The World’s Largest Catsup Bottle Festival
July 8 – 11 a.m., Harold Square, 119 E. Clay St., Collinsville, catsupbottlefestival.com
Come celebrate this iconic 170-foot piece of roadside Americana. Throughout the day, folks of all ages can participate in contests and competitions, games and more. Don’t miss the ketchup tasting early in the day, or the live music playing into the evening. Free admission.
Bolyard’s Burger Battle
July 9 – 3 to 6 p.m., 2733 Sutton Blvd., Maplewood, samg.bz/burgerbattle
Hear your stomach grumble? Well, let’s get ready to rumble! Sample the sliders of Justin McMillen of Balkan Treat Box and Jon Todd of Fat Fox then vote for your favorite. Perennial Artisan Ales provides beverages for this Slow Food St. Louis fundraiser. Tickets available online.
Take Root Hospitality’s Root Down at Earthdance
July 9 – 4 to 7 p.m., 233 S. Dade Ave., Ferguson, 314.521.1006, samg.bz/rootdown
Branch out and try new things at this farm-forward event. Tour the farm that teaches organic gardening to the community before enjoying the food served around the property, including a taco bar by Taqueria Morita and desserts and drinks by Bistro La Floraison and Winslow’s Table. Live music plays throughout the night by Banda Bavanda. Tickets available online.
Art Hill Film Series
July 14, 21, & 28 – 6 to 11 p.m., Saint Louis Art Museum Art Hill, 1 Fine Arts Drive, Forest Park, St. Louis, slam.org
It’s a St. Louis tradition: a picnic on Art Hill featuring live music, food trucks and films shown on a huge screen. This year’s theme is “Teacher Feature,” commemorating a century of education programs at the museum. The lineup in order is Top Gun: Maverick, Akeelah and the Bee, and School of Rock. Free admission.
Sauce Food Truck Friday
July 14 & 28 – 4 to 8 p.m., Tower Grove Park, 4501 Southwest Drive, St. Louis, 314.772.8004, saucefoodtruckfriday.com
Like tough choices? Tower Grove Park offers bites and sips from local food trucks on select Fridays this summer through early fall. More than 20 of our favorite trucks will be there and, luckily, you can’t go wrong with any of them. Free admission.
Kirkwood Peach Festival
July 15 – 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Kirkwood Farmers’ Market, 150 E. Argonne Drive, Kirkwood, 314.822.0084, downtownkirkwood.com
Summertime would be incomplete without fresh, juicy peaches, and Kirkwood Farmers’ Market will be filled to the brim with them. Sample local peachy bites while listening to live music by Back Page Agenda. It’ll be just peachy! Free admission.
Red Lantern City Night Market
July 22 – 5 to 11 p.m., 10 N. Euclid Ave., St. Louis, Instagram: redlanterncity_nightmarket
A celebration of food, art and community. Step inside Saigon Cafe to experience a Japanese tea ceremony before sampling the Asian-inspired street food outside. The market will also feature beverage vendors like High Water Sake and Urban Chestnut Brewing Co. All beer proceeds are donated to the Japan America Society of St. Louis and the Japanese American Citizens League. Free admission.
Pedal the Cause: A World Without Cancer Day
Aug. 4 – participating bars and restaurants, pedalthecause.org/awwcd
Support cancer research at Siteman Cancer Center and Siteman Kids by grabbing food and drink from participating bars and restaurants during A World Without Cancer Day. Seoul Taco, Nudo House, Chicken Out and Ices Plain & Fancy are just some of the local businesses that are donating a portion of the proceeds to Pedal the Cause. Find a full list of participating venues online.
This article appears in July 2023.