Top 10 things to do in St. Louis this week: Spring to Dance Festival, Punk Rock Flea Market and more (2024)

FRIDAY

Cooking Cicadas

Cicadas are everywhere, so why not learn how to cook them? Other than the whole thing about being disgusting, we mean. An insect expert at the Butterfly House whom they are calling the Bug Chef will will give two demonstrations on how to cook cicadas, and why doing so is a good idea. Samples willnotbe made available for tasting, to the relief of all. By Daniel Neman

St. Louis County Greek Festival

You'll be saying "Opa!" along with everybody else at one of the region's original and most popular ethnic festivals. Everyone goes for the food, of course, but don't miss the music, the folk dancing and the tours of the intricately decorated Greek Orthodox Church. By Daniel Neman

Spring to Dance Festival

Dance St. Louis closes out its season with the Spring to Dance Festival, which features dance troupes from around the country. This year, you can catch South Chicago Dance Theatre for the first time. The young and exciting troupe has a growing fan-base in Chicago. Plus, Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana, one of the country's top flamenco companies, will be performing. By Rosalind Early

SATURDAY

St. Louis African Arts Festival

African food, African art, African music, African dance, African clothes and a plentitude of African items for sale are the focus of this spirited three-day cultural festival in Forest Park. It's now in its 33rd year. By Daniel Neman

Punk Rock Flea Market

Grab all your punk rock and counterculture gear at this flea market that is also a music festival. On the shopping side you have vendors such as Batcavania, Frogs Breath Oddities and Noisy Tarot. On the music side you'll hear from Man with Rope, Harry Stee*zz, Hotel Party and Modern Angst. The food will be punk rock too, think Terror Tacos, The Crows Nest and Bougie Bites... wait, bourgeois food? Well, it may be fancy, but its plant-based, so it fits right in. By Rosalind Early

'The Barber of Seville'

Puccini’s beloved opera “The Barber of Seville” kicks off Opera Theatre of St. Louis 2024 Festival Season. Don’t try to tell us you haven’t bounced a “Figaro, Figaro, Figaro” or two off of your shower tiles at one time or another. We understand. Now it’s time to go hear the pros do it. The production stars Hongni Wu as Rosina, Andrew Morstein as Count Almaviva, Nathan Stark as Dr. Bartolo and Justin Austin as — c’mon everybody now — Fiiiigaro. By Daniel Durchholz

WEDNESDAY

Whitaker Music Festival

The Missouri Botanical Garden's annual Whitaker Music Festival is a weekly series of free evening concerts featuring local artists; it runs every Wednesday through July 31. This week's performer is the sweet-toned jazz singer and musician Janet Evra, who calls her musical style "indie-bossa." Bring your own food or buy some there. By Daniel Neman

Jenna Tang

Jenna Tang has translated the Taiwanese best-seller, "Fan Chi-Si's First Love Paradise," which sold more than 1 million books around the globe. The only novel by author Lin Yi Han, who killed herself in 2017 at age 26, it explores sexual violence against an underage student by her tutor. The book is considered an important part of the country's #MeToo movement. Tang will be in conversation with author Kat Tang, whose first book, "Five-Star Stranger," goes on sale Aug. 4. By Jane Henderson

THURSDAY

‘We All Fall Down’

Everything is changing for Linda Stein. Her husband has unexpectedly retired, and she feels like her family is slipping away. What to do? Host a Seder dinner for Passover of course! Her family is shocked, since they’ve never been very interested in their Jewish roots before. Will (the somewhat dramatic) Linda be able to pull it together? By Rosalind Early

Chappell Roan 'The Midwest Princess Tour'

Chappell Roan has traveled a long, rocky road from Willard, Missouri, to pop stardom, but she has arrived at last. Early on, her career fizzled, but suddenly, she’s everywhere: on SNL, at Coachella, doing an NPR Tiny Desk Concert, opening for Olivia Rodrigo, as she did recently at Enterprise Center, and lighting up all of the streaming services with her 2023 album “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess” as well as her new single, “Good Luck, Babe.” Headlining her own major tour at last, Roan is more than ready for her close-up. By Daniel Durchholz