Memorial Weekend Activities for the Entire Family
The calendar may say June 21st is the official first day of summer but everyone knows the REAL first sign of summer is Memorial Day weekend. Most of us have the day off to spend with family and friends and nowhere are there more fun things to do than in St. Louis!
- Why not make 2015 the year you start a family tradition by attending the Shakespeare Festival St. Louis? Beginning May 22nd and running through June 13th, this event was voted the Best Free Event in St. Louis in 2012. Held at Shakespeare Glen in Forest Park, the show runs every night except Tuesday with pre-show activities beginning at 6:30PM.
- Blues, BBQ and Beer is what you’ll find at the St. Louis Ribfest. This Memorial Day bash kicks off Friday, May 23rd at 5PM with Catfish Willie jamming out on the St. Charles, New Town Amphitheater stage.
- Who doesn’t like a bargain? Memorial Day weekend is the big Grafton Riverside Flea Market. Vendors line up and down Front Street selling everything from Depression glass to rare books.
- For even more shopping, May 25th beginning at 7AM is the 43rd annual Gypsy Caravan. All proceeds benefit the St. Louis Symphony and this year there will be almost 500 vendors selling everything under the sun at The Family Arena.
- Then what would Memorial Day be without a parade? The first Alton Memorial Parade was held three years after the end of the Civil War and has been going strong ever since. The parade begins right at 10AM and all you need to bring is a lawn chair for sitting and an American flag for waving.
We here at Ellis Dental wish everyone a safe and happy Memorial Day weekend. We will be closed Monday, May 25th, reopening for business Tuesday, May 26th. To schedule an appointment please contact us online or by calling 314.965.1334.
Thanksgiving Weekend 2014
This time of year the biggest event in and around the St. Louis area is the Ameren Missouri Thanksgiving Day Parade. Now in its 30th year, this iconic St. Louis event will start promptly at 8:45AM, Thursday, November 27th. Beginning at the intersection of 7th and Market Street, the parade will head west on Market to Union Station where it will culminate at Aloe Plaza and 20th Street.
The 2014 parade will feature over 130 floats, some providing live entertainment, oversized helium balloon characters, live animals, marching bands, clowns, beauty queens and so much more! Rounding out the end of the parade is good ole St. Nick himself, riding in to officially begin the holiday season and wish everyone a Merry Christmas. As always, you are encouraged to come downtown early to pick out the best seats for viewing. Or if you’d rather enjoy the parade from the comfort of your own living room, it will be broadcast on KMOV Channel 4’s “Great Day St. Louis.”
Friday November 28th kicks off the seasonal Wild Lights at the St. Louis Zoo. This annual event runs evenings through January 3rd. As always there will be hundreds of thousands of holiday lights both in displays as well as strung throughout the entire Zoo for you and your family to ooh and ahh over.
Some of the most popular displays for 2014 will include:
- Arctic Wonderland
- Snowfall Flurry Walk
- Gingerbread Village
- Swan Lake
Wild Lights tickets also include admission to the Charles H. Hoessle Herpetarium and the Monsanto Insectarium. After enjoying all the gorgeous lights take a spin on the Conservation Carousel then stop by Lakeside Café for hot chocolate and a snack.
Ellis Dental would like to wish all our clients a very Happy Thanksgiving. We will be closing at 2PM on Wednesday and closed all day on Thursday so our staff can enjoy the long holiday weekend with family and friends.
Happy Labor Day from Ellis Dental
Most people recognize Labor Day simply as the informal beginning of fall or as just an extra day off to spend at the lake or barbequing with family and friends. But do you really know why the first Monday in September is a national holiday?
During the late 19th century as America continued to grow and prosper, manufacturing took the place of agriculture as the number one employment option. But there were no rules or guidelines to protect the workers. Most people worked seven days a week, 12 to 16 hours a day often in unsafe and dirty conditions.
As dissatisfaction grew informal Labor Unions began to organize demanding better working conditions and wages. As with anything worth fighting for there were struggles and often these strikes turned violent but the Unions persevered.
The original Labor Day holiday was celebrated on September 5th, 1882 when over 10,000 workers left their jobs and marched from City Hall to Union Square in New York demanding the same changes the Union leaders were fighting for. Finally in 1885 the first Monday in September was formally decreed the “workingman’s holiday” and began to receive state and then federal recognition.
In honor of Labor Day, there are two great parades scheduled for Monday. The St. Louis parade begins at 9AM at the corner of 13th and Olive and the Belleville Parade and Picnic starts on First Street at 10AM with the picnic to follow at Hough Park at 11:30AM.
Ellis Dental will be closed on Labor Day so our staff can enjoy the day with family and friends. The office will reopen at 8AM on Tuesday. Please call us then to schedule an appointment or go online for additional information.
Remembering the True Meaning of Memorial Day
For many people Memorial Day is the unofficial start of summer and after this past winter, it can’t get here soon enough! Memorial Day weekend gives us a wonderful opportunity to go the lake with family and friends, enjoy a relaxing evening barbequing at one of our great St. Louis parks or heading out for an afternoon of golf, tennis or to take advantage of all those great holiday sales.
But how many of us really take the time to commemorate the true meaning of the day? Memorial Day was originally called Decoration Day since the tradition began by decorating soldier’s gravesites. First officially recognized on May 30, 1868 to honor deceased Civil War soldiers, after the end of the First World War in 1919, Decoration Day was then expanded to include all military personnel who had died while serving our nation.
After World War II Decoration Day became better known as Memorial Day and then in 1967, President Lyndon Johnson officially changed the name. In the past Memorial Day had always been celebrated on May 30th until 1971 when Congress declared it a national holiday under the Uniform Monday Holiday Act. This act allowed four holidays to be moved from their traditional dates to a Monday in order to create three day weekends.
Now cities across America observe Memorial Day with parades honoring all branches of the military including our own parade right here in St. Louis sponsored by V.F.W Post #3055.
Ellis Dental would like to take this opportunity to thank all our military personnel and their families for their selfless service in defending our great nation. We will be closed out of respect on Monday, May 26th; resuming regular business hours on Tuesday.