Explore St. Louis

Celebrate Chinese New Year by visiting one of St. Louis' top Asian restaurants or see a traditional Dragon Dance at the Missouri History Museum on Saturday, January 28. The free 1 p.m. event welcomes the Year of the Dog and includes arts and crafts, music, Tai Chi, martial arts and much more. Call 314-746-4599 or click on www.mohistory.org for details.

Saturday and Sunday, January 28 & 29, you can graze on some of the best food in St. Louis and sample more than 400 wines at the Fourth Annual St. Louis Food & Wine Experience. The event, which benefits the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, takes place at the Chase Park Plaza Hotel in the charming Central West End neighborhood. The cost is just $25 in advance and $30 at the door. If you're special, there's a $40 VIP ticket just for you. For more information call: (314) 968-7340 or log on to www.repstl.org.

Cheech Marin of the famed duo of Cheech and Chong is in town to open a new exhibit on one of his life's passions, Chicano art. The exhibit opens Friday, January 27, at the Saint Louis Science Center and continues through May 14. For more info, call 314-289-4444 or visit www.slsc.org.

And, if you like it loud, then head for the Fox Theatre to see Blast! The shows on January 27, 28 & 27 feature 37 brass, percussion and visual performers who create a unique explosion of music and theatre. Call 314-534-1111 for tickets or click on www.fabulousfox.com.

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Want to be top dog with your toddler? Toddle to The Magic House, St. Louis Children's Museum this weekend or anytime through May 14. That's when everyone's favorite big red dog takes up residence in the acclaimed children's museum.

"Adventures with Clifford The Big Red Dog™" is the fun-filled special exhibit that brings to life the world of one of the most popular characters in kiddie literature and an animated televison program --Clifford.

Wee ones can board the Birdwell Island ferry and journey to the world of Clifford™, America's beloved big red dog with a heart to match. The exhibit offers numerous immersive "paws-on" adventures that reinforce "Clifford's Big Ideas." Visit all of Clifford's places on the island, including Clifford's doghouse, and a collosal nine-foot Clifford with a tail kids can slide down, just like Emily Elizabeth does on the television show.

Admission is $7.00 per person; kids under two years of age are free.

The road to the Winter Olympics glide through St. Louis this weekend as one of the nation’s biggest winter sports events continues through Sunday at the Savvis Center -- the 2006 State Farm U.S. Figure Skating Championships. America’s top skaters including Sasha Cohen, Alissa Czisny, Johnny Weir, Tim Goebel and others are competing for spots on the U.S. Olympic Team headed for the 2006 Games in Torino, Italy.

On Friday night at 7:30 p.m., see elegance on ice during the Senior Dance Free Skate competition. Beautiful music, sparkling costumes and graceful choreography make the dance exhibition one of the competition's most popular events.

On Saturday afternoon at 1:00 p.m., the Senior Men’s free skate takes place and the Senior Women perform their self-chosen free skate programs starting at 7:00 p.m. The outcome of these two events will determine which individual skaters will be representing the U.S. at the Winter Games.

On Sunday, the skaters showcase their talents during the Exhibition of Champions. This joyful event begins at 2:00 p.m. at Savvis Center. Skaters can showcase their favorite programs in this non-judged, just-for-fun exhibition.

Tickets for all events are available at the Savvis Center box office, all Ticketmaster Ticket Centers, by phone at 314-241-1888 or 618-222-2900 (automated), 314-421-4400 (sales rep), and online at www.ticketmaster.com. For disabled access information, please call 314-622-5420. A $2 per ticket facility fee will be added to all tickets purchased at all locations, including at the Savvis Center Box Office. Additional Ticketmaster service charges and handling fees apply to all tickets purchased through Ticketmaster outlets, by phone or online. Prices range from $15.00 to $85.00.

It’s eagle-watching season in St. Louis. During January and February, hundreds of majestic American bald eagles feast on fish, glide through the sky and roost in trees along the banks of the Mighty Mississippi and Missouri rivers. Soar into St. Louis to see our national bird at a number of excellent viewing sites in the heart of metropolitan St. Louis especially within The Confluence, a 200 square-mile conservation, heritage and recreation corridor along the two rivers.

To learn more about eagle-watching events and other attractions and to book a hotel room in St. Louis, visit www.ExploreStLouis.com or call the St. Louis Convention & Visitors Commission at 1-800-916-0040. An up-to-date calendar of events provides details on all the high-flying activities taking place in the Gateway City during January and February.

Get an extra kick along this Route 66 attraction: eagle-watching from the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge. The mile-long Mississippi River span, the original Route 66 crossing from Illinois into Missouri, is now a pedestrian/bicycling only bridge. Open daily, the free bridge view provides awesome scenes of eagles in flight above the river and along its tree-lined banks. The bridge is open one-half hour before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset. A special eagle education program called Eagle Days at the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge starts at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday, January 14 and 15. Eagle experts will be on hand for talks and questions, special viewing scopes will be set-up for visitors and Lewis & Clark reenactors will display a recreated 1804-06 Corps of Discovery camp.

Experience these majestic sights simultaneously – eagles in the wild and the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers – at two natural settings: the Columbia Bottom Conservation Area and the Edward “Ted” and Pat Jones – Confluence State Park. The large viewing platform at Columbia Bottom, open through March 31, provides panoramic sightlines of the rivers and birds. The mingling of the two massive rivers is on dramatic view at Confluence Point State Park, the newest of Missouri’s State Parks and a favorite hangout for eagles.

The Riverlands Migratory Bird Sanctuary is a haven for winged wildlife. Operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the West Alton, Missouri sanctuary’s Rivers Project Office is a sheltered, indoor location from which to view eagles and other river creatures. The office is open every weekday and weekends through February 5 from 11:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. On January 22 and February 5 and 12, a free Eagle Meet & Greet takes place at the National Great Rivers Museum on the grounds of the Melvin Price Locks & Dam in nearby Alton, Illinois. An educator from St. Louis’ World Bird Sanctuary will be on hand from 12:00 to 3:00 p.m. with a live eagle display in the classroom.

Learn everything you ever wanted to know about eagles and other wild birds at the World Bird Sanctuary, one of the largest facilities in the world for the conservation of our feathered friends. Located about 20-minutes from downtown St. Louis off Interstate 44 and open free-of-charge, the Sanctuary offers a variety of special events and innovative programs along with displays of birds, small woodland creatures and reptiles from around the world. Bird-watchers can follow the trails to the bird feeding stations to observe numerous species of local and migrating songbirds.

American bald eagles are elegant birds. Want to get up-close to another sophisticated species? Then march to the free St. Louis Zoo to greet the tuxedoed charmers residing within Penguin & Puffin Coast. This cool habitat houses Humboldt, Rockhopper, King and Gentoo penguins and dozens of big-billed puffins. Hundreds of exotic, colorful birds reside in the Zoo’s indoor Bird House and within the historic 1904 Flight Cage, a structural steel aviary from the 1904 World’s Fair that is the largest walk-through bird enclosure in the world.

At the Forest Park Visitor Center, avid birders can pick-up a free Forest Park Voyagers Backpack filled with birding information, tree guides and binoculars to help them discover the wild feathered residents of the park.

Following a busy day of bird-watching, you can roost at one of St. Louis’ comfortable hotels where feathery soft comforters, fluffy pillows and other amenities await. Special winter hotel packages offer economical rates for couples and family travelers. Examples include the Embassy Suites’ “Winter Family Fun Package” where your flock can nest in a two-room suite with full breakfast and ice skating passes and an “Adventurous Holiday for Two” from the centrally located Cheshire Lodge. It includes a deluxe room and tickets to City Museum and discount coupons for a Forest Park bicycle tour and a bottle of wine with dinner at LoRusso’s Cucina, one of St. Louis’ great Italian restaurants. For a complete listing of St. Louis hotels, special hotel packages and to book a room on-line, click on www.ExploreStLouis.com.