Festivals and Events

The Balloon Glow is definitely one of St. Louis’s most iconic end-of-summer activities! It takes place on a Friday night and is followed by the Great Forest Park Balloon Race on Saturday. On Friday night, racers and their balloons line up in Forest Park and are lit up (“the glow”). During this time, you get to enjoy music, fireworks, food trucks, and you get to chat with all the racers; you can learn about where they come from, how they got into hot air balloon racing, what their aspirations are, and more. On Saturday, the race takes off. This is a great time to find one of your friends who lives on Kingshighway and borrow their roof to watch them take off. Overall, this is a super unique and fun activity to do fairly early during your first year, and like many other activities in St. Louis, it is completely free to attend! If you pack your own snacks and blankets, it can be really fun to do a picnic during the glow on Friday night.

Festival of Nations is an amazing annual event in Tower Grove Park featuring food vendors, live performances and small businesses from the many diverse cultures and nationalities present in the St. Louis community. I’ve gone to the festival for the past few years, and I always look forward to trying new cuisines and watching the musicians and dancers perform on the multiple stages. This event is a can’t-miss for great food, fun music and all-around good vibes, all while supporting St. Louis’s many immigrant-owned small businesses and restaurants!

Garden Glow is the annual transformation of the Missouri Botanical Garden into a winter wonderland! With millions of sparkling lights on display, it’s the perfect way to celebrate the holiday season. For holiday enthusiasts like myself, it’s a must-see event that truly captures the magic of the season.

I went to the Japanese Festival on a whim on the Sunday of Labor Day weekend. Honestly, I was blown away by all the performances, food vendors, art displays and merchandise. Hosted annually at the Missouri Botanical Garden, the Japanese Festival is a smorgasbord of Japanese culture, showcasing taiko drumming, calligraphy, sumo, bonsai demonstrations and tons of other events. Plus, a lot of the visitors were dressed up in cosplay. This is the only time of year you get to see a dude dressed as Naruto casually walking around the Missouri Botanical Garden.

The Delmar Loop Ice Carnival is one of St. Louis’s classic celebrations of winter, featuring stunning ice sculptures and live carving demonstrations. The sculptures are accompanied by ice slides, drone shows, and carnival-style games, which are guaranteed to make you feel like a kid again. Several local businesses participate in the festival, so it’s also a great way to interact with the community.

Beads! Beads! Beads!

St. Louis has the (second) biggest Mardi Gras in the country! The festivities last several weeks and include a pet parade, Cajun cook-offs, and of course, the Grand Parade. It all centers around the Soulard district, where on the day of the parade, festivities begin bright and early. The St. Louis Metro system takes you directly to the heart of the parade, where you can walk along the length of the route. The parade has tons of food and drinks, as well as people having a good time.

St. Louis Mardi Gras is a non-negotiable event, so go if you can!

With lots of brewing companies in St. Louis, from huge ones like Anheuser-Busch to smaller ones like Alpha Brewing Company, there is no shortage of ways to celebrate Oktoberfest. Urban Chestnut Brewing Company has a location in the Grove neighborhood that shuts down the main street for their Oktoberfest celebration. They partner with local barbecue joint Sugarfire Smokehouse to provide great bratwursts alongside a wide selection of beer, abundant outdoor seating, and live music.

This weekend-long Pride celebration takes place every September at the lovely Tower Grove Park (~10 minute drive from the medical school campus). It is a great opportunity to connect with the LGBTQIA+ community in St. Louis through local music, food, and art. I would highly recommend making a whole day out of this event and dressing to the nines!