Events

Messy Church begins at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 9 and continues through the second and fourth Wednesdays of every month. St. John’s will take the main elements of worship out of the traditional setting to appeal to a part of the community who may not have a church home.

The twice-monthly events use hands-on activities to explore Bible stories, reflect a God of creativity and give people a chance to play together. People at St. John’s Messy Church will gather from their busy lives and reconnect with each other over a shared meal, then activities for playing and working together begin to explore the theme of that night’s Bible story. A short interactive celebration time of story, song and prayer follows the activity time. Messy Church is for adults and children to enjoy together – every element aims to be relevant and accessible to all ages. Each night will also include a message from Pastor Todd and the second Wednesday of each month, we will celebrate the sacrament of Holy Communion.

St. John’s will have one of the first Messy Churches in the state of Missouri.

If you have any questions or would like more information, visit stjohnsweldonspring.org, email office@stjohnsweldonspring.org or call (636) 926-8995.

“Figurative Works II” Juried by Alex Folla and accompanying figurative exhibitions opens at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 22 at The Foundry Art Centre, 520 North Main Street in Saint Charles. The exhibit will be on show Feb. 22 through April 5.

Alex Folla, an Italian born and residing artist who exhibits his figurative paintings internationally, curated this exhibition. The show will include 49 artworks by 29 artists from thirteen states. Craftsmanship and personality shine through this collection of works depicting the human form.

Going Solo Award Winner from 2017 exhibition Tell Me a Story, Voytek, will be exhibiting a collection of his detailed, surreal paintings entitled “Real Unreality”. This exhibition will reside in Gallery III. His artist statement reads, “Just when you think it isn’t possible… the impossible happens”. In the Ameristar Gallery, a photographer who has traveled all the way from Puerto Rico will display her exhibition of unique portraits entitled Island Beauty. In Zuania Muñiz-Melendez’s artwork, “The human body juxtaposed with colourful flowers is a celebration of our humanity and the joy of life”.

All exhibitions will open February 22, 2019, with a Gallery Talk in the Main Gallery at 5:30 pm. The Opening Reception will be from 6-8pm. Schlafly Brewery will be providing complimentary beer for the evening to be served with wine and snacks. The community is invited to attend the Opening Reception and meet the exhibiting Artists. The exhibition is free and open to the public at the Foundry Art Centre. Figurative Works II, Real Unreality, and Island Beauty will be on show February 22, 2019 – April 5, 2019.

Sweetheart Dance is from 7-10 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 22 at the St. Peters Cultural Arts Centre, One St. Peters Centre Blvd. in St. Peters.

Sweetheart Dance Kicks Off 2019 Season of Cultural Arts Centre Social Dances.

The Sweetheart Dance features the music of Vera Blum and the Silver Wings Band, with live covers of George Strait, Patsy Cline, Elvis and more. Bring your sweetie and enjoy the romantic atmosphere as you dance your way into his or her heart.

Celebrate Spring as the fun continues in March with the Spring Dance on Friday, March 22, featuring a live DJ from Juke Box Productions. Welcome Autumn with the Fall Ball on Friday, Sept. 13, featuring the music of Fanfare.

Join the fun with guys and ghouls at the Halloween Dance on Friday, Oct. 25, featuring the music of The Trilogy Band. Embrace the spirit of the season with the Holiday Dance on Dec. 20, also featuring The Trilogy Band.

Each dance takes place from 7-10 p.m. and costs $7 per ticket. Purchase your ticket at the door. Individuals, couples and groups are welcome. Show a St. Peters Resident Privilege Card at the door and receive $1 off the price of admission. Cultural Arts Centre members also receive a $1 discount.

For more information on Cultural Arts Centre events, visit stpetersmo.net/arts or call (636) 397-6903, ext. 1624.

SCC Comedy Night is at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 23 at the Donald D. Shook Fine Arts Building theater, St. Charles Community College, 4601 Mid Rivers Mall Drive in Cottleville. $5 with student ID, $10 for general public. Contact Robert Jones at (636) 922-8469 or Robert_jones@stchas.edu for more information.

St. Charles Community College will be hosting Comedy Night, featuring J.R. De Guzman and Kiry Shabazz.

Born in the Philippines and raised in California, J.R. De Guzman began performing comedy while working as a music teacher. He has entertained all over the world, having performed for Stand-Up Tokyo and ROR Comedy in Japan, the Jokers Ball in Indonesia, the Badaboom Comedy Series in Amsterdam, the Edmonton Comedy Festival and countless other international shows. Combining music and comedy, J.R. serenades the audience into laughter with songs, jokes and stories of traveling the world, life after college, and family. He has shared the stage with Tim Allen, Margaret Cho, Daniel Tosh, Jerrod Carmichael, Iliza Shlesinger and more. De Guzman is the 2016 winner of Stand-up NBC and was named as a prestigious “New Face” at Just for Laughs 2017. He has a quarter-hour Netflix special on “The Comedy Lineup,” is featured on Coming to the Stage Season 2 on Hulu, Comedy Central’s Kevin Hart Presents: Hart of the City, and MTV’s Acting Out. He also has an album on Sirius XM Radio’s Laugh’s USA that debuted #1 on iTunes and Billboard.

Kiry Shabazz is a standup from Cleveland, Ohio, but is now based in Los Angeles. Kiry started comedy in Northern California and quickly became a regular at the Punchline Sacramento, Rooster T Feathers and Cobb’s. He’s won first place at the Rooster T Feathers Comedy Competition, has been a World Series of Comedy Satellite Competition winner and was selected for the Laughing Skull Festival. When he’s not performing at clubs and colleges across the country, he can be seen performing all over the city.

Tickets to the event can be purchased with a valid SCC student ID for $5 or for $10 for the general public.

St. Peters Cultural Arts Centre Bus Tour begins at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 27, bus departs from St. Peters City Hall, One St. Peters Centre Blvd. in St. Peters.

St. Peters Cultural Arts Centre has a full schedule of fun bus tours planned for 2019, starting in February and occurring monthly for the rest of the year! Take a local tour of St. Louis to view architectural and historical treasures, eat delicious food and visit museums, or take a day trip to explore historic Route 66 in Illinois, Hermann, Cahokia or Warm Springs Ranch in central Missouri—home of the Anheuser-Busch Clydesdales.

On Feb. 27, the first tour of 2019, Stained Glass and Steeples, will trace the evolution of stained glass and mosaics in local St. Louis churches such as St. John Nepomuk, St. Francis de Sales, St. Francis Xavier, St. Mark’s Episcopal, Hope UCC and St. Gabriel’s. Lunch will be at the favorite St. Raymond’s Maronite Church. Lunch will be at the favorite St. Raymond’s Maronite Church.

The bus departs from the west parking lot of St. Peters City Hall and returns at approximately 4 p.m. This tour involves quite a bit of walking, but mostly at your leisure, and the cost is $81, which includes lunch, transportation and all other fees.

Future 2019 bus tours:

·         St. Louis Treasures, March 21: $99

·         Commemorating Historic Jefferson Barracks, April 11: $91

·         Warm Springs Clydesdale Ranch & Les Bourgeois Winery, May 14: $109

·         IL Route 66 & the Carlinville Sears Houses, June 19: $87

·         St. Louis Nibble & Nosh, July 12: $56

·         The Kosher Konnection, Aug. 15: $78

·         Historic Cahokia & Cahokia Mounds, Sept. 18: $87

·         Angels & Demons, Oct. 22: $84

·         St. Louis Architectural Treasures, Nov. 14: $99

·         Hermann German Holiday, Dec. 13: $89

All tours include transportation, lunch, donations, gratuities and admissions unless otherwise noted. For more information on this and future trips, go to stpetersmo.net/arts or call (636) 397-6903, ext. 1624. To register, visit stpetersmo.net/Rec-Connect or call (636) 939-2386, ext. 1400.

Dr. Anthony Bradley Presents Ending Overcriminalization and Mass Incarceration from 4-6 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. on Feb. 27 at Harmon Hall (Dunseth Auditorium), Lindenwood University, 209 S. Kingshighway in St. Charles.

Dr. Anthony Bradley, Professor of Religious Studies and Director of the Center for the Study of Human Flourishing at The Kings College in New York City, will be at Lindenwood the afternoon and evening of Wed., February 27 to close out Black History Month. In an event sponsored by the Liberty & Ethics Center in the Hammond Institute, Dr. Bradley will highlight his most recent book, Ending Overcriminalization and Mass Incarceration (2018). His focus will be on the subject of “Race and Justice Beyond the New Jim Crow.”

According to Dr. Rachel Ferguson, Director of the Liberty & Ethics Center, the Hammond Institute has been highlighting the agreement across the political spectrum that the United States imprisons far too many of its citizens with its “Left, Right, & Center: Reforming the Criminal Justice System” series. The numbers are undeniable, with four to five times as many people in prison today as there were in 1970, although crime itself is back at 1970-era rates. It doesn’t make a lot of sense, and it’s breaking our state budgets.

So what is driving the mass incarceration crisis?

It’s easy to pin the problem on our favorite cause celebre: some want it to be private prisons, others racism, some the drug war, and still others insist that crime is increasing, despite plummeting numbers over the last 25 years.

Dr. Bradley takes a deep dive into the data to dispute popular accounts and get down to real causes, and real solutions. Unlike so many, Bradley refuses to focus on policy alone, but also appeals to the role of civil society, of culture, in solving one of the toughest problems we face today.

Bradley is called upon by members of the broadcast media for comment on current issues and has appeared on C-SPAN, NPR, CNN/Headline News, and Fox News, among other outlets.

He studies and writes on issues of race in America, mass incarceration and overcriminalization, youth and family, welfare, education, and ethics.

Open to all; no reservations required. For more information, visit the Hammond Institute for Free Enterprise online at Hammond.Institute or call (636) 627-2915.