St. Charles MO

Once Upon a Valentine

This is a very exciting weekend, because it’s the inaugural weekend of the “Once Upon a Valentine” micro event on Historic Main Street in St. Charles, MO. I absolutely love these character events (Christmas Traditions is one of my most-anticipated activities of the year, and Legends and Lanterns has become a family favorite, too), so we were there when it kicked off yesterday at noon. If you’re interested, it’s running from 12-3 today, too!

Here’s a brief rundown of how the event is set up. Like Legends and Lanterns, the characters have specific locations, so you know exactly who you’re looking for and where. There were 10 different stops, and in keeping with the theme of “Stories for the Loved & Loveless,” they were split into pro-Valentine’s Day and anti-Valentine’s Day stations…can you guess who of the following belongs to each group?

We saw my favorite characters of the event first thing…the Six Wives of Henry VIII. The actresses all know their characters really well, and the costumes are outstanding. I even got to join in their protest! Sadly, we missed out on their piñata party…yes they have a heart piñata to demolish at 1 and 2!

There were two familiar faces from Legends and Lanterns…the Queen of Hearts, who also has an outstanding costume, not to mention a candy “kiss”ing booth:

And Miss Havisham, who is still lamenting her ruined wedding, but does offer you the opportunity to burn your frustrations with art therapy.

We also met Casanova and Femme Fatale, who have wooing tips to share, plus valentine making:

I was amused by the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre Gangsters…nothing suspicious going on there. You can even get your mugshot taken!

I’m pretty sure you can’t have a Valentine’s Day event without those star-crossed lovers, Romeo and Juliet, but you might not expect them to have a Plinko-style game featuring rewritten Shakespearian love sonnets!

The French Tango Trio are a classic love triangle, with the whimsical addition of dueling with baguettes:

And Cupid, another Valentine’s Day staple, even shares his arrows so you can see how true your aim is!

There are two singing groups…The Lonely Hearts Club:

And The Conversation Hearts:

Historic Main Street is decorated nicely for the event…I especially like the decorated hearts that are themed to the characters…Romeo and Juliet’s is my favorite!

And the International Heart Photo Op is really pretty!

The character events always have something to collect…this time, the goal is to collect valentines with vintage photos of St. Charles on the front and Valentine’s Day history facts on the back (did you know that the future president Theodore Roosevelt’s wife and mother died hours apart on Valentine’s Day 1884?!?). The photos are really cool, and we learned a lot from reading the facts (and in keeping with tradition, managed to collect only 10 out of the 11 cards available!)!

I was really happy that we ran into Ryan Cooper, the genius behind all of these events. He is a true gift to the city of St. Charles and the greater St. Louis area!

I hope this is an event that sticks around…I really enjoyed having an excuse to visit St. Charles at this time of year, and as always, we had a really good time! And even I have some ideas for other characters they could add in the future, so there’s definitely room for the event to become even bigger!

Sartorial Saturday–The Top Five Dirndl Looks of 2023

I know I said yesterday that I was sharing my last “Top Five” photos list of the year, but those were photos I took…today I’m sharing my favorite dirndl looks that I wore this year, which are photos take of me, not by me!

I’m starting back in May, when we went to Maifest at Grant’s Farm. I really love the pops of pink of the apron and ribbon against the darker background of the dress, and I also really love the setting of the picture!

My second Everyday Dirndl was purchased specifically with paying homage to the Austrian flag in mind, and the full look is even better than I hoped. I love the white “Surprise Me” apron Erika created for me, and I think my accessories, which featured lots of edelweiss and pops of white and red, are the perfect accompaniment!

Next up is the look I wore to Belleville Oktoberfest. I borrowed an apron from another dirndl to go with my purple dress, and added my iridescent Docs and some purple accessories to complete the look.

Speaking of borrowing an apron, this is the dress that goes with the apron in the previous photo. This time, I added a fancy, sheer floral apron to my harlequin print dirndl for St. Charles Oktoberfest…I love the autumnal color scheme!

And finally, a look featuring my new Christmas apron. Not the look I wore on Christmas Day (which I also love), but the one I wore to the Belleville Christkindlmarkt, adding a green ribbon and red accessories for a festive look.

I really love finding new ways to mix and match my pieces, and I can’t wait to see what I come up with next!

Christmas Traditions 2023

Yesterday was a most-anticipated day…our annual trip to St. Charles, MO, for Christmas Traditions! We were worried about the weather (it was supposed to rain the entire day, but we got lucky, and it was mostly dry while we were there), and the traffic (an accident had I-70 at a standstill for a bit on our way there), but we made it in time (and even found a decent parking space!) for the Santa Parade:

After that, we headed down Main Street to look for all of our favorite characters, and we did a pretty good job of it!

As I did last year, I had to take a picture with the Mistletoe Misses…I love their costumes, and they seemed to like my outfit, too!

I also had to get a picture with the Lord of Misrule himself…I don’t know who thought it was a good idea to give him a sword!

But the main attraction is always a visit with Jack Frost. We love listening to his banter and seeing what kind of antics he’s added to his routine from year to year, and of course Bunny always has to take a picture with him. I was surprised to discover that he had been waiting for us this year, though. Usually, we attend the festival earlier in the season, which I guess he knows, and he had been carrying around a special gift for us since (I assume) opening day, which he was excited to present to us, complete with some of his original artwork on the bag. Jack may have a cold exterior, but he truly has a heart of gold! I was exceptionally touched (ok, I started crying right there on Main Street), because I had never considered that our presence there is valued. It was quite a moment, and made this our best trip to Christmas Traditions yet, and I know we won’t forget it.

Even on a damp, gloomy day, historic St. Charles is a beautiful place! And since it was so gloomy, we could really see the Christmas lights, which was very nice!

Our last order of business was getting our yearly photo at the gazebo. We had to wait for a madrigal performance on the steps to wrap up, but we got it in the end. So many years we’ve done this now!

Next year is the 50th anniversary of Christmas Traditions, and we’re already looking forward to being a part of that celebration!

A Journey Through Halloween History

I was a little worried we weren’t going to make it to Legends and Lanterns this year…we had to wait until the final weekend to fit it into our schedule, and the weather forecast for Saturday wasn’t exactly promising. But the rain held off long enough for our visit, and, as always, it was fun!

The characters are always the main attraction. We saw some old favorites, and a few new faces as well.

Also new this year was the addition of some do-it-yourself passport stamps for some of the characters. I really loved this activity…the lovely embossed stamps are such a fun, tactile inclusion to the passport, and they’re really beautiful!

It’s always fun to catch a performance by the Angry Villagers!

I am also always captivated by how charming and lovely historic St. Charles is, especially in the fall! The decorations are top notch, and the glorious fall colors are outstanding!

Scarecrow Glen is another favorite stop. At this point, they’ve run rather far afield of the concept of scarecrows, but I don’t care…I just love seeing all of the creative displays! The homage to Jack Frost was definitely my favorite…I’m already looking forward to Christmas Traditions!

I’m glad the weather was clear long enough for our visit!

Sartorial Saturday–Oktoberfest 2023

Time for a look back at the outfits I wore to various Oktoberfest celebrations this year! I attended a record four Oktoberfests, which means I got to wear 2/3 of the dirndls in my wardrobe. I wore my very first dress from Rare Dirndl to Belleville’s Oktoberfest, but with a fairly new apron:

I wore one of my newest dirndls to St. Charles Oktoberfest, but I again switched out the apron:

I decided to go for a lot of color at Zootoberfest at the St. Louis Zoo:

And I paired my new “Surprise Me” apron with one of my oldest dirndls at Oktoberfest at Das Bevo:

Looking back at the places I went, I can say that Belleville’s Oktoberfest is still the most disappointing to me, while St. Charles is the biggest and best. Surprisingly, though, the zoo had the best pretzels!

St. Charles might have the best Oktoberfest, but you just can’t beat the setting of Das Bevo. It was the smallest one I attended, but just look at that gorgeous building and fun tent!

I’ll leave you with everyone’s favorite call for a toast!

Chickadee Thursday

We went to St. Charles Oktoberfest for the first time, and it was so much fun…Chickadee especially loved seeing all of the dachshunds that were there for the “Wiener Takes All” Wiener Dog Derby!

St. Charles Oktoberfest

Yesterday we went to St. Charles Oktoberfest for the first time, and it was so much fun! I really loved the location at Frontier Park right on the banks of the Missouri River…it’s the perfect place for a festival!

There were lots of tents, and we got to hear several bands:

There were also German dancers, which I absolutely loved!

The dancers were from the German Cultural Society of St. Louis, and they also had a booth where they were selling cookbooks (I added one to my extensive cookbook collection) and Schwarzwälderkirsch Cupcakes (very tasty!).

Speaking of food…is it even Oktoberfest if you don’t have a pretzel?!? We also tried the schnitzel sandwich, which was served open-faced on rye bread with sauerkraut and mustard…so delicious!

We didn’t get to see the “Wiener Takes All” dog derby, but we did see tons of dachshunds everywhere we went!

And we weren’t there for the glockenspiel performance, but it was cool to get to see the clock!

With apologies to Belleville, this was the best Oktoberfest I’ve been to!

It was almost everything I hoped for in an Oktoberfest…lots of people, lots of tents, German music and dancing, German food, and even places to buy various German items. I think if I want to get my souvenir clothespin, a beautifully decorated Lebkuchenherzen, and a Steckerlfisch, I’m just going to have to plan a trip to Munich, though!

Christmas Traditions

Last year, we made a somewhat tentative return to St. Charles, MO, for Christmas Traditions; this year, we returned in full force!

We made sure that we were there for the Santa Parade. Actually, we were there way earlier than we needed to be, but at least we got a good parking spot!

I truly believe Main Street in St. Charles in one of the prettiest streets in the entire St. Louis metro, and never more so than at Christmas!

We did a pretty good job of finding characters…I think we ended up with 26 of 33 cards. The important thing, though, is that we found both Jack Frost and the Master of Revels, our two favorites! We were impressed by how many characters they have added representing different world cultures…it gave us an opportunity to learn something new!

Jack Frost even gave Bunny a “Blue Crew” pin, which made her day!

I had to stop and take a picture with the Mistletoe Misses, because I looked like I could join their lovely, mid-century group in the outfit I was wearing!

And, as always, I took a photo of the Fab Five by the gazebo. Not in quite the same location as usual, because one of the singing groups was performing in it, but close enough:

Sometimes, I can’t believe just how long this has been a part of our Christmas traditions…it’s definitely one of the things I look forward to the most in December!