Art Fairs at Lindbergh and Queeny Park are Huge Draws for the Weekend

1. ROTARY SPRING ARTS & ARTS CRAFTS FAIR @LINDBERGH

When/Where:  Lindbergh High School, Sat 9am-4pm, Sun 10am-4pm  
Why Go: This two-day annual Arts & Crafts Fair supplies more than 250 booths of art plus food. Great place to buy gifts for Mother's Day, Father's Day, Yourself Day. Families and baby strollers welcome.
Pricing:  Free admission

2. TREEmendous EXTREME TREE HOUSES

Where/When: Missouri Botanical Garden grounds through Aug. 21. Hours are same as MOBOT 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Why Go: Branch out from the ordinary notion of tree houses with an imaginative and creative display of non-traditional structures. The winning works of a juried competition among local designers, architects, schools, studios and individuals are at ground-level beneath the canopy of the Garden’s oak, elm, ginkgo and other trees. The exhibit a celebration of the U.N. International Year of Forests.
Price: Entrance fee to Botanical Gardens

3. 

Where/When: , 7539 Manchester Rd, Maplewood; 2 p.m. Sunday, April 10. Previous showing was sold out, so this new showing was added. Tickets on sale Monday, April 4.
Why Go: This hits close to home. A screening of filmmaker Matt Sielback's documentary about Joe's Place, a home which provides shelter in a supervised environment for homeless teenage boys in the Maplewood Richmond Heights School District. A wine reception will be held following the screening at Sunnen, 7910 Manchester. Proceeds support Joe's Place.
Pricing: $10 for the film only, $35 film and wine reception

4. 

Where/When: Washington University, Brown Hall 100, 1 Brookings Dr.; 8 p.m. Friday; 5 and 8 p.m. Saturday  The festival runs through April 16.
Why Go: Enjoy the local premieres of critically-acclaimed Italian films. And yes, there are English subtitles.
Pricing: Free

5. KEYNOTE SPEAKER ELAINE VIETS AT MO WRITERS GUILD

Where/When: 900 Sheraton Westport Plz, Sheraton Westport, April 9, 4:30-10pm, as part of the MWG Conference 2011 (Missouri Writers Guild.) Tickets are offered to the general public for the banquet dinner Saturday evening.
Why Go: The keynote speaker will be St. Louis' hometown favorite writer, Elaine Viets. She wrote a column for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch for many years and now lives in Florida writing best-selling mysteries.
Pricing:  Tickets $45 each which includes dinner, Viets' speech and book signing before the dinner.

6. THE REAL MCCOY

Where/When: The Grandel Theatre, 3610 Grandel Square, Grand Center; 8 p.m. Friday, 3 and 8 p.m. Saturday, 3 p.m. Sunday. Through April 11th.
Why Go: The play is based on the true story of Elijah McCoy, the African-American inventor of the self-lubricating steam engine, one of his many inventions from which society has benefited. Antonio Fargas, best known for his role as Huggy Bear in "Starsky and Hutch" portrays McCoy's father.
Pricing: $17-$47

7. THE ART FAIR AT QUEENY PARK 

Where/When: Queeny Park in Manchester, 550 Weidman Rd., Fri-Sun, April 8-10. Friday 6-9pm, Sat. 10am-7pm, Sun. 11am-4pm. Free parking and indoor Greensfelder Recreation Complex.
Why Go: In its 36th year, the arts/crafts show has a drawing each weekend day for $100 art gift certificates to spend on the works of 130 juried artists from 20 states. Media includes jewelry, painting, pastels, drawing, photography, ceramics, wood, sculpture, printmaking, digital, fibers, glass and mixed.
Pricing: $5 admission; online find $1 discount coupon

8. TOWER GROVE HOUSE REOPENS FOR THE SEASON

Where/When: Missouri Botanical Garden, 4344 Shaw Blvd.; 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday
Why Go: Visit the home of Garden founder, Henry Shaw. Restoration has been done over the years and the home is full of 19th century treasures that actually belonged to Shaw as well as  many of the same era.
Pricing: Entry included with Garden admission, $3-$8