The Girl Who Swallowed a Cactus is Metro Theater Company's annual fall touring production and is perfect for all ages. In addition to appearing at schools across the St. Louis region and in Nashville, there will be several free public performances that are open to all.
The story centers on Sheila and her friends, who, as the desert sun beats down, find themselves in search of something – anything – interesting to explore. When a walking, talking (and surprisingly well-dresssed) coyote shows up, the kids find themselves on the adventure of a lifetime.
The Girl Who Swallowed a Cactus was written by Eric Coble and workshoped by Metro Theater Company in April, 2018, at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts as part of New Visions/New Voices 2018. Catch this modern-day fable before it returns to the Kennedy Center next April!
Free performances take place at the Missouri History Museum on Oct. 12 and 13 at 2 p.m. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis.
The November 9 free performance will take place at the St. Louis Public Library, Central Branch (1301 Olive Street, St. Louis, MO 63103) at 2 p.m.
More information: metroplays.org
Celebrating the history, culture, and people of Japan, the Japanese Festival at the Missouri Botanical Garden is one of the largest and oldest festivals of its kind in the United States. Your family can enjoy guided walking tours, bonsai, cooking, martial arts and origami demonstrations, sumo wrestling, and special activities for kids.
Kids can work on existing gym skills, learn new skills or just play around during Open Gym at Miss Kelly's Gym in Creve Coeur.
Wagon rides, live entertainment, great festival foods, a petting zoo and much more make this an apple pickin' good time for the whole family. There will be pony rides, a children's carnival, opportunities to feed goats and other farm animals, caramel apples, funnel cakes and more.
See the Zoo's California sea lions perform acrobatic and athletic feats, including Olympic-style dives on a high-diving platform, flipper walks, frisbee tosses and plenty of surprises. While on stage with the sea lions, the Zoo's trainers explain sea lion behavior and positive-reinforcement training, in addition to the need for conserving the sea lion's ocean habitat.
LEGO Club at the St. Louis County Library is a free opportunity for kids to gather and have fun building with LEGO bricks. LEGOs are provided.