Weekend happenings in St. Louis heating up

ST. LOUIS, MO (KTVI) — Summer may be winding down, but weekend happenings in St. Louis are heating up.

Roughly 150,000 people are expected to stroll through the St. Louis Art Fair this weekend, browsing and buying pieces from talented artists.

It’s been 20 years since this art fair began in downtown Clayton. Larry Kotner and his wife have been to every single one. He says, ‘The overall quality of the show is fabulous. You can go all over the country and not see as great a concentration of really good artists that you’ll find right here in Clayton.”

Artists like Augusta, Missouri resident Michael Bauermeister. “The work I’m doing now is very textured and has a lot of added color; I’m just having a lot of fun with that element of it.”

Just 10 percent of the artists are local. The rest of these painters, glass blowers and hat weavers come to Clayton from all across the continent.

Kotner adds, “People come from all over to see this show. And at least if they don’t, they should.”

In keeping with the weekend’s art theme, some of these fairgoers will head over to LouFest in Forest Park. Crews have been working since Labor Day, transforming Central Field into a two-day music festival.

LouFest Spokesperson Sarah McGoldrick says, “This is the fourth year. This year we’ve added a third stage so this’ll be the first year where there will be music simultaneously.”

With the larger footprint come special features, like the Nosh Pit with St. Louis delicacies, the Market Square for shopping, and Schlafly’s Brewtopia biergarten.

All a backdrop for enjoying top-tier acts and discovering new music. McGoldrick says, “We always enjoy surprising people with that festival experience where you’re hanging out with your friends, having a great time, and you discover your new favorite band.”

Then you can head back to Clayton to discover another new favorite artist.

St. Louis Art Fair Executive Director Cindy Lerick says, “No one’s asking you to [be quiet], no one’s asking you to do, buy, or purchase anything, but you do get to talk to the maker of the art.”

Meanwhile, an alternative art fair is being held this weekend at Schlafly Bottleworks in Maplewood and the Hispanic Festival is downtown in Kiener Plaza, not to mention the Cardinals games and Rams season opener.

For the full low-down of what’s going on over the next few days, check out Weekends on the Web with Angela Hutti.

http://fox2now.com/2013/08/30/weekends-on-the-web/