Explore St. Louis

NEW YEAR’S EVE IN ST. LOUIS
If you can’t find something here, you’re just not trying hard enough.

Still haven’t figured out what to do for New Year’s Eve? No problem – there are still plenty of options available to help you and yours ring out the old in style. Whether you’re looking for a family-friendly fête or a way to spice up the night with other grown-ups, you can definitely find something to do in The Lou.

Family Friendly
“Red, Hot Camelot” is the theme for this year’s First Night – Saint Louis celebration, with a host of festive activities in an alcohol-free environment. The evening kicks off with a parade at 5:30 p.m. and festivities wrap-up at midnight with a choreographed grand finale of pyrotechnics. In between, Grand Center Arts and Entertainment District will be alive with live music, dancing, puppets, street performers, and an arts and crafts center. There’s an early fireworks display at 9:00 p.m. for those of us who just can’t wait until midnight.

Prefer to have your fireworks first and your dinner after? Westport Plaza gets their party started with a bang and a fireworks display at 6:00 p.m., and follows things up with free horse and carriage rides until 9:00 p.m. Get a quick bite to eat or make plans to spend the evening enjoying dinner,drinks and dancing at one of the restaurants or bars in the Village, then grab a room at one of the Sheraton Hotels on site.

Hit the road for a family-friendly, overnight celebration at the YMCA Trout Lodge and their New Year’s Eve Masquerade Ball. Check out a host of entertaining activities for all ages including live music, a juggler, fireworks, a Mardi Gras carnival for kids, and the Moonlight Zip for teenagers. B.Y.O.C (Bring Your Own Costume), and please remember – dressing up like a fish at the Trout Lodge is soooo overdone…

Had enough family time this holiday season and looking for a way to get your party on with some like-minded dancing machines? Check out the variety of nightlife options and pick the one that suits your style. Click on the Calendar of Events section of the http://www.explorestlouis.com/ web site for ideas of where to toss your 2007 confetti.

If you’re feeling “fancy” as well as festive, head for Powell Symphony Hall and the New Year’s Eve Dance Card Concert with the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra. Back by popular demand, maestro David Robertson and “the band” plan to once again thrill patrons with their “musical surprise” program – a final holiday gift to area music lovers. Or check out the Foundry Art Centre as they celebrate with Broadway star Larry Alexander. The evening includes complimentary champagne on arrival, dinner, cash bar, and a dessert bar and champagne reception after the 9 p.m. performance.

If you’re looking to try a little something different this year, then head downtown to the mighty Mississippi River. The Gateway Arch Riverboats are offering a special New Year’s Eve cruise aboard the Tom Sawyer and Becky Thatcher riverboats. Boarding begins at 9:00 p.m. and the 3½-hour excursion includes a sit-down, filet mignon dinner, open bar, a midnight champagne toast, and a DJ spinning dance tunes. Oh – and there’s no need to bring your own noisemakers or party hats – the captain promises to have plenty on board.

Take a trip to Paris via Harrah’s St. Louis Casino & Hotel as they transform the entire facility into the Moulin Rouge for New Year’s Eve. The festivities will include cancan dancers, street
performers, caricature artists, live music, a burlesque show in the casino’s popular iBar, and a midnight celebration featuring the biggest balloon drop and longest confetti blast in town. The action is just as hot over in the VooDoo Café & Lounge with a party that features live music, silk aerialists, go-go dancers, a DJ, party hats and noisemakers.

Meanwhile, over at Dave & Buster’s, there’s a mystery dinner theatre going on. In addition to being darned entertaining, the evening will be a benefit for the St. Louis affiliate of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. Diners get to participate in the theatrics, interacting with the actors while enjoying a three-course meal, cash bar, and free champagne at midnight.

Several area hotels offer special “stay and play” party packages, so you can make that short commute after you’ve had your fill of New Year’s noisemakers and mayhem. Downtown, the Adam’s Mark Hotel’s party package includes dancing the night away with Smash Band and the David Glover Band from 8:00 p.m. - 1:00 a.m., along with hors d’oeuvres, an open bar (until midnight), party favors and a champagne toast at midnight. At the Hyatt Regency – Union Station, party-goers have their choice of two distinctly different party package options. The first features merrymaking with Joe Dirt and the Dirty Boys band in the Grand Ballroom, along with an open bar, hors d’oeuvres and party favors. The second option, which takes place in the beautiful Grand Hall, includes a four-course dinner for two in the Station Grille, a reserved table for Liam Christy and Dave Stone Continuum Jazz Celebration, party favors and a midnight champagne toast. Both soirees are available individually or as part of a party package that includes an overnight stay and a New Year’s Day breakfast buffet for two. The Well Hungarians will ring in the New Year at the Millennium Hotel’s Grand Ballroom, as the party starts at 7:30 p.m. and continues until 1:00 a.m. Reserve a guest room/party package deal or just come for the band’s high octane sound and the open bar, three-course dinner and obligatory champagne toast at midnight.

Out in the Central West End and up on the Starlight Roof at the Chase Park Plaza, you can dine and dance your way into 2007 with a premium cocktail and hors d’oeuvres reception, a three-course dinner with wine service throughout, live music from the Ralph Butler Band, a midnight balloon drop and champagne toast. Special rates on deluxe guest rooms and suites are also available with or without the party package.

The Crowne Plaza Clayton offers three types of music in three different ballrooms, and all include reserved seating, hats, noisemakers and an open bar from 9:00 p.m. - 1:00 a.m. “Door Number One” features “The Edge,” popular dance music to get you on your feet, while “Door Number Two” hosts Patti & The Hitmen as they rock the house with R&B and spirited blues tunes. “The Original Oldies Show” with Mad Maynard and Jackie McCoy is behind “Door Number Three” with – you guessed it – plenty of great oldies. Three package plans are available, with additional options such as dinner, overnight accommodations, and New Year’s Day brunch for two.

At the Holiday Inn Southwest & Viking Conference Center, two live bands - the Rhythm Rockers and Planet Boogie - and a DJ will provide a continuous soundtrack for your dance moves. The Viking’s party packages include a filet mignon and lobster dinner, open bar, dessert buffet, champagne toast at midnight, and party favors. Guest room party packages also include champagne in your room and complimentary New Year’s Day breakfast buffet for two. The Holiday Inn South County Center’s party package includes an open bar, dinner buffet for two, party favors, champagne toast, live music from Mirage and a DJ spinning dance hits between sets. The Deluxe Package includes a deluxe guest room and breakfast for two.

Looking to get away from the noise and craziness of the holidays and just relax? Then treat yourself to a night at the Renaissance St. Louis Airport. No muss, no fuss – just a quiet night away from the madness with a special room rate that includes champagne upon arrival, breakfast buffet for two, and a late check-out. Ahhhhh.

Have a safe, happy and properous 2007!

The St. Louis Public Library and The Magic House Children’s Museum in St. Louis are joining together to enter the magical world of fairy tales and they’re inviting you to come along. With the help of a grant from The Institute of Museum and Library Services, the two partners have created a one-of-a-kind, interactive exhibit titled “Once Upon a Time ... Exploring the World of Fairy Tales.”

This unique exhibit at Central Library, transports kids, 3-10 years of age, inside seven important tales in a way they’ve never experienced before. The 2000 square-foot exhibit focuses on the power and significance of fairy tales. It brings to life seven rich tales, each with its own large-scale environment and interactive components.

In each environment kids will use dramatic play to become a part of the story and they’ll explore activities within each tale. With the help of adults, they’ll also learn the meaning and history of tales they’ve known all of their lives and others which may be new to them.

Featured fairy tales are: Anansi and the Talking Melon, Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, The Elves and the Shoemaker, Jack and the Beanstalk, Lon Po Po and Thumbelina.

Hurry, you don’t have much time to experience “Once Upon a Time ... Exploring the World of Fairy Tales.” It’s only open through December 30, 2006. Click on the link above for more information.

Would like to tour an actual Frank Lloyd Wright House in the Gateway City? Nestled on 10.5 acres in Ebsworth Park is a unique and significant residence designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, widely recognized as the greatest American architect of the 20th-century. This 1,900 square foot residence, built for Russell and Ruth Kraus, was the architect's first building in the St. Louis area, and is one of only five Wright designs in Missouri. It is an excellent example of Wright's democratic vision, intended to provide middle class Americans with beautiful architecture at an affordable cost. The home is notable not only for its architectural integrity, but for retaining all of its original Wright-designed furnishings and fabrics.

The square, rectangle, octagon, triangle, hexagon, parallelogram, circle, spiral, and arc are keys to the consistent and systematic quality underlying all of Wright's work. Those shapes allow an ordering of space that encompasses both composition and construction. Using nature as his mentor and geometry as a tool Wright developed what he called organic architecture. The home is listed on the National Register of Historic Places because of its significance in American architecture.

The St. Louis Artists’ Guild will open “Prairie Skyscraper: Frank Lloyd Wright’s Price Tower” exhibit on December 17, 2006. If you love the unique style of Wright, don’t miss this free, curated exhibit of artifacts and photographic documentation of the design, construction, and history of Frank Lloyd Wright’s innovative, multiple-purpose building for the Price family in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. The St. Louis Artists Guild is located in Oak Knoll Park and will present the exhibit until March 3, 2007.

Founded in 1880, the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra (SLSO) is recognized internationally as an ensemble of the highest caliber, performing a broad musical repertoire with skill and spirit. The Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra was founded on the belief that great music should be available to everyone.

The Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra will present – in what has become a St. Louis family tradition - a variety of holiday inspired concerts in December. The holiday season starts first with the 12th annual Gospel Christmas at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, December 14.

After a one year absence, the traditional Holiday Concerts return this season. Concerts are scheduled for December 15, 16, 17, and will be conducted by SLSO Assistant Conductor Scott Parkman. Joining Parkman and the Orchestra will be the St. Louis Children’s Choir. Program highlights include Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker and Prokofiev’s Troika from Lt. Kije Suite.

The holiday season shines a little brighter when David Robertson leads the Orchestra in two special performances of Chaplin’s Idle Class and The Kid at 7:30 p.m., December 29 and December 30. The Orchestra plays the Chaplin scores live, while the films are projected on a large screen. This is truly a family event, which promises to put a smile on your face. Last year’s Chaplin concerts were sold out, so make plans to get your tickets early.