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Missouri Botanical Garden 4344 Shaw Blvd. 314-577-9400  "When you think Saint Louis, think Saint Louis Front Page," a weekly publication covering the news and events in the greater St. Louis area.  |
A boisterous festival procession originates at the Climatron® on Saturday morning at 10:30 a.m. to launch the celebration. Follow the ornately-decorated dashi stage and omikoshi Shinto shrine as they wind their way through the Garden to the entrance of Seiwa-en, the "garden of pure, clear harmony and peace" and one of the largest authentic Japanese strolling gardens in North America. Visiting and local dignitaries will break a cask of sake in the ritual of kagamiwari as bon odori dancers and taiko drummers entertain the crowd, officially opening the Japanese Festival. Throughout the weekend, visitors can enjoy more than two dozen different activities and forms of entertainment, including a host of family-friendly offerings. The St. Louis Osuwa Taiko group returns to thrill crowds with the reverberating boom of their taiko drums on Saturday and Sunday at 7 p.m. and again on Sunday and Monday at 2 p.m. on the lawn of the outdoor Cohen Amphitheater. Learn traditional Japanese festival dancing with bon odori demonstrations both Saturday and Sunday at 5:30 p.m. at the Yagura stage in the Japanese Garden. Weighing in at 1,100-plus combined pounds, friendly giants and retired professionals Koryu, Sunahama and Kamikiiwa showcase Japan's ancient and revered national sport of sumo wrestling twice a day at the Cohen Amphitheater. The University of Missouri-Columbia Bunraku Bay Puppet Troupe takes the stage daily for performances of bunraku, a form of traditional Japanese puppet theater. Watch detailed, four-foot-tall wooden puppets dramatically come to life, aided by a system of rods, levers and a team of three puppeteers called the ningyo-zukai. Shows are Saturday at 5 and 6:30 p.m., Sunday at 4 and 5:30 p.m. and Monday at 1:30 p.m. in the Shoenberg Theater; seating is limited and available first-come, first-served. Don't blink or you'll miss the action as artist Naomi Hamamura quickly chisels frosty blocks into detailed ice sculptures at 1 p.m. daily outside of the Spink Pavilion. Martial arts including kendo, karate, koryu bugei, judo and aikido will be demonstrated at various times throughout the weekend on the Garden's south lawn. Japanese Festival hours are Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 4 and 5 from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. (doors open at 9 a.m. and remain open until 10 p.m. for evening candlelight walks), and Monday, Sept. 6 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $15 for adults, $10 for seniors ages 65 and over and $5 for children ages 3 to 12. Missouri Botanical Garden members are $5 and their children are free.
The Missouri Botanical Garden, fondly known as Shaw's Garden to St. Louisans, contains a formal English garden, traditional Japanese garden, Margaret Blanke Grigg Chinese garden, the Flower Trial Garden, greenhouses and extensive landscaping. The garden also features the Climatron Complex, water lily reflection ponds and the William T. Kemper Center for Home Gardening. The Climatron® geodesic dome and rainforest conservatory was dedicated 40 years ago in October 1960, replacing an old house built in 1913. The structure incorporates principles established by innovative architect R. Buckminster Fuller and was the first application of geodesic engineering for a greenhouse. The St. Louis architecture firm of Murphy & Mackey developed plans for the facility with Garden director Frits W. Went, who coined the term, Climatron. The dome is 70 feet high and 175 feet in diameter, permitting tall palm trees to tower majestically above the tropical vista of streams, waterfalls and 1,200 different species of exotic trees and plants. Temperature ranges from 64 to 74 degrees and average humidity is 85 percent. Visitors can enjoy a sense of being in a jungle while making their way by orchids, passion flowers, hibiscus flowers, cycads and a number of endangered species. In 1976, the dome was named one of the 100 most significant architectural achievements in United States history. The Garden, covering 79 acres, is located at 4344 Shaw Blvd, just south of Hwy 44 between Vandeventer and Grand. Extended summer hours are 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesdays only from Memorial Day through Labor Day. Free parking on premises, as well as an extensive gift shop and restaurant with patio dining. For more information, call the GardenLine at 314-577-9400 or 800-642-8842. Archived Stories:  Missouri Botanical Garden Introduces New Director: Dr. Peter Wyse JacksonAnnual Orchid Show at the Missouri Botanical Garden Is a French-Inspired Streetscape Under the Eiffel TowerGardenland Express Chugs Into Missouri Botanical Garden for Holiday SeasonGardenland Express Brings Wintery Wonderland in the Mountains of Vermont to Missouri Botanical GardenMissouri Botanical Garden Celebrates Six Millionth Herbarium Specimen 
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