From Pridefest to county fairs, St. Louis has plenty of summer festivals (2024)

Nobody loves their festivals like St. Louis loves its festivals. We practically have a festival to honor all of our other festivals.

We just can’t get enough of the live music, the vendors, the art, the crafts and the charcoal-cooked shish kebabs that taste better at festivals than anywhere else.

We love festivals so much that at least one festival is scheduled (virtually) every single week from now until Labor Day.

Don’t believe us? Take a look:

St. Louis County Greek Festival

For a lot of people, the annual Greek Fest is where they had their first gyros or souvlaki or galatoboúriko. But there is more to the festival than just Greek food. There is music and folk dancing and tours of the highly decorated Assumption Greek Orthodox Church and its many icons — the tours can also come with a brief description of some of the tenets of the Greek Orthodox faith.

Missouri River Irish Fest

Along with oodles of Irish music, gallons of Guinness and multitudinous drams of Irish whiskey, there will be a world of festival food (none of it Irish), a whirl of merchandise and Irish wolfhounds (May 25 only). The athletically curious can try their hand at such sports as hurling and Gaelic football.

New Citygarden section opening

Three new sculptures and two old favorites have been installed and reinstalled in Citygarden, and the ugly interruption that was once Ninth Street has been made more parklike, and naturally St. Louis is celebrating with a party. Along with the new and old art there will be live music, food, drinks and giveaways.

St. Louis African Arts Festival

The culture of sub-Saharan Africa is the focus of this festival, which highlights both African and African-American music, dance, food, crafts and the like. There will be plenty to buy, eat, drink and see, including a screening of the 2019 romantic comedy “2 Weeks in Lagos” (8:30 p.m. May 27, preceded by an 8 p.m. discussion of the film).

Macoupin County Historical Society Spring Festival

It’s not just live music (Souls, noon-3 p.m. May 25; Back in the Saddle, noon-3 p.m. May 26) and vendors, it’s also a tractor parade, demonstrations of crafts, blacksmithing and farming from long ago, Civil War reenactments and displays of antique tractors and vehicles, small engines, toys and crafts.

Kimmswick Strawberry Festival

It’s strawberries as far as you can see at this festival — homemade strawberry jam and chocolate-covered strawberries and strawberry cheesecake and strawberry wine and strawberry iced tea — but the strawberry jam sells out quickly. Along with more than 125 food and craft vendors, there will be craft booths, home-and-garden booths, a bounce house, pony rides and more.

Pagan Picnic

It is the 32nd time around for the annual Pagan Picnic, a gathering of the areas pagans, the pagan-friendly, the pagan-curious and people who want to hear music, chow down on food and buy cool stuff. More than 100 vendors will hawk their wares among musical performances, food (it’s a picnic!), pagan rituals, a kids zone and poetic recitations

International Horseradish Festival

Honestly, a lot of area festivals are just like festivals in other places. But not this one. The International Horseradish Festival has such activities as tossing a horseradish root into a bucket and grinding horseradish roots, a horseradish pageant (it’s a personality pageant, not beauty) and, inevitably, a Bloody Mary contest. There will also be live music and food, both horseradish-related and not.

Schweizerfest

This year, the parade will only be held on June 8, beginning at 5 p.m. But all the other favorites will be back in full swing, including food, music, an axe toss (actually, that’s new this year), cornhole, a washers tournament and rides.

Edwardsville Route 66 Festival

The Mother Road, as it was once called, still exists in the minds and hearts of many Americans. Edwardsville was a major stop on the road, with a plethora of restaurants and service stations (always important when driving some of those jalopies) for weary travelers and all the necessities of daily life for the residents. The festival includes music, food, drink, art, a 10K run and, perhaps best of all, a classic car cruise.

Green Living Festival

Everything you could possibly want to know about sustainable living and caring for the environment will be covered at this daylong event at MoBot. Along with yoga and assorted activities for both adults and children, the festival will also include at least three dozen vendors and exhibitors offering everything from composting services to environmentally friendly makeup.

St. Charles Pride Festival

Last year’s first-ever pride parade at the St. Charles Pride Festival was so successful, they are looking into doing it again. Details about the festival were sketchy at press time, but we do know that the Pride Co-Hosts will be drag queens Akasha Royale (Miss Gay Missouri America 2023) and Roxxy Malone (Miss Gay Gateway America 2019).

PrideFest

Expect plenty of vibrant clothes (and wear your own, if you like) at the 40th annual PrideFest, which celebrates all things LGBTQ. National and local acts will provide the live music, DJs will provide the recorded music and a host of vendors will provide a wide variety of things to buy, eat and drink.

Celebrate St. Louis

Don’t call it Fair St. Louis. The popular event, shortened to one day, is back, with a patriotic parade (in its 141st year) down Market Street, live music (including Lupe Fiasco, Feel, Locash and the Urge), an airshow, skydiving, a 150th anniversary celebration of the Eads Bridge, a family zone, a salute of the troops and, of course, a fireworks spectacular above the Arch.

Riverfest St. Charles

With so many July 4 celebrations around the area, it’s hard to pick just one. But St. Charles has one of the best, with two full days (that’s key) of old-time fun, a parade (10 a.m. July 4), food and drink from vendors and all the downtown restaurants, lots of live music on two stages and two nights’ (that’s also key) of fireworks.

Let Them Eat Art

It’s an art show! It’s a restaurant event! It’s an art show and a restaurant event! Plus live music from several stages, live performers strolling the streets and activities for children. The event name is a cheeky reference to Marie Antoinette, in advance of Bastille Day.

Art Hill Film Series

Like all good things, the Art Hill Film Series has diminished with time. What was once a four-film series has dwindled down to two — but they’re great films. July 12 will be “Back to the Future” and July 19 will be “Meet Me in St. Louis” — shown right where the final scene takes place. Pre-screening fun includes music, food trucks, a cash bar and more.

Jefferson County Fair

To be honest, we don’t yet know much about the Jeff County Fair this year, but it’s a fair so there will probably be the usual fair activities. Plus, the country music band Parmalee (“Carolina,” “Just the Way,” “Take My Name”) will perform July 19.

St. Charles County Fair

The St. Charles County Fair checks all the boxes for a county fair: entertainment, rides, competitions (food, produce, crafts, fine arts, woodworking, clothing and stitchery), children’s activities, livestock shows, a county fair queen competition and pageant, tractor and truck pulls, a demolition derby, 4H and FFA events and even a midway.

World Naked Bike Ride

Clothing is optional, and costumes are encouraged, for this annual 17-mile ride through some of the hippest parts of town. Chafing is always a concern, of course, but there will be a big party with plenty of music and dancing — and food trucks and maybe beer — before and after the ride. Last year’s event was canceled because of heavy rains, so cross your fingers for this year’s event.

Washington Town and Country Fair

County fairs — or in this case, town and country fairs — are a lot of wholesome fun, with rides, livestock shows, petting zoos, best-pie contests, best produce contests and the like. Washington’s fair has all that but further distinguishes itself with unexpectedly big musical acts, including Travis Tritt, Goo Goo Dolls, Uncle Kracker and Adam Wainwright, who used to be famous for other things.

Blues at the Arch Festival

The ninth annual festival — an unlikely collaboration between the National Blues Museum and the National Park Service — has a killer musical lineup to go with the usual food and drink vendors. Headliners include D.K. Harrell (Aug. 9), St. Louis’ own Marquise Knox (Aug. 10) and Nikki Hill (Aug. 10). It even ends with a fireworks display. Don’t forget the Blues brunch 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Aug. 11.

Festival of the Little Hills

This festival, which has been held every year since 1971, is huge. Also known as the Féte de Petites Côtes (St. Charles’ original name was Petites Côtes), the event brings together more than 300 artists and crafters, more than 50 food vendors, more than a dozen musical acts and a bunch of shows for children.

Festival of Nations

At the Festival of Nations, you can try the food of more than 50 countries (for a cost) and listen to music and watch dance from nearly as many. Plus, people from dozens of countries will sell their native wares. But really, it’s all about the food.

Japanese Festival

This popular annual festival is 47 years old. That’s 47 years of taiko drums, samurai sword performances and Japanese food, drink, art and dance. And it’s all held in the lovely and serene Japanese Garden section of MoBot, which is worth seeing even without kendo performances and omikoshi, Shinto portable shrines.

St. Louis World’s Fare Heritage Festival

That’s “fare” as in “food,” specifically from food trucks, but there is more to this Labor Day festival than food. There will be 18 music acts, including headliners Mix Master Mike, Boombox (featuring BackBeat Brass) and Fishbone. Plus, look for an artist village, a place with information about the 1904 World’s Fair, a display of old and unusual cars, a Ferris wheel, backyard games and competitions between bars.