© 2024 St. Louis Public Radio
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Summer Concerts: From Hermann to Greece for Labor Day festivals

Mark Hamilton | Flickr

Music has been a part of St. Louis Labor Day traditions from the bands at the union parade, to the Osuwa Taiko drummers at the Missouri Botanical Garden’s Japanese Festival to the Big Muddy Blues Festival. But, except for the parade(starting at 9 a.m., Olive Street to Tucker Boulevard, to Market Street to 15th Street), these aren’t free.

A couple of weekend festivals have no admission charge — but do have plenty of ways to spend money on food and drink.

The 98th annual St. Louis Greek Festival will take place at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church. The map may say Forest Park Avenue at Kingshighway, but for festival purposes this area is now “Athens on the Street.” Greek food, beverages and music will be available from 5-9 p.m. Sept. 4, 11 a.m.- 9 p.m. Sept. 5 and 6, and 11 a.m.- 8 p.m. Sept. 7.

A drive out west on Saturday Sept. 5 will get you to the Stone Hill Winery Harvest Festival at Hermann, Mo. Music starts at 1 p.m. with the Shiloh Country Band. The event includes pumpkin painting and grape stomping.

The regular list follows.

Donna Korando started work in journalism at SIU’s Daily Egyptian in 1968. In between Carbondale and St. Louis Public Radio, she taught high school in Manitowoc, Wis., and worked at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. She was the copy editor and letters editor for the editorial page from 1973-77. As an editorial writer from 1977-87, she covered Illinois and city politics, education, agriculture, family issues and sub-Saharan Africa. When she was editor of the Commentary Page from 1987-2003, the page won several awards from the Association of Opinion Page Editors. From 2003-07, she headed the features copy desk.