Good Morning!

This week is what happens when the calendar looks at the end of July and says, "Actually, I still have several things to say."

The St. Charles County Fair is still rolling at Rotary Park, there is a Wentzville book club night with donuts, Timberland has its Blue & Green Scrimmage, Eastern Missouri Truck Pullers are at the fair, Mike and Taylor's Card Shop is hosting Wentzville's first Dungeons and Dragons tournament, Cottleville has live music and a free back-to-school night, and Chesterfield somehow has a princess concert with nearly 4,000 people interested on Facebook.

Which is not the quietest way to ease into August, but here we are.

There is also a little safari out past Wright City where the whole outing is basically "drive a little, feed something unexpected, and let the kids talk about it for the rest of the day."

Here's what's happening this week. 👇

St. Charles County Fair Continues
📍 Rotary Park, 2577 W. Meyer Road, Wentzville
⏰ Gates open 9 AM; grounds close 11:30 PM

The fair keeps going Thursday with the Kolb Exhibition Center, S&S Farms Exotic Petting Zoo, free carnival rides with paid admission, mini golf, the Nostalgia Car Show, School of Rock St. Peters, and plenty of fair food decisions that probably should not be made on an empty stomach.

July 🌞 - Wentzville Reads Book Club
📍 Parlor Doughnuts, 708 S. Church St., Wentzville
⏰ 6-8 PM

Wentzville Reads is bringing book club back after a June break with books, new faces, and Parlor Doughnuts. The event page says, "Oh yea... donuts," which is honestly a pretty efficient programming note.

Annual Blue & Green Scrimmage
📍 Timberland High School, Wentzville
⏰ 6-8 PM

Timberland's football, cheer, and dance teams are giving everyone a first look at what they have been working on before the season gets going. Concessions will be open, Travelin' Tom's Coffee and Beverly Ann's Warm Cookies are expected from 4:30-7:30 PM, and the All Sports Boosters will have fresh spirit wear on site.

EMTP @ Wentzville, MO
📍 St. Charles County Fair, 2577 W. Meyer Road, Wentzville
⏰ Pull starts 6:30 PM

Eastern Missouri Truck Pullers are bringing gas, diesel, and classic modified tractor classes to the fair. Tech runs 3-5 PM, registration is 3:30-5:30 PM, the drivers meeting is at 6, and then the evening becomes very committed to seeing what can pull what.

Wildflower Flower Arranging
📍 7801 Town Square Ave., Dardenne Prairie
⏰ 6:30 PM

St. Charles County Parks is hosting a free 18+ wildflower arranging class using fresh, handpicked wildflowers from county parks. Pre-registration is required, and more than 200 people were interested on Facebook, so apparently Dardenne Prairie has discovered that flowers are nicer when someone else has already figured out the supplies.

Drawl at Frankie Martins
📍 Frankie Martin's Garden, 5372 St. Charles St., Cottleville
⏰ 7-10 PM

Drawl brings its "Country Done Rowdy" sound back to Frankie Martin's for a free Friday night show. More than 260 people were interested on Facebook, so if your weekend needs country music, food trucks, and a crowd that came prepared, Cottleville has entered the chat.

St. Charles County Fair - Dirty Muggs Main Stage
📍 Rotary Park, Wentzville
⏰ 8:30 PM

Dirty Muggs take the main stage Friday night at the St. Charles County Fair. The fair's Friday schedule also includes free carnival rides with paid admission, pony rides, Tug-A-War, Xcaliber Truck & Tractor Pull, Pig Scramble, and enough moving parts that "let's just see what is happening" is a valid plan.

Wentzville's First Dungeons and Dragons Tourney!
📍 Mike and Taylor's Card Shop, 712 W. Pearce Blvd., Unit A, Wentzville
⏰ 10 AM-5 PM

Wentzville Main Street Association has moved its Dungeons and Dragons tournament to Saturday, August 1 to make room for more players. The event flyer lists $20 per person, a max of five players per team, provided modules, level 3 characters, prizes and giveaways, which means downtown Wentzville is about to have a fundraiser with initiative rolls.

St. Charles County Fair Finale
📍 Rotary Park, Wentzville
⏰ Gates open 8 AM; grounds close 11:55 PM

Saturday is the fair finale, with the baby contest, frog race, sack race, turtle race, kid's pedal pull, children's area with inflatables, Super Farmer "He-Man" Competition, lawnmower derby, demolition derby, Russo & Co, carnival rides, exhibits, animals, and the general feeling that Rotary Park has decided to use every square foot.

End-Of-Summer Splash
📍 Splash Station Aquatic Center, Wentzville
⏰ 7-9 PM

Wentzville Parks and Recreation and the Wentzville Fire Protection District are hosting a free End-Of-Summer Splash before school energy fully returns. Only 500 tickets are available, and the city says preregistered guests receive a hot dog, chips, and water, which is exactly the kind of detail that makes a pool night feel organized.

Back to the '90s: End of Summer Party
📍 Cedar Lake Cellars, 11008 Schreckengast Road, Wright City
⏰ 7 PM

Cedar Lake Cellars is throwing a 21+ '90s party in The Barrel Room with music, dancing, food from The Smokehouse, and free RSVP tickets. Teachers get 10% off drinks with a school ID, which feels like a small but meaningful apology from August for arriving so quickly.

Trixie Delight at Cottle Village
📍 Cottle Village, 6470 State Route N, Cottleville
⏰ 7-10 PM

Trixie Delight is playing Cottle Village Saturday night, and the event had more than 300 people interested on Facebook. Cottle Village lists it as a 7-10 PM show, so this is a clean Saturday-night option if you want live music, a drink nearby, and a reason to be in Cottleville again.

FREE Back To School Family Fun Night in Legacy Park
📍 Legacy Park, 5490 Fifth St., Cottleville
⏰ 5-8 PM

Cottleville is hosting a free back-to-school family night with Kona Ice, The Moobile, memory stones for kids to paint, inflatables, Fredbird from 5-6 PM, Louie from the Blues from 6-7 PM, Bubble Bus, balloon artists, airbrush tattoos, kids karaoke, Circus Kaput, strolling magic, and a magic show at 7. That is not an event description so much as a parent trying to win August.

Vote for Pedro @ Jammin' Concert Series
📍 Civic Park, O'Fallon
⏰ 6:30-9 PM

O'Fallon's free Jammin' Concert Series continues with Vote for Pedro at Civic Park. The band describes itself as experienced professionals, and Facebook interest was over 180, so this is a solid Tuesday-night lawn-chair option if the week needs music before it earns the weekend.

The Princess Concert comes to St. Louis, MO
📍 The Factory STL, Chesterfield
⏰ Sunday, August 2 at 3:30 PM

The Princess Concert brings music from Frozen, Wicked, Moana, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Anastasia, Pocahontas, Taylor Swift, KPop Demon Hunters, and more to The Factory. It had nearly 4,000 people interested on Facebook, which suggests a lot of families are ready to enter their princess era with professional production values.

Noah Kahan: The Great Divide Tour
📍 Busch Stadium, St. Louis
⏰ Sunday, August 2 at 6:30 PM

This one is farther out, but more than 2,000 people responded on Facebook, so it earns a quick worth-the-drive mention. Noah Kahan brings The Great Divide Tour to Busch Stadium with Gigi Perez and other hosts listed on the event page, meaning downtown St. Louis may be emotionally dressed in flannel Sunday night.

August Wentzville Rod Run
📍 Harris Automotive, Wentzville
⏰ Friday, August 7

The August Wentzville Rod Run is already showing big Facebook interest for next Friday. If downtown Wentzville suddenly starts making more engine noise than usual, this is probably why.

America 250 Concert Series - Real Rock Revival
📍 Rotary Park, Wentzville
⏰ Saturday, August 8, 6:30-9:30 PM

Wentzville's America 250 Concert Series continues next Saturday with Real Rock Revival at Rotary Park. The city lists the series as a free community concert with food trucks and kids' entertainment, so go ahead and keep a lawn chair emotionally available.

Some hidden gems are quiet.

This one is not quiet.

This one has goats, camels, kangaroos, birds, snacks, kids asking if they can feed one more animal, and at least one adult pretending they are above the excitement before immediately taking a picture.

I am talking about Big Joel's Safari, just south of Wright City.

It is one of those places that is close enough to be easy, but just far enough away that it feels like you actually went somewhere.

Which is a very useful category of outing.

Big Joel's calls itself a place to "get up close and personal," and that is pretty much the assignment.

The official site says there are more than 65 different animal species, both big and small.

Not just "look through a fence from far away" animals.

More like:

Walk around.

Buy a cup of feed.

Offer it to something with strong opinions.

Repeat until the cup is empty or the family has developed a new favorite animal.

That is the charm of it.

It is not trying to be a huge zoo with a parking tram and a full strategic plan.

It is smaller.

Simpler.

Very approachable.

Half petting zoo, half zoo, and fully committed to giving kids the kind of animal encounter that makes them speak in exclamation points on the ride home.

And honestly, adults too.

Nobody is too mature to enjoy a camel leaning into the day like it has a schedule to keep.

The setup is straightforward.

General admission on the official site is listed at $14 plus tax for adults, $10 plus tax for ages 2-12, and free for kids under 2.

No reservations are required for regular admission.

There are season passes if you become the kind of household that suddenly has a "safari plan."

And the location is 13187 State Highway M in Wright City, which puts it in that sweet spot where the drive is long enough to feel like an adventure and short enough that nobody needs a hotel.

The thing I like is that it solves a very specific local problem.

"We want to do something different, but not something complicated."

That is Big Joel's.

It is different.

It is memorable.

It is close.

And it gives you the rare family outing where the main activity is not waiting in a line, staring at a screen, or buying one tiny lemonade for the price of a utility bill.

You just go see animals.

Feed a few.

Laugh at the one that clearly knows how cute it is.

Take a picture you will absolutely show someone later.

That is a pretty good Saturday.

📍 13187 State Highway M, Wright City
📞 636-745-3031
🔗 More info: https://www.bigjoelsafari.com/

If you go, check the current hours before you leave and pay attention to the directions on the website.

They specifically note that GPS can send people the wrong way on Highway M, which is exactly the kind of detail you want to learn before your scenic drive becomes a character-building exercise.

That’s what I’ve got for you this week.

If you know of a local event, fundraiser, hidden gem, business update, or something people around Wentzville should know about, send it my way and I’ll do my best to include it in an upcoming issue.

As always, thanks for reading, sharing, and helping make Wentzville a great place to live.

See you next Thursday,
Skyler