The Best Things to Do in St. Louis This Weekend: February 1 to 3

The Notebook, Ice Cream for Breakfast Day, Taste of Soulard and more

Jan 31, 2024 at 8:59 am

Your furry friends take center stage in the Purina Pet Parade this Sunday. REUBEN HEMMER

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Thursday 02/01

A Night to Remember
Before he was Kenough and before she played a cop opposite Colin Farrell in a lackluster season of True Detective, Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams gave us The Notebook, a love story that you'd have to be demented to forget. The flick tells the tale of young couple Noah and Allie Calhoun and their efforts to find their way back to one another, and in the years since its release, it has topped numerous lists of the most romantic films of all time. So what better way to kick off February, month of Valentine's Day, than with dinner and a movie screening of the 2004 classic? Grab your partner this Thursday, February 1, and head on down to Das Bevo (4749 Gravois) for a night you'll remember forever. Doors open at 6 p.m., and the show starts at 7. Dinner and cocktails will be on offer, and tickets are just $5 each. Pick them up at square.link/u/8CykEzKC.

Friday 02/02

Orange You Glad
If you've ever been to the Pulitzer Arts Foundation (3716 Washington Avenue), you've no doubt noticed that at least one piece of art in the non-collecting museum never changes. That's Blue Black, the Ellsworth Kelly wall sculpture (which you'd be forgiven for thinking is a painting) that hangs against the back wall of the museum, across from the staircase that connects the ground floor to most of the galleries. Impossibly tall, the 50/50 color-block piece was made in 2000 specifically for the Tadao Ando-designed building. Now, the artwork finally has artwork made specifically for it: Sarah Crowner's Around Orange, consisting of three site-specific panels that pretty up the main-floor wall directly adjacent to Blue Black. Like Kelly's work, Crowner's 70-foot-long panels rely on large swaths of bold colors: blue, black, white and a vibrant orange. The opportunity to stand in the main gallery looking back and forth at the two pieces would be a sad thing to miss, and the experience is all the better with a little extra knowledge. In other words, get yourself to the Sarah Crowner: Around Orange Exhibition Tour led by curator Stephanie Weissberg on Friday, February 2, for one of the last (and arguably best) chances you'll get to see the work for yourself before the exhibit closes on February 4. The event begins at 5 p.m. and is free. ASL interpretation and other accessibility services are available and can be coordinated through [email protected]. More info at pulitzerarts.org.

Good Press
Wash U's longest-running cultural show, Black Anthology, is back at Edison Theatre (6465 Forsyth Boulevard, Clayton). What began in 1989 as a creative outlet for Black students across campus to showcase prominent Black authors and artists has blossomed into an annual production written, directed, choreographed and produced entirely by undergraduates. Black Anthology explores and celebrates the nuances of the Black experience in America through dialogue, dance and music, and this year, Black Anthology presents Pressed. No spoilers for the show, but this year's community partner, Employment Connection, offers a glimpse at the theme. The full story reveals itself on either Friday, February 2, at 7 p.m. or Saturday, February 3, at 2 or 7 p.m. Arrive 45 minutes before each evening show to also take part in a relevant conversation between community members and cast. Tickets are $16 with fees and are available at boxoffice.wustl.edu. Parking is free in the Danforth University Center garage after 5 p.m. on Friday and all day Saturday.

Saturday 02/03

The Sweet Spot(s)
I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream — for breakfast, that is. This Saturday, February 3, prepare your sprinkles (or whatever topping you prefer) for National Ice Cream for Breakfast Day. Whether you like vanilla or chocolate, a bowl or a cone, head over to Clementine's Naughty & Nice Creamery (various locations including 308 North Euclid Avenue), the Fountain on Locust (3037 Locust Street), Ices Plain & Fancy (2256 South 39th Street), Serendipity Homemade Ice Cream (400 Manchester Avenue), Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams (389 North Euclid Avenue) or whichever spot happens to be your favorite to celebrate this sweetest of holidays. From 9 a.m. to noon, Clementine's will have new flavors for the day, including Toasted Nutella Crunch (Nutella ice cream with crunchy bits of club crackers and hazelnut candy), Grapefruit Sorbet (a balance of tart grapefruit and sweet citrus orange blossom water) and Vietnamese Coffee (a robust blend of dark, aromatic coffee swirled with sweetened condensed milk) in addition to their more traditional favorites. Meanwhile, the Fountain on Locust will be serving its fan-favorite ice cream and waffles dish all day, with two deliciously golden Belgian waffles topped with vanilla, whipped cream and a sauce of your choice. Elsewhere, Ices Plain & Fancy will have several nitro ice cream specials; Serendipity will open early at 8 a.m. with waffle sundaes, Pharaoh's Donuts ice cream sandwiches and special holiday flavors; and from 9 a.m. to noon, Jeni's will have Banana French Toast ice cream and the Banoffee L'affogato, which consists of two scoops of the former topped with cold brew. For more on the origins of Ice Cream for Breakfast Day, visit icecreamforbreakfastday.org.

Beads Me
How is it already Mardi Gras season? Christmas was barely a month ago. And yet this year's ridiculously early Easter means that we have no choice but to head to Soulard and celebrate a holiday that literally translates to "Fat Tuesday" over the course of an entire week (and one in which, around these parts at least, Tuesdays generally play little to no role). The excitement kicks off on Saturday, February 3, when all you eager beavers can get up early and Run for Your Beads in a Mardi Gras-themed 5K race through the highly runnable streets of historic Soulard. The race kicks off at 9 a.m., but rest assured this is not your track star's 5K. For one thing: They serve hurricanes at the "water" stops along the race course. For another: You're encouraged to sign up at the ad hoc venue titled the Bud Light Party Centre (Ninth Street and Lafayette Avenue). What other race can say that? In-person registration begins the day of the event at 7:30 a.m.; see facebook.com/events/281593504877480 for full details.

Accounting for Taste
The Mardi Gras fun continues later at 11 a.m. Saturday with Taste of Soulard, which allows you to sample all the best restaurants in the historic neighborhood before you pee in their alleys during next week's debauchery. It's a great way to support an area of the city that puts up with a lot of drunken shenanigans — and also a great way to try some new restaurants. Tickets are $35 and buy you one drink voucher and six food vouchers to sample some of Soulard's finest establishments. You can cash in your vouchers at your own pace (drinking all the way, of course) on Saturday, February 3, and Sunday, February 4, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., though you must redeem a pre-sale ticket at the Soulard Market Plaza (Eighth Street and Lafayette Avenue) before 4 p.m. Saturday to get started. Details online at stlmardigras.org/events/taste-of-soulard.

Dog Daze
Doing most of your tasting on Sunday? Make sure to plan around the event that for many pet lovers is the highlight of Soulard's entire Mardi Gras shebang: the Purina Pet Parade. The self-proclaimed "world's largest costumed pet parade" is free to watch all along the route, which wends through the streets of Soulard. You'll need to get there early for a prime viewing spot, with the joyous walk of pooches and their people beginning at 1 p.m. on Sunday, February 4. Register your pet for just $10 at 12th and Allen streets beginning at 10 a.m. Naturally, you'll want to stay for the Wiener Dog Derby, which is also free for spectators and kicks off at 1:45 p.m. at the Soulard Market. Full details and a parade map to plan your viewing (or avoid it to get your hurricanes on) are at stlmardigras.org/events.