Good Morning!

September has arrived, although the calendar appears to be easing into fall by offering us a little bit of everything at once.

There is sidewalk art in New Town, knot-tying in Wentzville, spinning and weaving at the Daniel Boone Home, a bestselling author at a brewery, telescopes after dark and three full days of Japanese food, music and culture.

And on Tuesday, the dogs take over Splash Station.

If Labor Day weekend needs a theme, “everybody gets a hobby” feels about right.

Here's what's happening this week.👇

The Wentzville School District welcomed 17,460 K–12 students for the 2026–27 school year. Annual online registration closes at 4 p.m. Friday, Sept. 4, and there will be no classes Monday for Labor Day.

Wentzville City Hall, the WREC, and Progress Park Recreation Center will be closed Monday, Sept. 7, for Labor Day.

Holiday Mondays are wonderful right up until the moment you remember the errand you were definitely going to run.

Summerfest at The Meadows: Decades Apart
📍 Clocktower Plaza at The Meadows, 20 Meadows Circle Drive, Lake Saint Louis
⏰ 6:30-8:30 PM

Decades Apart brings an evening of live cover music to The Meadows’ outdoor stage. Bring a blanket or lawn chairs, or arrive early for dinner, drinks or ice cream from one of the surrounding restaurants.

All ages are welcome, along with well-behaved dogs on leashes. The concert is weather-dependent, so check The Meadows’ social media pages if the forecast looks questionable.

It is close, casual and free—the Thursday-night trifecta.

An Evening with Chuck Wendig: Celebrating The Calamities
📍 Third Wheel Brewing, 4008 I-70 North Outer Road, St. Peters
⏰ 7-10 PM

Main Street Books welcomes New York Times bestselling author Chuck Wendig for an evening celebrating his new dark-fantasy novel, The Calamities. Wendig is the author of more than two dozen books, including Wanderers, The Book of Accidents and the Star Wars: Aftermath trilogy.

This is a ticketed event for readers who like their fiction supernatural, unsettling and difficult to put down.

Friday Night Stargazing
📍 Broemmelsiek Astronomy Viewing Area, 1615 Schwede Road, Wentzville
⏰ 7 PM

Members of the Astronomical Society of Eastern Missouri will have telescopes ready for an evening of planets, stars and constellations. The program is open to all ages and no registration is required.

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The event is weather-dependent, so check conditions before heading out. Clouds remain stubbornly unwilling to honor reservations.

Bushcrafting 101: Knot Tying
📍 Quail Ridge Park, 560 Interstate Drive, Wentzville
⏰ 9-11 AM

Learn the fundamentals of useful knots during this introductory bushcrafting class for ages 16 and older.

It is practical knowledge for camping, hiking and securely tying something down before driving three miles, becoming nervous and pulling over to check it again. Advance registration required.

Fiber Arts Festival
📍 Historic Daniel Boone Home, 1868 Highway F, Defiance
⏰ 10:00 AM-3:00 PM

Spinners, weavers and other fiber artists will demonstrate their work throughout the historic village, with handmade pieces available to purchase. Historic fashion shows are scheduled for 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.

Whether you understand warp and weft or still occasionally lose your crochet hook while holding it, there will be plenty to see.

Chalk the Walk
📍 New Town Grand Canal, St. Charles
⏰ Drawing begins at 10 a.m.; judging at 5 p.m.; winners announced at 6 p.m.

Artists of all ages will transform New Town’s sidewalks into a temporary outdoor gallery. Families can participate in the competition or simply walk through and watch the artwork take shape.

It is colorful, creative and one of the few occasions when drawing on the sidewalk is not merely allowed but encouraged.

Box of Chocolates Concert
📍 New Town Amphitheater, 3312 Rue Royale, St. Charles
⏰ 7-10 PM

Box of Chocolates brings rock favorites from the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s to the New Town Amphitheater Saturday evening.

Bring chairs or a blanket, grab dinner from one of the nearby restaurants or pack your own snacks, and settle in for a free night of live music.

Where the Wild Things Play
📍 Broemmelsiek Park, 1795 Highway DD, Defiance
⏰ 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Children ages 7–11 can explore the natural world through lightly supervised outdoor play while parents and guardians join a ranger-led hike nearby.

Think of it as parallel play for the whole family, with considerably more fresh air and a strong possibility of muddy shoes.

Pooch Plunge
📍 Splash Station, 1141 Peine Road, Wentzviille
⏰ 5-7 PM

Splash Station ends the swimming season by turning the pool over to Wentzville’s dogs. The evening includes swimming, door prizes, ice cream and pup cups while supplies last.

Dogs must remain leashed whenever they are out of the water, and proof of current vaccinations is required at registration.

Japanese Festival
📍 Missouri Botanical Garden, 4344 Shaw Boulevard, St. Louis
⏰ Saturday and Sunday, 9 AM–9 PM; Monday, 9 AM–5 PM

For more than 40 years, the Missouri Botanical Garden has partnered with local Japanese-American organizations to present a Labor Day weekend filled with Japanese music, art, dance, food and traditions.

This year’s festival includes taiko drumming, martial arts demonstrations, festival dancing, candlelight walks through the Japanese Garden and appearances by three recognized sumo wrestlers.

The festival takes place rain or shine. Admission is $20 for ages 13 and older, $10 for ages 3–12 and $10 for adult Garden members. Teahouse tours are sold out, but the rest of the festival remains available.

Holt Volleyball Panera Fundraiser
📍 Panera Bread, 1212 W. Pearce Boulevard, Wentzville
⏰ Wednesday, September 16

The Holt Volleyball Booster Club is holding a dine-out fundraiser at Panera. We’ll share the ordering hours and instructions with next week’s reminder so your purchase is properly credited to the team.

It is never too early to start planning which form of bread will support local volleyball.

A Busy Fall Festival Weekend
📍 Historic Downtown Wentzville and St. Patrick Parish
⏰ Friday and Saturday, September 18-19

Wentzville's Fall Festival will fill downtown with entertainment, food, vendors and activities for children, while the St. Patrick Fall Festival brings carnival rides, games, food, music and raffles.

We’ll have the full schedules next week. For now, save the dates—and perhaps begin preparing for the number of food stands that will require careful consideration.

Wentzville Historical Museum and Gift Shop
📍 310 W. Pearce Boulevard, Historic Downtown Wentzville
⏰ Tuesday–Saturday,10 AM–2 PM; first Sunday of the month, 11 AM–2 PM

Wentzville has grown so quickly that it can be easy to forget how much history was here before the subdivisions, shopping centers and daily negotiations with Interstate 70.

Tucked inside the former Wentzville City Hall, the Wentzville Historical Museum preserves stories from the community’s railroad, agricultural, military and business history. The Historical Society’s collection introduces visitors to the people and places that shaped Wentzville long before it became one of Missouri’s fastest-growing cities.

It is the kind of place you can pass dozens of times without realizing how many Wentzville stories are waiting behind the door.

That’s it for this week!

If you know about an upcoming event, local development, or quietly wonderful place we should feature, send it to [email protected].

The best recommendations often come from people who live here—and who know which unassuming doors are hiding something worth walking into.

See you next Thursday!