Fair Saint Louis

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Established in 1878 and reconstituted in 1981, Fair Saint Louis is an annual festival held during the July 4th holiday in downtown St. Louis, Missouri at the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial. Some call it "America's largest birthday party". The event showcases a variety of attractions, including air shows (often including the Blue Angels), educational activities, a barbecue competition, stages featuring popular entertainers, and an enormous fireworks display held nightly.

Contents

1 Background
2 Controversy
3 References
4 External links

Background

Known as the "Veiled Prophet Fair" (or sometimes just "VP Fair") prior to 1992, Fair Saint Louis is organized by the Veiled Prophet Organization, a secret society of prominent St. Louisans who also put on the "Veiled Prophet Ball", a debutante ball held annually in December, as well as the Veiled Prophet Parade, which usually kicks off Fair Saint Louis. [link]

Controversy

Recently, major changes have come to the fair's traditional motif. In 2006, in an effort to save money, City of St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay named his wife to chair the Fair's planning committee. Some have decried the budget-cutting changes she made, which included:

Discontinuation of the annual air show
Discontinuation of carnival rides
Limitation of food vendors to the Eads bridge (dubbed the "Eats Bridge" due to the food's location)
No attractions on the grounds of Memorial Park itself
Shortening of the event to a day-and-a-half, rather than three or four days
Smaller fireworks display than previous years
Choice of live music (Jason Mraz and Hootie and the Blowfish)

In a poll taken by KMOV (Newschannel 4), over half the respondents said they would ranked the Fair as "terrible." The only benefits they saw were reduced costs and two extra weeks of "Live on the Levee," a new addition from 2004 to attract young people downtown for live concerts by recognizable bands. Fireworks are also shot off then, after the free concerts on the Arch steps.

References

Spencer, Thomas M. The St. Louis Veiled Prophet Celebration: Power on Parade, 1877-1995 (University of Missouri Press: 2000). [link]

External links

[Official Site of Fair Saint Louis]

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