The Three Top Art/Craft Fairs in Metro St. Louis
The St. Louis Art Fair, formerly known as the Clayton Art Fair, transforms the downtown area of this mini-St. Louis suburb into a colorful collage of upscale art. In all, about 160 artists from around the world display their wares. The fair is consistently ranked as one of the nation’s top five outdoor festivals. The event takes place every year in the middle of September, after the Labor Day weekend, and the admission is free, even though the art for sale is anything but. This year several art pieces are being raffled off for $5.00 a ticket, with all of the proceeds going to help the victims of hurricane Katrina. Other highlights include plenty of food from about 22 area restaurants, most of it upscale and trendy. A lot of the restaurants will have their chefs in attendance dishing out the delicacies instead of the normal minimum wagers. You can tell by their hats. Music will be provided by Ollabelle, a bluegrass/folk band from the Big Apple. The jazz-based Phil Loder Trio will also provide music to appreciate art by. This art fair IS big. If you are really into art and crafts and your pocketbook is deep, (though you can probably walk out with something for about $50.00), get there early and wear a good comfortable pair of walking shoes. There really aren’t to many places to sit down and all of the cafes and businesses fill up pretty quickly. When you arrive you will find row after row of pristine white tents with the artwork and the artist encased inside. If you’re not really that much into the art, or don’t have much money to spend, you can still go and enjoy the food and the beer tent.
The Cedarhurst Craft Fair, at the Cederhurst Center for the Arts in Mount Vernon, Illinois is a juried show with more than 150 artists in attendance. Mount Vernon is a little more than an hour’s drive from St. Louis. You’ll pay a little more to get into this fair ($3.00) and the food selection is not all that extensive and upscale, but the fair is a lot more craftsy than its richer cousin across the river. I found a nice brown, fired clay mug with dragons emblazoned on the sides for $30.00. Being a little bit Welsh and a big fan of the double dragon, it was a good find for me. Music at the fair is provided by Alvin Jett and the Phat Noiz Blues Band from noon to 4 p.m. A couple of hints: Arrive early, the fair opens at noon and closes earlyat 6 p.m. While you’re in the area and if you’re still hungry, check out Fast Eddie’s in Collinsville for the ultimate thrill in cold beer and cheap burgers, or try Smoky Bones BBQ in Fairview Heights.
And Speaking of beer, this brings us to our third best art fair in the St, Louis area: The Schlafly Bottleworks Alternative Art Fair in Maplewood. This fair features, well, alternative art. The kind of stuff that you might find in the small coffee shop where the guy with the goatee keeps the beat with the bongos. Maplewood, right on the western outskirts of the city, has had a recent revival of sorts. A number of small art shops and small, trendy restaurants have popped up along the main drag in recent years. This festival definitely feels more like a street party, with rock and roll music and a younger crowd. The owner of the Schlafly Bottleworks decided to stage his own art fair a couple of years ago when he was snubbed out of the beer tent that he used to have at the St, Louis Art Fair in Clayton. Seems like his giant competitor, Anheuser Busch, took exception to a little independent brewery spilling suds next to their tent. Hint: While you’re at the bottleworks, check out the half pound bison burger at the restaurant inside. Delicious and about half the fat of a regular beef burger. The art fair runs from noon to 10 p.m.
