The Downtown Kirkwood Winter Fireworks Festival returns this year due to popular demand and is scheduled to be held on Saturday, December 28, in Downtown Kirkwood.

Before the fireworks display, local musical group Project 324 will perform at 5:00 p.m., at Station Plaza.  At 6:00 p.m., the colorful Shaolin Lohan Pai Lion Dance Troupe will make an appearance as a large Chinese dragon, accompanied by drummers, meandering from Argonne to Station Plaza. 

At 6:30 p.m., the fireworks will begin, over the Downtown area and City Hall.  (Our apologies for leaving the time out of the bulletin on Monday!).

In the event of bad weather - ice, snow, or windy conditions:  The fireworks will be  postponed.  There are several ways to find out.   Visit downtownkirkwood.com, for special event information.  Call their hotline at 314-822-0084, ext. 4.  Check the City's Website at kirkwoodmo.org.  And, of course, we will post the information on the City's Facebook page.  

The following streets will be closed for this event: Kirkwood Road, from Argonne to West Madison, West Madison, the 100 block of East Argonne, and a portion of the 100 block of West Argonne. Northbound traffic on Kirkwood Road will be diverted to Taylor Avenue.  Southbound traffic on Kirkwood Road will be diverted to Clay Avenue, until spectators have dispersed. Due to a private party, the Kirkwood Train Station will be closed to the public. Parking will be available in public lots and at the Station Plaza garage.

The Festival is hosted by the City of Kirkwood and the Downtown Kirkwood Special Business District and is underwritten by private donations, including: Simmons First National Bank, Des Peres Hospital, Riggs Construction & Design, Hardy Washington Jr., State Farm Agent, Billy G's Kirkwood, Spencer's Grill, Kirkwood Station Restaurant and Brewing Company, Gaffner Realty, Barb & Jim Byerly, Barbara and Art McDonnell, Bert Forde, and Dave White.

After Christmas, your live tree can be moved outside and be redecorated for the birds. Anchor the tree in a bucket full of damp sand. Put on strings of popcorn and cranberries. Apples, oranges, leftover breads and pine cones covered with peanut butter and then dipped in birdseed can also be added. For best results, push the edible ornaments well into the tree.

CITY OFFICES CLOSED ON NEW YEAR'S 

City Hall and most City offices will be closed on Wednesday, January 1, for New Year's. There will be no sanitation collection on New Year's Day, and all Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday routes will be delayed by a day.  

The Kirkwood Community Center office will be open on December 26 and 30, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., on December 31, from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and closed on January 1. The Ice Rink will have one public skating session on New Year's Eve and two sessions on New Year's Day.  Please visit the Website for skating session times and costs.

Kirkwood Sanitation will change some residential sanitation routes effective January 6, 2014.  Friday residential sanitation collection will be eliminated, moving the City back to a four-day-per-week collection schedule.  All Friday routes will be moved to other days, and some other routes will change as well. 

Affected residents will receive door hangers on January 2 or 3, as a last-minute reminder. About a third of Kirkwood Sanitation's residential customers are affected.  Residents who want to see if they are on the affected routes, can visit the Sanitation page of the Website.

(The link has been fixed.) 

YOUTH PROGRAMS:  

~ Holiday Reading Program runs through January 6, 2014.  Pre-readers through high school read to win prizes.  Sign up online or in the library.

For more information about these programs or for any other library information, visit the Library's Website at:  kirkwoodpubliclibrary.org. 

FOR KIDS / FAMILIES: 

Monday, December 30, 10:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m. Life-Size Candy Land. Drop in to play a round of Candy Land on our life-size game board and make a sweet craft. All ages.

~ Tuesday, December 31, 11:15 a.m. Ring in the New Year. Count down to 2014 at Oak Bend! We'll make our own party hats and noisemakers and dance until the clock strikes 12 (noon!). All ages.

~ Friday, December 27, 2:00 p.m. Cupcake Decorating for Teens. Learn decorating techniques from a professional decorator and snack on your creation. Ages 12-18. Registration required.