Kirkwood Weekly HappeningsCity Logo B-W
City of Kirkwood
June 20, 2013
In This Issue
FIREWORKS!
News from MoDOT
Hotdog Dayz of Summer
Greentree Bookfair
Art at the Station
Makin' Music Concerts
Tunes at Ten
Thursday Night Concerts
Gardening Tip
Kirkwood Public Library
Last Thoughts
Join Our Mailing List!
Quick Links
Greetings!
       
PHOTO OF THE WEEK: 
This past week, Kirkwood firefighters teamed up with their counterparts in Ladue and Valley Park for some SEMA training. They had four hours of classroom instruction and four hours of practical evolutions on how to deal with ignitable liquids and ethanol-blended fuels. The Kirkwood firefighter/paramedic holding the hose is Pat Krazl and behind him is Fire Captain Keith Short.

Have you taken a really great photograph of something or someone in Kirkwood recently?  Your editor would love to use it in the newsletter.  Simply email it to Info@Kirkwoodmo.org (or just reply to this newsletter), along with a brief description and your name. Thanks! 
FOURTH OF JULY FIREWORKS!
ANNUAL KIRKWOOD COMMUNITY FREEDOM FESTIVAL & FIREWORKS:  JULY 4!
It's just around the corner - literally two weeks from today.  Here's the scoop:
  • Kirkwood Park, corner of Geyer Road and West Adams Avenue Fireworks
  • Music by Fanfare starts at 7:00 p.m.  Bring a blanket or some chairs, bring a picnic basket, or enjoy some treats from Tropical Moose
  • Fireworks start at dusk!
THANK YOU to this year's sponsors:

The City of Des Peres (Rocket Sponsor); Des Peres Hospital (Glitter Sponsor); Aberdeen Heights, Adams Place Retirement Community, Carrollton Bank, City of Glendale, City of Oakland, Eagle Bank and Trust Company, Local Harvest Grocery, UMB Bank, Webster-Kirkwood Times (Sparkler Sponsors); Barb & Jim Byerly, Bopp Chapel, Commerce Bank, Phyllis & Clyde Farris, Barbara & Art McDonnell, Riggs Construction and Design, Rotary Club of Kirkwood, and State Farm Insurance (Firecracker Sponsors).

 

ROAD CLOSURES: Please check back next week for the full details on which streets around the park will be closed and during what times.  Thanks!  

Article Headline
MoDOT WORK ZONES FOR JUNE 20 - JUNE 26:

In addition to permanent work zones, such as the Blanchette Bridge and the Tower Grove Interchange projects, the Missouri Department of Transportation has weekend and nighttime work scheduled for Thursday, June 20, through Wednesday, June 26. This weekend, nighttime lane and ramp closures are planned on I-170 and I-270 in North St. Louis County.  On Friday, two northbound lanes of I-170 will close at 9 p.m., for work on expansion joints.  This section of highway, between Page and Route 180 (St. Charles Rock Road) will remain closed until Monday at 5 a.m. The ramp from eastbound Route 180 to northbound I-170 will be closed during this time, as will the left turn lanes on the ramp from northbound I-170 to westbound Route 180. On I-270, motorists should be prepared for various single northbound and southbound lane closures between I-70 and Page. This work is scheduled for Thursday and Friday from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m., each night.

HOTDOG DAYZ OF SUMMER ARE BACK!
BRING THE KIDS OUT TO THE PARK TOMORROW!!
We will serve a hotdog lunch and play games with the kids.  The Kirkwood PD wants the children of Kirkwood to know we are here if they need us.  FREE.  Fridays, 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.  Schedule subject to change, due to weather conditions.  SEE YOU THERE!  Here's the full schedule:
  • June 21: Walker Park (Turtle Park), corner of Washington and Taylor
  • June 28:  Avery Park, 221-225 Avery Drive
  • July 5: Monfort Park, corner of Briargate and Barberry Lane
  • July 12: Loewnau Park, corner of Oakland and Sappington
  • July 19:  Fillmore Park, corner of Fillmore and Clinton
  • July 26: Meacham Memorial Park, corner of Meacham and Orleans.
GREENTREE BOOKFAIR RETURNS
GREENTREE BOOK FAIR ACCEPTING DONATIONS NOW
Do you have books you would like to donate to a worthy cause?  You can now drop off your donations at the Kirkwood Train Station. Donation bins will be placed on the northwest side of the station.  Tax-deductible letters will be left in an envelope inside the bins. The following donations will be accepted: Hard-cover and paperback fiction and non-fiction books, children's books, sheet music, videos, and recorded music. Please NO encyclopedias, textbooks, magazines, or software. All proceeds benefit the instrumental music program in the Kirkwood School District (all grade levels). The Greentree Book Fair is sponsored by the Kirkwood Band Boosters and the Kirkwood Orchestra Parent Association (parent support groups). Thank you.
ART AT THE STATION
PENCIL DRAWINGS OF DIANE REISING

The Kirkwood Area Arts Council will feature the work of  watercolorist, Jeanne Conway through July 1. The pencil drawings of Diane Reising will be on display through July 29. Please join us for her opening reception Thursday, July 11, 5:30 to 7:00 p.m., at the Kirkwood Train Station, corner of Argonne Avenue and South Kirkwood Road. Exhibit and reception are free and open to the public. Art may be viewed when the station is open for passengers.

MAKIN' MUSIC CONCERT SERIES IN KIRKWOOD PARK
ELEVENTH ANNUAL SUMMER CONCERT SERIES CONTINUES
Concerts start at 7:00 p.m. in the Lions' Amphitheater in Kirkwood Park on Saturdays.
SUMMER 2013 SCHEDULE:
~ Saturday, June 22:  The Scandaleros
~ Saturday, July 13: Rocky and the Wranglers
~ Saturday, July 27:  Maple Jam Band
~ Saturday, August 10:  Route 66 Jazz Orchestra
~ Saturday, August 24:  St. Louis Wind Symphony
TUNES AT TEN
LIVE MUSIC AT KIRKWOOD FARMERS' MARKET - SCHEDULE:
~ June 22:  Sutton Street Shuffle
~ June 29:  Salt of the Earth
~ July 6:  Rocky Santhuff
~ July 13:  Maple Jam Band
~ July 20:  The Lulus

All concerts are located near the pergola and begin at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday mornings.
FROM THE DOWNTOWN BUSINESS DISTRICT
DOWNTOWN KIRKWOOD SUMMER CONCERT SERIES IN STATION PLAZA
All concerts start at 6:30 p.m., on Thursday nights, in Station Plaza, across from City Hall. 

~ TONIGHT:  The Hulapoppers perform.  Concert sponsored by Down By The Station, Checkered Cottage, and Moonbeans

~ JUNE 27:  Project 324 performs.  Concert sponsored by Spencer's Grill

~ JULY 11:  Erin Bode performs. Concert sponsored by Kaldi's Coffeehouse.  

In the event of threatening weather, concerts will be cancelled. Call 314-822-0084 and enter 4 for the Event mailbox and to receive special event updates and cancellation information.  

GARDENERS' CORNER
GARDENING TIP OF THE WEEK 

A constant task around the garden at this time of year is deadheading:  Removing spent flowers from containers, pots, hanging baskets, and beds and borders, and feeding them all occasionally with liquid feed. Deadheading diverts energy from producing seed into producing new flowers.....so it's a good thing all around. 

   
The Kirkwood Garden Club will periodically share a Gardening Tip of the Week with Weekly Happenings readers.  For more information about the club, visit their Website at kirkwoodgardenclub.org. New members and guests - both men and women - are always welcome to attend their meetings and events.  Meetings are held on the first Tuesday of the month at 7:00 p.m., at the Kirkwood Community Center.
FROM KIRKWOOD PUBLIC LIBRARY
KIRKWOOD PUBLIC LIBRARY'S SUMMER SCHEDULE

ONE BOOK, ONE KIRKWOOD - UPDATES:

Michael Northrop will be at the library TONIGHT, Thursday, June 20, at 7:00 p.m., to discuss his book, Plunked, the library's One Book, One Kirkwood selection for kids.  Also:  Come early for free hot dogs and popcorn and a chance to win St. Louis Cardinal Tickets thanks to Fifth Third Bank of Kirkwood!

 

SUMMER STORY TIMES:

~ Tuesdays, 10:00 a.m., through July 30

~ Thursdays, 9:30 a.m., Books for Babies, through July 25

~ Thursdays, 10:30 a.m., First Steps Storytime, through July 25

 

KIDS' SUMMER BOOK CLUB TIMES:

Mondays, 7:00 p.m.

Family Book Club. For children grades 4-6 and parents.
~ July 8: Pie, by Sarah Weeks
~ August 12: Lone Wolf, by Kathryn Lasky

Thursdays, 6:30 pm.

Family Book Club Junior . For children grades 2-4 and their parents.
~ July 11: Piper Reed Rodeo Star by Kimberly Willis Holt

~ August 1:  How Oliver Olson Changed the World by Claudia Mills

 

STORIES IN THE PARK, Tuesdays, 6:30 pm. 

~ June 25:  Fireman's Park

~ July 9:  Fillmore Park

~ July 16:  Little Mitchell Park

~ July 23:  Kirkwood Park, Lions' Pavilion

 

WACKY WEDNESDAYS, Wednesdays, 10:30 a.m. 

~ June 26:  Yo-Yo Kid - Ian Cole and Yoyo-ology

~ July 3:   Worm Races

~ July 10:  Juggling Jeff

~ July 17:  World Bird Sanctuary presents Creatures of Myths & Legends

~ July 24:  Laughing Matters presents "Toss, Catch, Dig"

~ July 31:  Babaloo : shows at 10 am and 11 am

 

KPL @ THE FARMERS' MARKET:

We're at the market from 9:00 a.m. to noon on the following Saturdays:

~ Saturday, July 13:  Picnics

~ Saturday, August 10:  Summer Reads

 

READING BUDDIES!  Mondays Through July 29
~ Session 1: 1:30 to 2:15 p.m.

~ Session 2:  2:30 to 3:15 p.m.

Children entering 1st through 4th grade partner with teen volunteers for one-on-one reading time. Children and teens must apply to participate. Applications are available in the library. 

 

CHAMPS READING DOGS:
Sundays, 3:00 to 4:00 p.m., July 7, August 4.

 

FAMILY LEGO DAY:  Family Lego Day: Saturday, June 29, 10:30 - 11:30.  Master builders and their parents are invited for some Lego building fun.  

 

TEEN EVENTS IN JUNE: 
~ Roaring 1920s Jazz Party: Trivia, Music, Dance - Just in time for The Great Gatsby movie release. Friday, June 21, 5:30 - 7:00 p.m.
~ Duct Tape Craft Hour: Sunday, June 23, 2:00-3:00 p.m.  

~ Doctor Who Fan Fiction Writing Competition: Wednesday, June 26, 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.
~ YouTube U: Creating the Surface and the Creatures Beneath: Friday, June 28 (and again on July 26), 2:30 to 4:00 p.m. 

 

ADULT PROGRAMS:

KPL Cinema, Tuesdays, 1:30 p.m.  Movie titles for June:

~ June 25:  National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets

 

Wanderlust Series: Wednesdays, 7:00 p.m. 

~ July 24, 7 pm: Chesterfield Archeological Dig, by Joe Hart.

~ August 7, 7 pm: Tropical Destinations, presented by Wes Lipe.

~ August 14, 7 pm: Missouri Caves, presented by Jim Reudin.

 

Special Events for Adults: Wednesdays and Thursdays
~ Intergenerational Art Classes. Wednesday, July 10 and July 31, 1:00 to 3:00 p.m.  Ages 9 to adult.
 
Saturday Morning Perks, Saturdays, 10:00 a.m. 

~ June 22: Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce

 

The Kirkwood Public Library is located at 140 E. Jefferson in Downtown Kirkwood.  For additional information, please call 821-5770.
FROM THE EDITOR: The Mini Blog
Have you read The Might Have Been, by Joseph Schuster, this year's "One Book, One Kirkwood" selection for adult readers?  It's the second year the Kirkwood Public Library has hosted a Community Read.  Their goal is to get the entire community reading and talking about a single book (although this year they offered a children's book too).  Your editor read Mr. Schuster's book over the weekend, and I think if you like baseball, or you just enjoy really good storytelling, you'll love the book.  If you read it and have some thoughts to share, please send them to me and I'll post them here in the coming weeks. I met the author last night, and he told me it took him nine years to write The Might Have Been (his first novel).  He works full-time at Webster University as a professor in the School of Communications, but he added: "I hope my next one won't take that long."

MAILBAG:  KUDOS to the reader who sent in the following story. She gave us permission to use it (anonymously):

"Beth: Thanks so much for sharing your story about your son and swimming.  It really makes a difference when a personal story is shared and not just an admonishment to "give your kids swim lessons."   When my twenty-three-year-old was a year and a half, I enrolled her in swim lessons.  The teacher asked each parent why they had enrolled their child.  I said "because she has NO FEAR of water and will just jump in, so I need her to be able to swim."  She had already jumped in a pool more than once when her eleven year old sister was swimming.  When she jumped in, she would not even close her mouth, but she would reach her arms straight up.  Because of this, I had always been able just to pull her out.   Since she wasn't traumatized, she never learned to stop jumping in.  One day at swim lessons, there were 5 little toddlers sitting on the edge of the pool, dangling their feet in the shallow end.  As the teacher was holding one child and "swimming" her in the water, a few feet from them, my daughter decided to scoot off the side and go in, in a flash.  I calmly walked to the edge, grabbed her arm, seated her back on the side of the pool, and I sat back down.  The other mothers were dumbfounded that I was so calm and that my daughter wasn't in the least upset.  I told them that was what I meant when I said she needed lessons because she had no fear of the water.  She has always loved the water and still does.   Thanks for sharing your story."

 

So we reiterate: Have fun in the water this summer:  Learn to swim.

SHOP, DINE, & STROLL TONIGHT!  As you may already know, many downtown shops stay open later on Thursday nights.  Also, tonight's concert at Station Plaza features the Hulapoppers.  The music kicks off at 6:30 p.m., but be advised: Sections of the Station Plaza garage are closed for maintenance for the next few weeks.

Have a great weekend.  See you next Thursday! 

  

Beth von Behren 
Happenings Editor/Public Information Officer 
City of Kirkwood
139 S. Kirkwood Road
Kirkwood, MO  63122
314-822-5894
www.kirkwoodmo.org