May 15 – 17

Your St. Louis weekend rundown is here!

Festival season is officially taking over the city, patios are packed, and this weekend feels like the unofficial kickoff to summer in STL. From neighborhood street festivals and live music to sports, comedy, pop-ups, and food events, there’s honestly something happening in every corner of the city.

In this episode of This Week in St. Louis, Brice breaks down everything happening around town — whether you’re looking for a family-friendly daytime event, a concert night out, local shopping, or just an excuse to spend the weekend outside.

This week’s highlights include:

• Taste of Maplewood bringing food, drinks, vendors, and live music to one of STL’s favorite neighborhoods.
 • Moonlight Market in Downtown Kirkwood with late-night shopping, music, and food vendors.
 • The Flowering Artist Festival taking over the Delmar Loop with live mural painting, performances, and over 80 artists.
 • A live glassblowing competition and arts night at Third Degree Glass Factory.
 • The Oddities & Curiosities Expo returning to America’s Center with horror art, strange collectibles, and all things weird.
 • Maifest at Grant’s Farm featuring German-inspired food, beer, music, and family activities.
 • The Budweiser 150 Celebration at Anheuser-Busch with live music, brewery experiences, food trucks, and the Clydesdales.
 • POINTFEST at Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre and Kid Rock’s Freedom 250 Tour stopping in STL.
 • Comedy shows from Ali Wong at Stifel Theatre and Gallery Laughs at the Saint Louis Art Museum.
 • Cardinals vs. Royals at Busch Stadium and the Battlehawks returning to The Dome.
 • The Gateway Games adaptive sports competition happening across St. Louis venues.
 • Hidden Gem’s Y2K, Baby! immersive pop-up bringing early-2000s nostalgia back to life.

This Week’s Flavors of the Lou

Mac & Cheese edition:
 • Salt + Smoke
 • Stone Turtle
 • Gramophone

Spot of the Week

Grandma’s Cookies in Historic Main Street St. Charles is celebrating 50 years with a huge block party this weekend featuring live music, giveaways, and $1 cookies. A perfect excuse to make a trip out to St. Charles and celebrate one of the area’s longtime favorites.

Whether you’re heading to a festival, catching a concert, checking out a pop-up, or just finding a good meal somewhere around STL, this weekend is packed with ways to get out and explore the city.

Tag @STLBucketList if you check anything out — we love seeing your adventures. 💛

🎙️ This Week in St. Louis is presented by Hoffmann Brothers, proudly serving St. Louis for over 40 years. From heating and cooling to plumbing and electrical, they help keep homes running smoothly all year long.

Transcript

Intro + Weekend Preview

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hey everyone, welcome back to This Week in St. Louis. I'm Bryce, and honestly, this weekend feels very peak St. Louis in the best possible way. We're finally getting into that stretch of the year where every neighborhood has something happening, patios are packed again, and festivals are everywhere. This weekend feels like there's a little bit of everything happening. You've got food festivals, live music, sports, comedy shows, markets, family-friendly activities, and honestly, something for everyone. So if you've been looking for an excuse to get out of the house, this is definitely the weekend to do it. Before we jump into everything happening around STL, let's talk about the sponsor for today's episode. This week in St. Louis is presented by Hoffman Brothers, trusted by St. Louis families and businesses for over 40 years. Whether it's your AC, water heater, plumbing, or even EV charging, Hoffman Brothers has you covered. Local, licensed, family-owned, book your service at HoffmanBros.com. Big thanks to them for supporting local stories like this one.

Festivals, Markets & Big Events

SPEAKER_00 0:51

All right, let's get into it because this weekend has a lot happening. If your weekend plans involve walking around outside with a drink in your hand and shopping at a market, there's a lot of options this weekend. One of the bigger events happening is the Taste of Maplewood happening Friday and Saturday over in Maplewood. This is one of those festivals that really does feel very neighborhood focused in the best way. You've got local restaurants, drinks, live music, vendors, and just a really good mix of people hanging out all day long. Friday night has more of a kickoff party vibe, and then Saturday is the full street festival setup. Also happening Friday night is the Moonlight Market in downtown Kirkwood. The farmers market stays open late. There are vendors set up in the streets, live music, food, drinks, very easy casual Friday night plans if you're looking for something low-key. The South Grand Makers pop-up is also happening this Saturday at Ritz Park. There will be lots of different local makers for you to shop and mingle with. Plus, be sure to check out our newest apparel line rooted while you're there. If you want something that feels super creative and artsy, the Flowering Artist Festival is taking over the Delmar Loop on Saturday. There are going to be over 80 artists, live mural paintings, performances, food, kids' activities, and just a ton happening throughout the loop all day. It honestly sounds like one of those events where you can just wander around for hours without really realizing it. There's also a really cool collaborative arts night happening over at Third Degree Glass Factory this weekend. They're doing a live glass blowing competition where teams of artists are creating St. Louis themed pieces in the hot shop while people vote on the winner. There's also live music, food vendors, demos, rage painting outside, crafts, gallery shopping, and a bunch of local maker groups involved. It feels very Maker Hill STL in the best possible way. And if your interests lean a little more weird and spooky, the Oddities and Curiosities Expo is at America Center all weekend. This is basically exactly what it sounds like: taxidermy, horror-inspired art, strange collectibles, creepy vintage stuff, odd jewelry, and honestly, things you didn't even know existed until you see them there. Definitely not your average convention. Another returning favorite this weekend is Mayfest out at Grants Farm. They're doing the German-inspired spring celebration again with beer, food, live music, dancers, and all the usual Grants Farm activities. It's one of those events that feels very family friendly during the day, but is still fun for adults too. And then one of the biggest events happening all weekend is the Budweiser 150 celebration over at Anheuser Busch Brewery. They're celebrating 150 years of Budweiser with live music, brewery experiences, food trucks, special merch, the Clydesdales, and basically turning the brewery campus into one giant party

Concerts, Comedy & Live Shows

SPEAKER_00 3:27

for the day. Now, if your weekend plans are more about concerts, comedy, or shows, there's honestly a lot happening this weekend too. Point Fest is back Saturday at Hollywood Casino Amphitheater. And if you grew up in St. Louis listening to 105.7 the point, you already know this is kind of a staple. A bunch of bands are on the lineup this year, so it's definitely one of the bigger live music nights of the weekend. Also at Hollywood Casino Amphitheater, Kid Rock is bringing the Freedom 250 tour through STL Friday night, which it will definitely bring a huge crowd. For comedy fans, Ali Wong is at Stiefel Theater Saturday night, which honestly feels like a pretty major show for St. Louis to get. She's one of those comedians where even people who don't regularly follow stand-up know who she is. And if you want something a little more intimate and local feeling, Gallery Last is back at the St. Louis Art Museum Friday night. It's this really cool mix of comedy, art, cocktails, and live music all happening inside Slam. Jessime Peluso is headlining this weekend's show, plus local comedians and custom artwork inspired by the performers. It feels way more than unique than just going to a normal comedy club. There's also another comedy show happening Saturday night at the pageant with Zultan Casas. If you're looking for a smaller venue vibe. And for theater fans, Spamalaw is still running at the Fabulous Fox this weekend. If you like Monty Python humor, this is probably exactly your type

Sports Weekend Around STL

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of show, completely chaotic in the best way. Then for something a little more laid back, Lyle Lovett is finishing up his multi-night run over at City Winery this weekend with the songs and stories performances. And honestly, if you're a sports person, you could pretty much spend this entire weekend bouncing from game to game. The Cardinals are back at Bush Stadium taking on the Kansas City Royals all weekend long, which always brings a fun crowd because Royals fans usually travel well. The Battlehawks are also back home Saturday at the Dome taking on the Houston Gamblers. And if you've never been to a Battlehawks game yet, the energy is honestly insane every single time. And then something really cool happening around the city this weekend is the Gateway Games. It's this massive sports competition happening at venues throughout the St. Louis area, featuring track and field, swimming, archery, powerlifting, and more. It's one of those events that deserves way more attention because it's genuinely incredibly impressive to watch. And if you're trying to keep things a little more daytime or family friendly this weekend, there are a

Family-Friendly Events + Y2K Pop-Up

SPEAKER_00 5:42

few good options too. Pumpers and Pistons is happening Saturday at the National Museum of Transportation. And this one is especially fun if you have kids who are obsessed with trucks or emergency vehicles. There are antique fire trucks, military trucks, activities, ice cream, and a bunch of hands-on stuff happening throughout the day. The National Museum of Transportation is also hosting an early Ford show on Sunday, which is perfect for car fans. And before we wrap up events, I do want to mention one pop-up that honestly sounds extremely fun if you grew up in the early 2000s. Hidden Gem is doing a Y2K themed immersive pop-up right now called Y2K Baby. It's basically pure nostalgia. Think flip phones, butterfly clips, neon everything, early 2000s music, themed cocktails, and all that chaotic energy of the era packed into

Flavors of the Lou: Mac & Cheese Edition

SPEAKER_00 6:28

one experience. Even the food and drinks are themed around it. This definitely feels like one of those group outing spots where everyone ends up taking a million photos. All right, but now it's time for our flavors of the loo, and this week we're talking mac and cheese. First up is Salt and Smoke because their white cheddar cracker Mac is honestly one of the most iconic sides in STL. Super creamy, crunchy on top, and somehow steals the spotlight from the barbecue half the time. Next is Stone Turtle, which has one of those rich homemade style mac and cheeses that just feels like comfort food in the best way. And then finally, Gramophone, because somehow a sandwich shop also has elite mac and cheese. It's cheesy, filling, and the perfect side to literally anything on the

Spot of the Week: Grandma’s Cookies

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menu. For the full lineup, head to our Instagram at STL Bucket List. And we have a spot for you to check out this weekend. Grandma's Cookies in Main Street St. Charles is turning 50 years old. This weekend they are hosting a block party on Saturday and Sunday. There's going to be giveaways, live music, and $1 cookies. Be sure to mark it in your weekend plans and tag us if

Outro + Weekend Wrap-Up

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you go. All right, that is your weekend roundup for St. Louis. As always, there's honestly way more happening around the city than we can fit into one episode. So make sure you're following SDL Bucketless for even more events, new spots, and things happening throughout the weekend. And if you end up checking out any of these events, make sure to tag us at SDL Bucketlist because we love seeing where everyone ends up for the weekend. Thanks again for listening to this week in St. Louis. New episodes drop every week, and we'll see you out there.