Community Corner
Patch Picks: Fourth of July Festivals
We pick the five best places to visit during the first four days of July. Hint: They all end in fireworks.
Since the Fourth of July itself is on a Monday, we have a rare weekend of nonstop Independence Day festivals across the metro area. We here at Patch Picks chose our favorite weekend-long festivals so you can enjoy America’s freedom to make beautiful explosions in the sky for four straight days. This year, you really can do it all. The only hard part will be deciding where to stop.
Fair Saint Louis
This downtown festival is the queen of explosive public concerts. You can see the Steve Miller Band on Saturday, Maroon 5 on Sunday and Montgomery Gentry on Monday. Oh, that’s not enough for you? How about a daily air show in the afternoon and a fireworks show every night for three days in a row? Downtown parking will be a nightmare, so plan to take the Metro.
Rockin' on the Landing
It’s hard to decide whether Laclede’s Landing is cheating with this event or being extremely smart. Instead of launching its own fireworks show, it's pitch is that the Landing is the best place to watch the Fair Saint Louis fireworks. Its just far enough away to justify their own stage with four back-to-back local bands every night Saturday through Monday as well as access to real restaurants and bathrooms instead of fair food and portable toilets.
Missouri Heritage and Freedom Fest
If you don’t want to fight the crowds around the Arch, you can always head in the opposite direction. O’Fallon’s free Heritage and Freedom Fest rivals Fair Saint Louis in size and scale. On Sunday, it will host concerts by Josh Gracin and Phil Vassar. On Monday, it will bring in Tonic followed by indie darlings OK Go. On both nights, as soon as the music ends, the fireworks begin. Get there early so your kids can enjoy the midway rides, inflatables and games while getting sugared up on carnival food.
Webster Groves Community Days
This laid back, four-day celebration substitutes family friendly activities for concerts. It will feature a pet parade and rubber-duck races Friday, a Miss Webster Groves pagent on Saturday, then an all-day gathering featuring barbecue, a carnival, plenty of kid-friendly fun and fireworks on Sunday and Monday.
Historic St. Charles Riverfest
Riverfest only has one day of fireworks, but it has four days of family friendly fun. The carnival includes rides and games as well as street food and live entertainment on the Fourth of July before the fireworks. Because of flooding concerns, this year the festival has moved from the riverfront to South Riverside Drive.