot as one of Ticketmaster’s top 10 most requested family events, and more than 25 million people have seen a show to date. This year, the UniverSoul experience has been reimagined with more than a dozen culturally diverse performances. Expect never-before-seen acts from Ethiopia, the Dominican Republic and Mongolia – plus an 18-person flying trapeze act from China. SUE: The T. Rex Experience Until September 15 Meet SUE in the LOU. The most complete, best-preserved Tyrannosaurus rex specimen ever discovered, SUE will roar at the Saint Louis Science Center over Labor Day weekend. The T. rex Experience explains how the fossils were unearthed and explores the sights, sounds and smells of SUE’s world. At the special exhibition, you can also meet SUE’s nemesis, Triceratops. Continue your discovery in the Science Center’s earth sciences gallery full of animatronic dinosaurs and real fossils. UniverSoul Circus | Photo by Tim Pethel Clash for the Crown Until January 12, 2025 Showing at the World Chess Hall of Fame, Clash for the Crown explores the histories of the World Chess Championship and the Women’s World Chess Championship. The exhibition features artifacts from the collections of the World Chess Hall of Fame and the International Chess Federation, along with loans from chess champions across the globe. Videos and interactive stations will also shine a light on past champions. Alma’s Way: Welcome to My Neighborhood Until January 20, 2025 The Magic House recently debuted Alma’s Way: Welcome to My Neighborhood, an immersive exhibit developed and fabricated by The Magic House in collaboration with PBS KIDS and Fred Rogers Productions, which will travel around the country after it leaves St. Louis. The exhibit is based on the new animated series, Alma’s Way, created by actor and writer Sonia Manzano, who positively impacted generations of children as Maria on Sesame Street. Visitors will be transported to Alma’s colorful Bronx neighborhood, where they can explore a multicultural bodega, a local community center with a Bomba Dance Studio, Alma’s father’s pet clinic, a subway and a park, as well as Alma’s family duplex where her extended Puerto Rican family lives and plays. Alma loves finding solutions and solving problems, and young visitors will, too! Pop Stars! Until June 30, 2025 Illuminating the contemporary intersection of celebrity, commerce, technology and media, Pop Stars!, the latest exhibition at 21c Museum Hotel St. Louis, features more than 90 works of art by 55 artists from around the world. Curated by museum director and chief curator Alice Gray Stites, Pop Stars! is a multimedia exploration of popular culture, where the featured artists examine recent shifts in how culture is being created and consumed, demonstrating the dominance of the popular as today’s ubiquitous culture. Share
