Explore St. Louis

Need a weekend getaway? Explore St. Louis.

You can make some beautiful music on Friday night when the free Jungle Boogie concert swings from 5 - 7 p.m. at the Saint Louis Zoo. At Jefferson Barracks County Park, the Blues on the Mississippi series begins at 8 p.m. Billy Idol sneers his way across the stage at The Pageant concert club in the Loop neighborhood and, down the street, Kim Massie adds her voice to the Divas of Jazz series at Brandt's Cafe and The Young Dubliners perform at Blueberry Hill. Rick Springfield (yes, that Rick Springfield) is in concert at the Roberts Orpheum Theatre Downtown.

On Saturday, you can catch "All That Tap," a salute to the art of tap dance, at the Touhill Performing Arts Center. Also on Saturday, up-and-coming jazz chanteuse Erin Bode sings at Brandt's, Hooch & Daddy O are at The Pageant and the Kim Massie Trio is on stage at Finale in the Clayton neighborhood.

Sunday brings the Sugar Water Festival (Queen Latifah, Erykah Badu and Jill Scott) to UMB Bank Pavilion and the Scream Tour IV Festival to Savvis Center. (If you don't know what Scream Tour is, you're too told to go.) The Compton Heights Band performs a Sunday Serenade in the evening at Francis Park.

If you're bringing the kids, why not get them really, really dirty at Mighty Mud Mania. (Then you can hose them off and throw them into the hotel pool.) The annual event takes muddy family activities to new depths at Jefferson Barracks Park on Saturday. Cleaner fun can be found on The Hill, St. Louis' Italian neighborhood where Saturday is Hill Day 2005. You can learn to play (and properly pronounce) Bocce, Italian lawn bowling. Plus you can get tasty treats from the Hill's famous restaurants, enjoy some music and shopping or just mingle with the locals. Noon - 9 p.m.

Gateway International Raceway honors the royalty of racing on Saturday, July 30 during the Wallace Family Tribute 250 NASCAR Busch Series.

Check the interactive Calendar of Events for info on these events and much more.