Cakeway to the West

Sappington House Cake

In St. Louis we are busy celebrating the 250th anniversary of the founding of our town. Many events are taking place throughout the year, not the least of which is the Cakeway to the West. Playing off the slogan of St. Louis being the Gateway to the West, 250 fiberglass cakes are being installed throughout the metropolitan area. Each of them is four feet tall and identical in form, but each is being uniquely decorated by area artists. The stl250 organization determined where 200 of the cakes would be located. Landmarks, historic sites, the great outdoors and areas of innovation were selected by the organization. The other 50 cakes would go to local favorites as nominated and voted upon by the public.

To date 202 of the cakes have been installed. I know I am not alone in questioning the placement of some of the cakes. If the idea is to celebrate the founding of St. Louis, why is there a cake in Pacific? Or Kimmswick? Or Belleville, IL? In fact, the cakes are so spread out that it is highly unlikely that very many people will ever get to experience all of them. Unlike the butterfly sculptures that were here a few years ago, this sculpture hunt seems too large for most people to attempt. But I am having fun checking to see if any are nearby when I am out and about, so that is something I suppose. They have a phone app you can use, which I have downloaded. I have yet to be successful in using it to find the cake I am looking for, and then checking in to show that I have found it. It is probably me and not the app, however. In the meantime, let them eat cake!

Laumeier Park Cake

Repertory Theatre Cake

Blueberry Hill Cake