Entertainment

The Best Things to Do in St. Louis This Weekend: March 28 to 31

Published

1 month ago

March 27, 2024

Thursday 03/28 Off the Top Ropes The tragic story of the Von Erich family was memorably chronicled in last year’s Zac Efron film The Iron Claw, an A24 production that was a near-universal hit among critics upon its release, even being named one of the top 10 films of the year by the National Board of Review. The true story behind the arthouse film is just as gripping as the one on the silver screen, and this week Gateway City Slam is here to tell — and show — you all about it. The slam regularly hosts its Wrestling Night event, which brings free screenings of rare wrestling-related material to the fabulous Arkadin Cinema and Bar (5228 Gravois Avenue). This week’s melange will be about the ups and downs of the wrestling family whose lives were marked by triumph in the ring and marred by tragedy outside it, with promotional material promising footage of some of their greatest matches as well as rare interviews and documentary footage. As with all Gateway City Slam events at Arkadin, admission is free. The bar will be open (and you might need a drink indeed). The show starts at 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 28. More info at arkadincinema.com Friday 03/29 Res-Erection Looking to make this year’s Good Friday a Great one? Hoping to spice up the story of the crucifixion of the Christian Messiah with a little skin this holiday season? Well, look no further, because the highlight of the horniest of all holy days (or is it the holiest of all horny days?), St. Louis’ Sexy Jesus Pageant, is back for its second year. Hosted by last year’s Sexy Jesus winner Andrew Genius, this event is truly one of a kind, and aims to entertain the most dedicated of Christ’s disciples by proving the Son of God has it going on. Contestants will compete in a Show Us Your Good Side category, strut the runway in their Sunday best and will undergo an interrogation by a panel of judges for the ominously dubbed Inquisition. It all goes down on Friday, March 29, at Aurora STL (7413 South Broadway). Doors open at 7 p.m. and the fun starts at 8. Tickets are $21.25 and can be purchased at aurorastl.com/tickets/p/sexy-jesus-pageant. Can’t make it to see Sexy Jesus strut the stage, but still feeling pious? Never fear: The Sacred Sluts will take the stage the next day. Saturday 03/30 Eggheads Welcome In a less enlightened time, St. Paul bragged about putting childish ways behind him once he hit adulthood. But these days we know better. We color in adult coloring books. We go to adult playgrounds (looking at you, Armory). We even compete in adult Easter egg hunts — like, say, the Adult Easter Egg Hunt at 2nd Shift Brewing (1601 Sublette Avenue) this Saturday, March 30. Beginning at noon, you can join your fellow grown-ups in hunting for brightly colored eggs all over the brewery and its garden, no doubt joined by handsome brewery cat Simon and a few adult beverages. And these eggs aren’t just a diversion from the grave that awaits us all once we shed this mortal coil (hey, we’re adults, remember? Death ain’t all that far away — and unless you join St. Paul in buying into that whole resurrection-of-the-dead thing, we’re not sure what kind of reprieve you’re banking on). Some of the eggs also contain prizes, from candy to a percentage off your tab to maybe even this entire afternoon being on the house. No children’s egg hunt would ever! The hunt is free, with no tickets required. Details at facebook.com/events/279310461926675. Cave Cravings Before we go any further, let us start with a question: In its own way, is not the entire damn world one big Man Cave Extravaganza? Assuredly the answer is yes. But in this man’s world, the second annual Man Cave Extravaganza that hits Belleville this weekend should be a genuinely fun event that can be enjoyed by all — men, women, or anyone in between — as long as they like beer. Vendors from multiple states will crowd into the Belle Clair Fairgrounds (200 South Belt East, Belleville) with their breweriana, collectibles, lighted signs, decor and more this Saturday, March 30. In other words, there will be thousands of items to choose from to spruce up your home bar, man cave or she shed. (What’s the non-binary version of this? Just a cave/shed? Perhaps the way we need designated spaces to comfortably flaunt our genders is indicative of a larger problem? You do you!) Get a neon beer sign for your front window or office. No one cares. Admission is $5 and the festivities run from at 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. for the general public, with early bird access at 7:30 a.m. for $10. Tickets available via Eventbrite. Bizarre Bazaar Local weirdos rejoice, for your time is almost here — which is to say, the Show Me Oddities & Collectibles Expo returns to St. Louis this weekend. The convention is always a big hit locally, offering a place for “lovers of the strange, usual and bizarre” to congregate (and shop). This year, the traveling expo is due to set up at the District 9 Machinist Hall (12365 St. Charles Rock Road, Bridgeton) on Saturday, March 30. Inside, art dealers, artists and vendors will be ready and able to supply you with all the weird little things that your heart desires. Think taxidermy, quack medical devices, funeral collectibles, skulls and bones, preserved specimens in jars and all other manner of the macabre that you can use to prove to guests at your home that you’re a sick little freak. The event kicks off at 9 a.m. and general admission is just $10. For more information, visit facebook.com/events/7738698196149138. Sunday 03/31 The Three Bs Delicious breakfast food, carbonated alcoholic beverages and adorable furry animals? Yes, please. This Easter Sunday, March 31, head to the Bullock (799 Clark Avenue) from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. for the Bullock’s Brunch, Bubbles and Bunnies Easter extravaganza. An elevated buffet with classic brunch fare, carving stations, a raw bar and sweets will be available for guests to enjoy on the outdoor terrace, as well as unlimited Champagne. Adult tickets are $75 and include the full brunch menu, Champagne, access to a petting zoo, an Easter egg hunt, live music and complimentary parking. Children’s tickets are free and include fruit cups, cinnamon rolls, chocolate chip pancakes and eggs and bacon for brunch, as well as the petting zoo and egg hunt. To reserve your spot visit resy.com.

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Entertainment

Back to the Future, Meet Me in St. Louis to Play on Art Hill This Summer

Published

2 days ago

April 26, 2024

Natural Bridge

Saint Louis Art Museum will go back to the past this summer — with two fan favorites making encore presentations at its beloved Art Hill film series.Those films, Back to the Future and Meet Me in St. Louis, were voted on by fans. The sci-fi comedy classic will be screened on July 12 and the Judy Garland musical on July 19.Both programs begin at 6 p.m. with food trucks curated by Sauce Magazine. Parking is free and so is admission to the films, with seating on a first-come, first-served basis. People are invited to pack their own picnics if they prefer. The films begin each night at 9 p.m. Keep an eye on Saint Louis Art Museum’s Facebook, Instagram and slam.org for details in the case of inclement weather. But if the weather cooperates, you’ll want to plan to meet your fellow film fans in St. Louis — and make that the Saint Louis Art Museum while you’re at it. Subscribe to Riverfront Times newsletters.Follow us: Apple News | Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | Or sign up for our RSS Feed

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Entertainment

The Trees I’ve Loved — and Lost

Published

2 days ago

April 26, 2024

Natural Bridge

My neighbor told me she plans to cut down her tree and my heart stopped. The tree in question is an enormous Japanese maple that covers her yard and spills into my own. In the spring, it splashes a rich red across my bathroom window, and the tree has become such an integral part of my home that I can barely imagine life without it. Besides, I am still smarting from the loss of the mimosa tree at the end of my block. The silky, pink blooms sprung to life each May and stuck around until August, perfectly complementing the mint green paint on the adjacent garage. It was cut down without fanfare last year. I imagine my neighbors enjoy the unobstructed space for their patio table and lawn chairs, but when I look at their yard, I only see what’s missing.

The prospect of losing the maple with Arbor Day just around the corner flooded my mind with memories of other trees that have touched my life. I grew up in a pecan-orchard-turned-subdivision in Arlington, Texas, where the tree branches reached across the road to form a green tunnel that shaded your car as you weaved through the neighborhood. Visitors commented, but I never noticed. I wasn’t what you would call “outdoorsy.” I was a suburban girl, more inclined towards a trip to the mall than a walk in the park. What I did notice were the grocery bags full of pecans that my family harvested each year from the tree in our front yard alone. My dad even had a contraption for picking up the nuts without bending over—imagine a slinky on a broomstick and you get the picture.

Sometimes, I was taken outdoors against my will. On a camping trip when I was eight, my friend’s mom invited us to play a game. She took us into a field, blindfolded us and introduced each of us to a tree that we were to learn by touch. She then brought us back to the field, restored our sight and let us loose to find our tree. For the rest of the trip, I smiled each time I saw “my” tree and brought home a sketchbook filled with its portraits.

Growing up didn’t do much for my love of nature, but I did have a favorite tree at my San Antonio university. The campus was known for its sprawling live oaks donated by the Sears, Roebuck and Company in 1960 and its Champion Mexican sycamore that stood 70 feet tall. The tree I loved was not so fancy. I don’t even know what kind it was, only that it sat in a concrete grid behind the dining hall among eight other nearly identical trees. But this one was so perfectly symmetrical that it delighted the eye and stood out among its peers. So devoted was I to this tree, I did a photo shoot with it when I graduated, back when that required a real camera and actual film.

In Southern California, I met the jacaranda. The bright lavender blooms line the streets of Los Angeles and Orange County in the spring and the fall. They always reminded me of that Robin Williams movie What Dreams May Come, the sad one in which he ventures into his wife’s paintings after her suicide. Subject matter aside, walking among jacarandas feels like walking into a painting, and when its flowers fall it looks like purple rain.

I once attended a funeral for a tree in San Francisco. I never knew the tree, but my neighbors did and were devastated by the loss. My husband mourned a different tree. Perhaps you remember it? The Keebler Elf Tree in Tower Grove Park had a burly trunk with a tiny door-like opening that beckoned to those who believe in magic. Its branches dipped low to the ground and swept up again, inviting intrepid readers to perch and lose themselves in other worlds. Once it was marked for destruction, children’s drawings appeared like talismans on the fence that surrounded it. All that love couldn’t save the tree. Its legacy lives on, though, commemorated on Schlafly beer cans. Like so many Saint Louisans, my husband still misses that tree. He says “losing a tree is like losing a friend.”

Today is Arbor Day, a day to celebrate and plant trees. The first U.S. Arbor Day took place in Lincoln, Nebraska, in 1872. Citizens planted over one million trees. If we attempted that feat in St. Louis today, where would we put them? Would we confine the trees to our parks and the Missouri Botanical Garden? Or would we use them to shade our parking lots, schools and homes and give some life to the luxury apartments popping up like weeds with no landscaping in sight? What trees have made your life better and what trees are worth fighting for?

I can’t stop thinking about the Japanese maple. Perhaps I pay closer attention knowing its days are numbered, but I hate to think this is the last season I will see sun dappling through its leaves. In my neighbor’s defense, the tree takes up her entire yard. In the tree’s defense, it is so, so beautiful. I guess I’m a nature lover after all.

The RFT welcomes short essays on topics of local interest. Contact [email protected] if you’ve got something to say.

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Entertainment

Esquire Names St. Louis’ 21c Museum Hotel One of 2024’s Best New Hotels

Published

3 days ago

April 25, 2024

Natural Bridge

St. Louis’ 21c Museum Hotel was named one of the “41 Best New Hotels in North America and Europe 2024” by Esquire last month.

21c Museum Hotel (1528 Locust Street) opened last year in Downtown West in the city’s old YMCA building. While nodding to the building’s past by keeping the gym’s flooring, a renovated iteration of the YMCA’s lap pool (now the Locust Street Athletic and Swim Club), keeping the wood paneling and more, the hotel offers luxurious rooms, art galleries, a top-notch bar and incredible, immersive art throughout.

In its article, Esquire says, “It changes the way you think about art, hotels, and, hell, St. Louis itself.”

click to enlarge 21c Museum Hotel St. Louis The second floor hosts a large gallery space that debuted with a group exhibition, Revival: Digging Into Yesterday, Planting Tomorrow, that will be on display through June of next year.

The item also talks about the restored basketball court art gallery, which features artists Kehinde Wiley, Esiri Erheriene-Essi and Simone Elizabeth Saunders, as well as 21c’s free 24/7 museum, the restaurant Idol Wolf and the way history shines throughout the hotel. “Touches throughout nod to St. Louis’s former glory, including a magnificent Renaissance Revival pool, while the life that thrums through the lobby bar points to the city’s promising future,” the writers say.All that and one of the second-least expensive pricepoint on the list? We’ll take more press like this, please!

For more information on the 21c Museum Hotel read the RFT’s “21c Museum Hotel Dazzles in St. Louis’ Old Downtown YMCA Building” or visit 21c’s website.

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