(intriguing music) (camera lens clicks) (bright music) - "Exploring the Heartland."

I'm Fred Martino.

Well, we have an amazing start to this program.

We are going to be focusing on The Gateway City and a very busy summer of activities, and I am so pleased to have with us for the entire half hour today Catherine Neville.

She is Vice President of Communications for Explore St. Louis.

Catherine, it is so good to have you here.

- Thank you so much, Fred.

I'm happy to be here.

- Love St. Louis.

Love the opportunity that we're getting a chance to kind of preview all the big events this summer and some places that people should visit any time of the year.

We won't get to everything.

- You couldn't possibly.

- You couldn't possibly in a half hour.

That's true.

But we have some highlights, and we start with one of my favorites, which is the Missouri Botanical Garden and a colorful exhibit by a world famous artist.

- Yes, so, Chihuly, obviously, the botanical gardens is known for its permanent Chihuly installations that you can see in some pockets of the garden, but, right now, there is just a massive installation of new work that was actually assembled on-site.

So people came in, like an entire semi truck worth of workers came and hand-assembled these pieces on location for weeks.

It's just astoundingly beautiful, and the way that it integrates with the landscape throughout the entire garden, it is absolutely a must-see.

Plus they have Chihuly at Night, so to see it during the day is wonderful, but when you go back in the evening and then it's lit, I mean, it's glass, so it just kind of glows from within.

It's absolutely beautiful.

- They are amazing works of art.

I've seen them at a number of different gardens and museums, and even the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas.

- Yes.

- They're incredibly popular.

And the garden is worth a visit any time, regardless.

- It is.

- But this makes it even more urgent to get there.

- Absolutely, so, year-round, the garden is beautiful, but one thing to make note of is the new Jack C. Taylor Visitor Center just opened up over the past year.

So if you haven't been back in a few years, even if you miss Chihuly, which runs through October, you still should check out the new visitor center.

- Well, we have another great reason to get out to St. Louis.

Lots of folks love the Cardinals and the Blues, and now they can cheer on a soccer team.

- Yes.

- At a new stadium.

Let's talk about that.

- Brand new, so the club is called St. Louis City SC, Soccer Club, and the new stadium, which is almost half a billion dollars was invested to create this stadium in Downtown West.

It's called City Park, and so, if you know where Union Station sits along Market, City Park is essentially caddy-corner.

And they've taken up, and this is unique in the MLS, they've taken up a 30-acre campus, so all of their, like, practice fields are across Market just to the south.

And so, everything is contiguous, so they have their practice fields, then they also have the stadium, and the stadium itself, it's 40 feet below street level and they have overhangs to protect you from rain and wind, but they've designed it to kind of capture all of the sounds, so there is tremendous energy.

Plus, I should mention, most of these games are selling out, so if you think you want to go to a game, get onto Seat Geek and and reserve a seat, because they're very hard to find.

And one of our James Beard Award-winning chefs, Gerard Craft, actually curated the culinary program, and it's all local.

So where, you know, you go to a lot of stadiums and you're like, "I'll have the hot dog and I'll have the nachos," here, it's local restaurants, and it's the actual chefs and the staff from the restaurants that are cooking on site and serving you.

It's so cool.

- That is amazing.

- It's really fun.

You have to come and see it.

- And for folks who have not been to soccer, professional soccer, you will become addicted.

- Yes.

- It is so amazing, and the fans are like no other fans, I will say that.

- It is so much fun.

- It is great.

- I mean, there are like massive flags that are being waved and people are chanting, beating their drums.

And, you know, as a person who was not terribly familiar with soccer, it doesn't matter.

You walk in and you are just swept up by the energy.

It's awesome.

- You absolutely are.

Well, we also have one of the nation's largest public art platforms, Counterpublic.

- Yes.

- So tell me about this.

This is one I'm not that familiar with.

- Well, it's fleeting as well.

It's only three months, and then it's only every three years.

And so, Counterpublic, which has also been covered by The New York Times, so it's getting national recognition.

It is a public art kind of conversation piece.

And so, along Jefferson Avenue that runs north to south in St. Louis from the Griot Museum of African-American History to Counterpublic, which, sorry, to Pillars of the Valley, which is an installation at City Park that pays homage to the Mill Creek Valley neighborhood that was torn down in the mid-century and the people who were displaced by that, down to Sugarloaf Mound at the south end, which is one of the only remaining Cahokian mounds on the St. Louis side of the Mississippi River.

So those are the three anchor points, and then there are lectures and other shows, and there are so many different ways to connect with it.

It's so big that it's very hard to distill down, but if you're interested in very thought-provoking public art that is meant to kind of center the public discourse around who we are in the places that we live, Counterpublic is a fascinating way to experience that.

- That sounds really interesting.

So we've had art, we've had nature, and sports.

Of course, we also have music.

- Yes.

- And at the end of August, you have the Evolution Music Festival.

- Yes, so this is going to be in beloved Forest Park, which, obviously, is where we have the zoo and the art museum, The Muny.

So Evolution is going to take place over two days, August 27th and 28th, I believe.

I want to make sure that I'm right on that.

26th and 27th, and the first night, The Black Keys are headlining.

The second night, Brandi Carlile is headlining.

There's gonna be tons of barbecue and lots of bourbon, including local distilleries, Still 630, Withered Oak, and Switchgrass.

So it's kind of a can't miss.

It's gonna be very fun.

- Get your hotel reservations now.

- Exactly, yes.

- If you can, right?

- Yes, for sure.

- If not, you may be driving a little bit, but it's worth it.

Lots of great artists.

- [Catherine] We have many hotel rooms in St. Louis.

We welcome you.

- And, I mean, I'm so glad you mentioned this in Forest Park, because what a thing to talk about.

No other city in the country has something like this, the beautiful nature, the incredible art museum, the zoo, and they're free.

- Yes.

- So that they can be enjoyed by everyone.

- Exactly.

- That is a treasure.

- It is.

So the city residents of St. Louis have chosen to be taxed in order to support what is called the Zoo Museum District.

And so, every element in Forest Park is free or has some free access.

So, for example, The Muny, the vast majority of the seats are sold, but there is a select number that you can get into The Muny for free at every, every performance.

The zoo is free to walk in, the art museum, free to walk in, the history museum, the science center, all of it is free.

And speaking of, I'm not sure if this is on your hit list, but at the St. Louis Art Museum, this is a ticketed exhibition, but the Monet Mitchell exhibition is happening right now.

And this is the only place in the U.S. that you can see it.

It just came from Paris.

And so, everyone knows Monet, but Mitchell is a female painter who was painting in the same area of France in like the 60s, 70s, and so it's really interesting to see their work juxtaposed and see how they're both very abstract in their approach.

And so, it's really, really fascinating, and you can only see it in the states here in St. Louis.

- Absolutely.

Been a visitor many times to the museum, and I just wanted to mention that, because for folks who are not that familiar, something that we can really treasure in this region, to have that opportunity.

It is so, so unusual.

- Free and open to all.

- Yes, very important.

We also have Music at the Intersection.

That's coming up September 9th and 10th.

- Yes, and I'm very excited to say that, literally two days ago, Forbes just named Grand Center Arts District the nation's most exciting emerging arts district, like, in the country.

And that is where Music at the Intersection is going to be staged.

And so, what's interesting about Music at the Intersection, it is an outdoor festival.

They erect, like, six or seven different stages all around Grand Center, which is our arts district, where the Fox and the Powell Symphony Hall, you know, Pulitzer, all of that is there.

But what's exciting about Music at the Intersection is that it really explores the roots of American music, so jazz, blues, funk, soul.

This is the 50th anniversary of hip hop, and Grand Master Flash is going to be there.

And so, there is just, it's gonna be just an incredible explosion of American music, and it's local, regional, and also, clearly, national acts.

- I have a feeling that all of these music events will be packed, especially since we had that period during COVID where folks couldn't or wouldn't go to live music.

- People are ready.

- So they're ready, absolutely.

I've been traveling a little bit, and all over the country, people are traveling and they're ready.

We have another event that I want to talk about in Forest Park, and most of the things we're talking about, you have a lot of time, you can plan for it, but not this one.

This is only through June 25th, so this coming weekend.

That's it, but it is also free.

It is the St. Louis Shakespeare production of "Twelfth Night."

and taking place at Shakespeare Glen in Forest Park.

- Yes, so this is, essentially, across the street from the art museum that we mentioned, and it's now an institution.

I mean, I think it's been going on for something like 20 years.

- Wow.

- That they've been doing free Shakespeare, it's free.

And so, you grab a picnic, grab a blanket and a bottle of wine and go lay under the stars and watch Shakespeare.

It is so much fun, and you just see families, and kids are running around, or some people are drinking and having the kids and other people are, like, really paying attention to the show, which is what you're supposed to be doing, 'cause it's Shakespeare.

But "Twelfth Night" is so fun.

It's a comedy, and this year, they're setting it in Miami, and so it's kind of like a way to kind of modernize and bring Shakespeare to bigger audiences.

And Shakespeare, the St. Louis Shakespeare Festival is just a treasure, especially, again, because it's free, it's open.

Anyone can come and experience this type of culture.

It's incredible.

- And as you say, it's right across from the art museum, which is 10 to five most days, except Monday.

- Look at you, yeah.

- Not on Monday.

I know they're closed on Monday.

Yes, I've been there many times.

And they are open later on Fridays, but I don't want to quote, 'cause I don't know the exact closing time, but I know it's 10 to five every other day.

Well, another thing that is coming up that you probably have the dates for is the Tennessee Williams Festival.

- Yes, so this is coming up later this summer, and I don't have the exact dates for that one.

- [Fred] You can look it up online.

- Absolutely.

So Tennessee Williams famously lived in St. Louis.

If you've ever been to the City Museum, the shoe factory where he worked was, like, right across the alleyway from the City Museum, and he lived in the Central West End.

So it's been brought back to life, where, every year, they do a different production.

And so, anyone who's a fan of Tennessee Williams, this is a really unique opportunity, because his work is just, everyone knows the name Tennessee Williams.

But other than, obviously, you know, "Stella," the movies, when have you gone to see a Tennessee Williams play?

So, for sure, head to the festival.

- Yeah, absolutely.

Another opportunity.

You know, and the diversity all year, really, of live performance in St. Louis really is amazing, and it seems like it gets better all the time.

- Oh, I would say.

I mean everything from Broadway musicals at The Muny.

Actually, "AIDA" is just about to launch at STAGES, which is a wonderful production company that operates out of the Kirkwood Performing Arts Center.

It launches this weekend.

And that, of course, is the Tony- and Grammy-winning Disney production.

Very dramatic, but it's like Elton John and Tim Rice, I think, did the score.

So, yeah, there's a lot going on.

Everything from, I just went to a performance of The Black Rep at Wash U to see "Eubie", which was fantastic.

I mean, there's no end to the amount of public, of live performance you can see.

- And I'm sure if folks search online for Explore St. Louis, they'll immediately find your website.

- Yes.

- And I would bet, well, I haven't checked, shame on me.

- (laughs) It's okay.

- I'd bet they can even sign up for maybe like a online newsletter, they'll come in email, that sort of thing, right?

- So, the website, it has a full event calendar, so you can search by date or by genre of type of event that you want, and we maintain it religiously.

We put as much as we can that we believe is, it's kinda like visitor-facing essentially, so people can experience that.

Our newsletter goes out once a month, and so it is meant to be a planning newsletter.

So we're telling you what's happening four to six weeks out, so that way you can be like, "Oh, cool, I'm gonna plan a staycation or whatever in St. Louis, get a hotel room," and so, yeah, we got you.

- I'm writing it down right now.

Sign up.

- Yes.

- And even better that it's monthly, 'cause I get a ridiculous number of emails and it's nice to have something monthly.

- It's one of the reasons we don't spam you.

- Yes, I signed up for one and it comes every day.

- Yeah, no, that's when I unsubscribe.

- Too much.

- I agree.

- Unsubscribe is coming.

Yes, on that one.

Well we've talked about a lot of events, but I was so excited when you told me you'd be able to come here today and we'd actually have the full show, because I know there are, besides events, there are a lot of other new things that we need to talk about.

And that includes a number of urban renewal projects that debuted this year, including the new City Foundry.

Let's start with that.

Tell me about it.

- You could spend an entire day at City Foundry.

So there's a food hall with like 17 different, again, entirely local, unique, everything from Mexican cuisine to really fun popsicles.

There's wood-fired pizza, Indian food, anything that you could want.

You're gonna satisfy those cravings in the food hall.

But then, outside of the food hall, there's what's called Foundry Way, and there's this beautifully curated selection of independent shops that really focus on small makers.

So you're gonna find stuff there that you would never find in a big box store.

But beyond that, there are these, what they call eater-tainment, which, I love that word.

I'm stealing that word.

So there's Putt Shack, which is like tech-infused golf, and I've played there.

You can't cheat because there's like, you can't pick your ball up and drop it in the puck, because it follows your ball.

There's something in the little golf ball where it knows how many times you've hit it and it knows when it goes in the hole, or the cup, sorry.

And you can have drinks and food while you're there, so that's at City Foundry.

Also the Alamo Draft House, which has 10 screens and everyone's an essentially a Lazy Boy, and they bring food and drinks to your recliner while you watch a movie.

And then there's City Winery, which is a very small, like, 250-seat music venue, and they house ferment their wines.

So it's wine on tap, a really great kind of wine-focused small menu, but they're bringing in, 'cause there are locations, it started in New York, there are locations in Chicago and other big cities, and so they bring in these national acts that you would never expect in a teeny tiny venue that only seats 250 in St. Louis.

And we're getting them here because of City Winery, so there's a lot going on at City Foundry.

- And you can just feel the excitement when you're talking about food and wine.

- Yes.

- And people, as they hear you talking about that, might say, "Have I seen Catherine before somewhere?"

- (chuckles) Quite possibly.

- And they may have, haven't they?

- Yes, yeah.

So I launched Sauce Magazine and then Feast Magazine and I did "Feast TV," which aired on PBS regionally for eight seasons, and now I do "Taste Makers," which airs nationally on PBS.

So I'm always talking about food.

I love to eat and I love to drink wine and spirits and beer.

- Yes, yes.

And as you talk about all of it, Catherine, I told you I moved here about a year and a half ago, but I've already gained 15 pounds because- - That's your freshman 15.

That's good.

- There's nothing like the food in the Midwest, as someone who lived here for a long time.

- That is true.

- Many years ago.

- Yes.

- Lost some weight when I left.

Gained some weight when I came back.

- [Catherine] Welcome back, we're happy to have you.

- Welcome back.

Barbecue especially, you already talked about that.

- Yes.

- A weakness.

So Armory STL, something else to talk about.

- It is so cool.

So if you're familiar with driving down 6440, like through the city, so on one side of the highway is City Foundry, on the other side is the Armory.

And it was boarded up, abandoned for so many years.

It is literally an old armory that was built in, like, the 1930s, and then it became a music venue.

The Grateful Dead played there, Tina Turner played there.

And then it was a tennis thing.

People like Arthur Ash actually trained there.

And then it was abandoned, and now it's been kind of rethought into, quite literally, the largest bar in St. Louis.

And it is like an entertainment complex.

It has the largest indoor television screen in the Midwest, eight bars, all these yard games, so you can play badminton, you can do teeter totter, you can do all these different things.

And they also have a massive stage and they bring in local and national acts to play music.

So you can go in.

If you don't get a ticket to the St. Louis City SC game, because they're, as I said, perennially sold out, you can go and watch it on the big screen at the Armory, drink a beer, hang out, and have fun, so it's amazing.

- Haven't been there yet, but now that you've talked about it, I will be there.

Another place where I have been, it's one of my favorite spots in St. Louis, Union Station.

We talked about it very briefly earlier with the Wheel, the amazing aquarium, and a brand new soccer pub as well, speaking of soccer.

- Well, it's caddy-corner to City Park, and so it's called The Pitch, big surprise, 'cause the pitch is the field.

I've learned this this year.

And so, The Pitch, it is a soccer pub.

It's beautifully designed with leather banquettes, a really fantastic menu, tons of beer on tap.

And again, any time you wanna watch St. Louis City SC or any other sporting event, tons of TVs.

So, very casual, very fun.

But you mentioned the aquarium.

They opened up right before the pandemic, and so it's quite possible that you still haven't had a chance to visit, but it's highly, highly worth a visit, and then go up in the Wheel.

It's very fun.

- Oh, yeah, absolutely.

You have to do it, and the kids absolutely love the aquarium.

There's a lot of hands-on things there, too.

- Yeah, you can touch the jellyfish.

- You can touch lot of things and then wash your hands.

- Yes, wash your hands.

- City Museum, you've mentioned it a couple of times, but we haven't had a chance to really talk about it.

- Have you been?

- I have not.

- It's, I know, another free attraction.

- [Catherine] No, no, City Museum is not free.

- Oh, it's not free?

- No.

- Okay.

- It is not free.

- But it's another museum to go to.

There are a number of free museums.

- Museum.

- Okay.

- So it is- - It's not just a museum, right?

- No.

- No, okay.

- I mean, if- - It's called City Museum.

- Yeah, so if being able to see the world's largest pair of underwear and the world's largest pencil and a humongous bug collection, and being able to crawl through the belly of a concrete whale and then climb up to the roof and get into a school bus that is hanging over the edge, if that's your idea of a museum, then this is a museum.

- [Fred] The kids love this one.

- Yeah, and so do the adults, because it is St. Louis and there is a bar on every level.

- [Fred] Every level?

Okay.

- Yes.

- Great.

- We like to feed and drink people.

So, yes, come visit.

- Gotta get that freshman 15, as you said.

- Right, exactly.

- So, Labor Day weekend, for folks who are wisely planning ahead, we have the Japanese Festival at the location where we started our conversation, The Missouri Botanical Garden.

This is one of, I didn't know this, one of the largest and oldest festivals of its kind in the entire United States.

- That's right, and the Japanese garden, which is part of The Missouri Botanical Gardens, is one of the largest areas in the entire complex, for lack of a better term.

And it is incredibly serene, but what is really interesting is there is an island in the middle of this lake, essentially, that is closed off to the public every day, except for during the Japanese Festival, and that's where they have the tea ceremony.

And so, if you've ever been curious and you want to get onto that island, you want to see what's going on, I mean, Japanese Festival is the only time that you can do that.

You can go and feed the koi, you know, and there will be sake, there will be music, there's food, so it really is a celebration of Japanese culture.

And so, it's a wonderful time to visit.

- Have you ever been to Japan?

- [Catherine] I've been to the airport on my way to Vietnam.

- Ah, okay.

No, not actually been to Japan.

I have not either, and I probably won't any time soon, but I will come to St. Louis - Then come to St. Louis!

- Labor Day weekend, for this festival.

- Yes.

- It sounds amazing, and I will be there.

And when I'm there at the botanical garden, I always like to visit a couple of areas for, what else?

- Food?

- Food again, right?

So we got a couple of those.

Let's start with The Grove.

- Okay, well, I want to pay homage to your favorite.

- The Hill, which is nearby.

- The Hill.

- Obviously, that is a famous area full of Italian cuisine.

It is where toasted ravioli was invented, and it's also where one of the most highly anticipated restaurant openings in St. Louis just happened, but it's not Italian.

It's actually Nick Bogner, who opened up iNDO, which is within two blocks of the botanical garden.

He just opened Sado on The Hill, serving sushi and all kinds of wonderful Japanese foods, so that really dovetails- - Good timing.

- Yes, but then, The Grove is just like, kind of a hop, skip, and a proverbial jump away from the botanical gardens.

And that's where you'll find Urban Chestnut Brewing Company and, you know, Grace Meat + Three, where you can get awesome fried chicken.

It's where Rockwell Beer is located.

It is just this wonderful, very kind of like, young, vibrant neighborhood that is entirely walkable, and just right up and down the street, you can, from from corner to corner, you're gonna find something to do at almost every storefront.

So The Grove is also a wonderful spot.

- Great tips.

Catherine Neville, she is the Vice President of Communications for Explore St. Louis and the host of Taste Makers.

- Yes.

- On PBS stations nationwide.

- That's right.

- Catherine, what a delight to have you with us.

Thank you for being here.

- Thank you.

It's entirely my pleasure.

- Great to have you here.

That is "Exploring the Heartland."

I'm Fred Martino.

Talk to us.

The address is contact@wsiu.org.

Give us your ideas for the people, places, and events that shape our region.

Thanks for being with us.

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