May 22 – 24

Your Memorial Day weekend rundown is here!

Summer energy has officially arrived in STL. Patios are packed, festivals are taking over the city, and Memorial Day Weekend feels like the unofficial kickoff to summer around St. Louis.

From cultural festivals and outdoor events to sports, concerts, nightlife, local shopping, and family-friendly activities, there’s something happening all across the city this holiday weekend.

In this episode of This Week in St. Louis, Brice breaks down everything happening around town — whether you’re planning a full weekend out, looking for something family-friendly, catching a show, or just trying to get outside and enjoy the holiday weekend.

This week’s highlights include:

• Rollin’ on the River at Gateway Arch National Park with a pop-up roller rink, live music, food trucks, vendors, and riverfront views.
 • The St. Louis County Greek Festival at Assumption Greek Orthodox Church featuring authentic food, pastries, music, dancing, church tours, and cultural experiences.
 • The 35th Annual St. Louis African Arts Festival in Forest Park with performances, art, fashion, vendors, jewelry, and food.
 • The Punk Rock Flea Market in Tower Grove Park with vintage finds, local artists, collectibles, live music, and food vendors.
 • The first-ever Asian Festival STL at 370 Lakeside Park celebrating AAPI Heritage Month with food, performances, arts and crafts, and community vendors.
 • Cherokee Caravan bringing antiques, art vendors, vintage finds, and local makers to Cherokee Street.
 • STL CITY SC taking on Austin FC at Energizer Park plus the Louligan Street Party and postgame celebrations downtown.
 • Route 66 Rockabilly Reunion at World Wide Technology Raceway featuring nostalgia drag racing, classic cars, hot rods, and throwback racing vibes.
 • MJ The Musical at The Fabulous Fox and comedy shows from George Lopez at City Winery St. Louis.
• Bugs Bunny at the Symphony, Phil Wickham at Chaifetz Arena, and Latin Night at AVA Garden Bar.
• National Park Service Fee Free Day at Gateway Arch National Park and the Levitt VIBE STL Music Series along the Delmar corridor.

This Week’s Flavors of the Lou

Burger Edition:
 • Olive + Oak
 • Bolyard’s Meat & Provisions
 • Bougie Bites

Spot of the Week

Kentzo Coffee has officially opened its second location in O’Fallon after spending the last five years building its small-batch roasting program and opening its first brick-and-mortar café in Maplewood last summer.

Known for local products, specialty weekly lattes, and a strong food selection, it’s the newest spot to add to your weekend list.

Whether you’re heading to a festival, catching CITY SC, spending time in Forest Park, checking out live music, or just finding your next great meal, Memorial Day weekend is packed with ways to get out and explore STL.

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

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Transcript

Intro + Memorial Day Weekend Preview

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hey guys, welcome back to This Week in St. Louis, the podcast where we talk about all the best things happening around STL every single weekend. So you never have to wonder about what to do. I'm Bryce, and honestly, this weekend feels like the unofficial kickoff to summer in St. Louis. Memorial Day weekend is always one of those weekends where the city just feels alive again. Everybody's outside, patios are packed, Forest Park is busy, there's festivals happening in every direction, and you can finally feel that shift where people are ready to stay out later, hang with friends, and really lean into the summer. It's definitely one of those weekends where there's a little bit of everything happening too. So whether you're planning on a full weekend out or just looking for one thing to get out of the house, we've got you covered. 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. All right, let's jump into the weekend because this is absolutely a festival,

Festivals & Memorial Day Events Around STL

SPEAKER_00 0:59

heavy weekend in STL. One of the biggest events happening all weekend long is the rolling on the river down at Gateway Arch National Park. This honestly sounds super fun because they're basically turning the riverfront into a giant summer hangout spot. There's a pop-up roller rink right along the riverfront, live music, food trucks, vendor tents, and one giant communal table setup overlooking the Mississippi. And I feel like this one is one of those events that's less about having a packed itinerary and more about just vibing downtown with friends for hours. Like if you're looking for something that feels very summer in the city, this is probably one of the best options this weekend. Another huge event happening over in town and country is the St. Louis County Greek Festival at Assumption Greek Orthodox Church. If you've never been to a Greek festival before, you should absolutely show up hungry. They'll have authentic Greek food, pastries, music, dancing, church tours, vendors, and honestly, these kinds of cultural festivals are always some of the best food weekends in St. Louis. You can pretty much spend an entire afternoon there just eating your way through the menu. Then over in Forest Park, the 35th annual St. Louis African Arts Festival is happening at the World's Fair Pavilion. This one's always really cool because it combines live performances, art, music, vendors, fashion, jewelry, and food all in one space. And Forest Park during a holiday weekend is already beautiful. So adding a huge cultural festival on top of that just makes for a really fun day outside. And then if your vibe is a little more alternative this weekend, the punk rock flea market is happening Saturday over in Tower Grove Park. This event has honestly built kind of a cult following in STL at this point. It's part flea market, part live music event, part art show, part chaos. But in the best way, we'll find vintage clothes, local artists, collectibles, handmade stuff, live bands, food vendors. It's definitely one of those unique events happening this weekend. And then on Sunday, there's also the very first Asian festival STL happening at 370 Lakeside Park in St. Peter's. This is happening during the AAPI Heritage Month, and they'll have food from different Asian countries, cultural performances, arts and crafts, and different community vendors throughout the day. It's so fun seeing these festivals and events popping around at St. Louis because it feels like the city just keeps expanding with events all year. And then if you're trying to keep things local and maybe do some shopping this weekend, the Cherokee Caravan is happening Monday over on Cherokee Street. Expect antiques, art vendors, vintage finds, local makers, and honestly, just a really good excuse to spend some time walking on one of the coolest streets in the city. Now

Sports Weekend + CITY SC

SPEAKER_00 3:26

shifting gears a little bit, if your weekend plans revolve around sports, this is a pretty solid weekend for that too. Saturday is another big SDL City SC home game at St. Louis City Takes on Austin FC over at Energizer Park. Even if you've you're not a massive soccer person, city games are just fun. The entire area around the stadium gets packed hours before kickoff. One of the best pregame spots is always the Lewigan Street Party near Schlafley Taproom. You've got food, tents, drinks, music, fans, chanting, people decked out in city gear. It's honestly one of the coolest sports atmospheres in St. Louis right now. And then after the game, there's also the STL Santos City SC after party downtown at Ballpark Village. So if you're trying to make an entire Saturday out of the game day experience, there's definitely enough going on to do that. And then for the car lovers and racing fans, the Route 66 Rockability Reunion Nostalgia event is happening out at Worldwide Technology Raceway. This one combines nostalgia, drag racing, classic cars, hot rods, and basically a full throwback racing atmosphere all weekend

Concerts, Comedy & Nightlife

SPEAKER_00 4:27

long. And if your weekend plans are more about concerts, comedy, or going out at night, there's honestly a lot happening this weekend too. One of the biggest shows coming through town is MJ the Musical over at the fabulous Fox Theater. This follows the making of Michael Jackson's Dangerous World Tour. And from everything I've heard, the performances and choreography are incredible. Even people who aren't huge musical theater fans have been loving this one. Then for comedy fans, George Lopez is doing multiple shows this weekend at City Winery St. Louis. It is a really fun venue for comedy because it feels a little more intimate than a giant theater show. For music fans, there are a few really different options depending on your vibe. If you want something family-friendly and nostalgic, Bug's Bunny at the Symphony is happening at Pal Symphony Hall. And honestly, this one sounds super cool because they're showing classic Looney Tunes cartoons while the symphony performs the music live. I feel like this is one of those events that would be really fun, whether or not you're bringing kids. Then you've got Phil Wickham playing at Schafitz Arena for the Song of the Saints tour. You've also got the Hard Promises, which is a Tom Petty tribute band over at the Pageant Saturday night. And then if you're looking for more nightlife energy, Latin Night is happening over at Ava Garden Bar with DJs, dancing, cocktails, and late night vibes downtown. Now, if you're looking for something a little more relaxed this weekend, maybe family-friendly, outdoorsy, or just not super chaotic, there's still a lot

Family-Friendly & Outdoor Events

SPEAKER_00 5:46

of good options. One worth mentioning is that Monday is a National Park Service fee-free day, which means admission fees are waived at National Park Service sites, including the Gateway Arch National Park. And then Sunday afternoon, there's also the Levit and Five STL music series happening over at Philip Lucier Park along the Delmer Corridor. This is a free outdoor concert series with local artists, food, community vendors, and just a really good neighborhood atmosphere. All

Flavors of the Lou: Burger Edition

SPEAKER_00 6:11

right, now it's time for our flavors of the loo, and this week we're talking burgers. First up, Olive and Oak. Their burger has become one of those STL classics, rich, flavorful, and absolutely worth ordering every single time. Then over in Maplewood, Bullyard's Meat and Provisions, super simple, insanely high quality, and honestly, one of the best burgers in the area if you're a true burger person. And finally, Bougie Bites. Their fully vegan burgers have been getting a lot of hype lately, and even non-vegans are obsessed. Definitely a spot worth checking out. For the full lineup, head to our Instagram at STL Bucket List. And we have a new spot for you to check

Spot of the Week: Kentzo Coffee

SPEAKER_00 6:43

out this week. Ketzo Coffee just opened its second location in O'Fallon, Missouri. They've been hand roasting small batch beans for wholesale for about five years, along with their first brick and mortar cafe that opened last summer in Maplewood. We love their focus on local products, their food selection, and of course, their specialty weekly lattes. Be sure to go check them out this weekend and tag us if you go. We'll

Outro + Weekend Wrap-Up

SPEAKER_00 7:03

be back again next week with another episode covering everything happening around the city. Thanks for listening. Have an amazing weekend and we'll see you out there.