Meet Me at the Fare

St. Louis World's Fare Heritage Festival and Games

This past weekend the 1st Annual St. Louis World's Fare Heritage Festival and Games was held in Forest Park. (Pet peeve - if it is the first year of an event, it cannot be referred to as "annual.") Billed as a celebration of St. Louis history, the event offered live music, demonstrations by artists, numerous food vendors, and educational displays. On Saturday, I worked from 2-6 p.m. in the stl250 booth, as they kindly shared it with the Cakeway to the West Facebook group. Our group was selling postcards (14 of which contain my cake photos!), cake related jewelry and t-shirts, and cake coloring pages that were drawn by the cake artists. We also sold raffle tickets for two paintings that were donated by cake artists. The proceeds from the booth are going towards funding of a book about the cakes that will be published next year.

stl250 booth

It was fun to work with the other cakers and the artists who showed up, but unfortunately the crowds were pretty sparse, at least on my shift. I haven't talked to anyone yet to see if things picked up during the evening or on Sunday. The weather was incredibly beautiful, and with people crowding into the zoo and golf courses, parking was an issue. Perhaps that scared folks away. I am not sure the publicity was all that great, and first time events are always a little tough anyway.

Sunday night we attended Chef's in a Garden, an evening benefiting Gateway Greening. Chefs from the St. Louis area prepare a special dish (small tasting, really) utilizing locally grown produce and other ingredients when they can. The event includes silent and oral auction items as well. With the money that is raised, Gateway Greening helps communities and schools in the St. Louis area establish gardens to grow their own produce and other plants. It was a fun event, and one that always pushes me to eat outside of my comfort zone. My favorite dish last night was a scallop, and I have never liked them before. And I may or may not have had a couple of alcoholic beverages made with added vegetables. That makes them healthy, right?