By Michelle “Mike” Ochonicky, Healthy Planet Arts Editor
Photo: The Key to My Heart, by Martha Lalinde, at Crossroads Arts Council
Okay, it’s hot…and humid…but it’s still grand! Growing up as a “city kid,” I remember vividly the evening concerts in various parks, popsicles, picnics, and simply the relaxed pace of it all. I hope you, too, can savor summer with these suggestions, and create a few summer memories of your own along the way:
The Whitaker Music Festival continues through July 31 at Missouri Botanical Garden’s amphitheater. Each Wednesday, admission is free starting at 5 p.m. Pack a picnic (or purchase food and drink onsite), pack the kids, pack a blanket or chair to enjoy live music 7-9 p.m. with a different group and genre each week. The beloved Red & Black Brass Band wraps up the series on the last evening. www.mobot.org
You simple cannot properly experience a St. Louis summer without The Muny in Forest Park! The Little Mermaid swims into town July 8-16, charming the young and young-at-heart. Fiddler on the Roof follows (with tradition!) July 19-25, and Waitress serves up a lot more than pie, July 30-August 5. www.muny.org
Calligraphy and text artwork mix at Green Door Art Gallery, 21 N. Gore, in The Writing on the Wall, July 3-August 24. Meet artists Kaori Ishijima, Clark Medley, Deb Douglas, Nancy Exarhu at the July 12 reception, 5-8 p.m. www.greendoorartgallery.com
There’s a Kaleidoscope of Mosaic Pieces out at Crossroads Arts Council in Wentzville in an exhibition by the same name, July 7-30, 310 W. Pearce Blvd. The main gallery hosts Heart to Heart, works by Martha Lalinde. The reception for both exhibitions is 2-4 p.m. on July 7th. www.crossroadsartscouncil.org
Delmar Maker District throws “the” Block Party of the summer, 5-10 p.m., July 19, with every imaginable ARTsy experience provided by Craft Alliance, Magic House and Third Degree Glass. Summer treats are available from Scoops of Joy ice cream, Beyond Sweet, Steve’s Hot Dogs, all at 5200 Delmar, plus the opening reception of Thomas McFarland’s Metal to Glass: An Artist Spectrum of Mixed Media (on view through July 26). www.thirddegreeglassfactory.com
It’s just a 70-minute drive from St. Louis to historic Ste. Genevieve, MO. That’s a highly recommended excursion for July 20-21 when traditional artists from Early American Life’s prestigious Directory of Traditional Artists are hosted for a show and reception by ASL Pewter, 183 Third Street, for the 20th year. These artists have been selected by museum curators across the U.S. as the best of the best, so this is a chance to view their work, chat with them and maybe purchase a future heirloom. I’ll be there with my scrimshaw, so stop by to say hi! www.aslpewter.com
Union Avenue Opera celebrates its 30th Anniversary Season with Bizet’s Carmen, July 5-6, 12-13, and Verdi’s epic Aida, July 26, 28, August 3, all in the acoustically superb Union Avenue Christian Church, 733 N. Union. Magnificent!! www.unionavenueopera.org
Alice Walker’s Pulitzer-Prize winner, The Color Purple, comes to life onstage at COCA, 6880 Washington, July 19-21. Recommended for those over 13, the play is powerful! www.cocastl.org
Be amazed when the Pulitzer Arts Foundation hosts St. Louisan singer-songwriter Aida Ade for a 6 p.m. performance inside the open-air Spring Church, July 5, accompanied by The Dhoruba Collective. The music is awesome, and the setting is summer-perfect. This historic structure has stood on its site on Spring Avenue since 1884, destroyed by fire in 2001, with the Pulitzer acting as its preservation steward since 2020. www.pulitzerarts.org.
Jazz St. Louis presents Summer Spotlight StL Series, with free tickets: July 11 (Ethan Saake Sextet), July 1-13 (Christian McGhee Xtet), July 18-20 (Jazz St. Louis Big Band), July 25 (Miles Cole Quartet), July 26-27 (Neal Caine Quartet). June 19–23, Keyon Harrold returns to the Ferring Jazz Bistro for his first-ever solo-commissioned work, capstoning his three-year tenure at JazzStL. www.jazzstl.org
Tony Award winner for Best Play 2010, John Logan’s Red opens July 25 at New Jewish Theatre, 2 Millstone Campus Drive. It’s an introspective look at abstract expressionist painter Mark Rothko at the height of his fame. www.jccstl.com
Poets Ben Gaa and Robert Lowes team up on July 29, 7 p.m., for Natural Moments: A Haiku Reading, at The Green Center, 8025 Blackberry in U. City. A photography exhibition by Webster Groves Nature Study Photographers is also on view. The event is free, but reservations are required. www.thegreencenter.org