I don't know why I've never been to this festival until this year. Maybe the very strange…read morepromotional art? I thought it was going to be very hippie, and it was in a way, but it brought out a lot of people...and not all of them were hippies. I do love the idea though: arts and crafts through upcycled material...how much cooler is that? Getting there is somewhat of a pain because Highway 50 narrows down to one lane each way when you get close to the park. Add to that Oktoberfests galore, and you have a very nice recipe for "traffic jam". Everyone parks everywhere, but surprisingly enough, parking wasn't that big of a deal. It is really a family thing too. They have arts and crafts for the kids, indie bands playing, lots of picnic tables set up with the usual assortment of fair foods, an alpaca petting zoo, and of course, Girl Scouts selling cookies. But the booths themselves are the showcase, and the media is quite varied, even though I heard a booth owner complain, "It is so hard nowadays to be original." She was selling wire jewelry, so I guess I can see her point. And really, my favorite booths are really the unique ones like Beqi Clothing and Newberry Furniture. The Newberrys repurpose old wood for new stuff...their current thing consists of Adirondack chairs made from an old barn. And Beqi takes vintage clothing and changes it all around..she has quite the gift. The whole thing is pretty big, and it really does impress me that there are so many craftsters in the area.

The Strange Folk Festival is the COOLEST shopping festival I've ever attended. The wares are the…read moresort of thing you'd find on Etsy. Great place to get Christmas and birthday gifts. From what I understand, artisans come from all over the US to sell at this event. There is a huge variety and it's so much fun. Cool crowd too. I only wish it was a regular fixture rather than once a year in one place. 17/100 Yelp Challenge 2015

Went on Sunday, their day three of the event and after reading about this being the top art fair in…read morethe nation, it was pretty disappointing. The weekend prior, I went to Laumiere's and that one far exceeded art on the square, seemed bigger, more planned out and actually fun. We drove over an hour out when they were open for a least a half hour but there were still booths that were closed or not set up. The food places were also not open so we went into a little popcorn place to get a snack. Expectations fell short and not sure how they received that title. Got my steps in though!

I have not been to Art on the Square in years. We went on Saturday afternoon, they were all…read moreprepared for the rains which only lasted for a few minutes. The artist seemed to not be affected by the weather. I was impressed with the artwork on display. We had photography, water colors, mixed media, metals, jewelry but the one booth that caught my attention was made with all magazine pages. The artist told me that he cuts words or phrases out of magazine and creates his art. He had a picture of a building that he had hand cut every window out and placed a phrase in it. It was amazing. He spent 50 hours creating it. He was asking $1900. Belleville had it spread out nicely and there was enough room for people to walk around and browse. Food, wine, beer and water was available for you to purchase. They had musicians playing and even an kid art creation station. This is held every May, and sadly you does usually rain. It is a must see for you and the family.

Love Eckert's! The farms are so beautiful and the staff is so friendly! I love that they have…read morededicated props throughout the fields for photo ops, they really care about the customer experience. They also have a little shop set up to purchase ciders and waters in the fields which was a nice surprise. We had a blast doing Sunday Bingo, and the prizes were definitely worth it. If you go to the Cider Shed, definitely try the Orchard Summer (my bfs fav) and the Cider Donut (amazing sweet/cinnamon flavor). The batches taste a little different everytime, but that's what you get for local, homemade beers! At the restaurant, the bartender was great. He was very personable and chatted a while, and then left us alone to have our date night. The wine flight was a great way to try everything, definitely recommend. I took a star off only because I feel like the food wasn't that impressive. It was more like a Cracker Barrel and not as flavorful as I hoped. Overall, love the vibe at Eckerts and will keep going back!

Eckert's is a place filled with nostalgia for me as I've been going since I was a kid, and after a…read moremany year hiatus I was super excited to check it out again. We decided to stop in and do the sunflower fields with our season pass, allowing us to roam the sunflower fields and get 1 big sunflower each. In addition, we chose to snag a vase for a few extra dollars so we could pick even more smaller sunflowers along with some zinnias to complete our bouquet. The wagon ride out there brought me back to all the times we went as a kid, and the fields itself were beautiful & well maintained! While we were out in the field, we also were able to enjoy a cider from the shack which was pretty great as well. The lady working the cider shed out in the fields was also super helpful in explaining the whole experience to us, which helped us decide on what we wanted to do. When we returned from the sunflower fields, it was time to stop in to their Cider Shed for Xtreme Bar Bingo and a cider flight. There were a ton of tables and plenty of room despite the small crowd that showed up for bingo, and the outdoor pavilion & fans kept things cool despite it being a heater (heat index of 109°F). Our cider flight included the Pink Lady, BeeKeeper, Orchard Sunset, & Cider Donut. While I wasn't a huge fan of the Pink Lady & BeeKeeper, the Orchard Sunset & the Cider Donut were absolutely phenomenal! I would go back just for those two ciders even if we didn't get to do anything else. We were a bit hungry during bingo and decided to try out the Brussel Sprouts as a small side, and while they were pretty good, they were pretty bland with no additional seasonings or add-ins which was a little disappointing. The service at the Cider Shed was great with the staff helping us choose which ciders we may want to try. They also let you get 3 free samples, which was super useful in making our decision. After losing at Bingo (nothing new there), we figured it was best to end our Eckert's evening by having a quiet dinner in their Country Restaurant. I saw a seasonal Grilled Peach & Burrata salad on the menu that I was really excited to try, so we split that as an appetizer. Although it was another solid dish, it wasn't anything special in my opinion. The burrata definitely paired well with the grilled peach, but there wasn't much else to say about it. From there, we snagged a fruit wine flight as we were very curious on how their wines taste. The flight included Blackberry, Strawberry, Peach, & Apple wines, with the Blackberry stealing the show as best overall! The Strawberry was also nice, tasting like a watermelon jolly rancher, while the Peach & Apple were just okay. Lastly, for the entrees, I got the Cheeseburger Platter with a side of mashed potatoes and brown gravy while my girlfriend got the Chicken & Dumplings & a side salad with Aunt Helen's Sweet Vinaigrette. The cheeseburger platter was okay, nothing special, but the mashed potatoes & brown gravy were incredible. The chicken & dumplings fell a bit short as they were pretty meh, lacking the amount of chicken we were hoping for, and the side salad was not great as we thought the "sweet vinaigrette" just didn't taste right. The staff in the restaurant were again, super helpful, nice, and attentive, making us feel right at home. Finally, we grabbed 2 Cider Donuts for dessert on our way out. To say they were delicious would be an understatement. While they were a bit greasy, the flavor and texture was to-die for and gave us a perfect sweet treat to end our night. All-in-all, we really enjoyed our day out at Eckert's roaming the sunflower fields, creating our own bouquet, playing Xtreme Bar Bingo, & trying new ciders & wines. While we will definitely be back for the experiences, donuts, & ciders, the food is nothing special in my opinion and would likely be skipped. Would definitely recommend coming out for their summer & fall experiences, though!

We have been to this locally owned orchard several times and have enjoyed it every single time. My…read morekids absolutely love the free playground and the animals you can pet, and honestly, I love them too. The free tractor ride is such a nice bonus and always a hit. All of the picking spots are wonderful and make for such a fun family outing. The bakery on site is also amazing and always has the best goodies. Overall, this is one of our favorite places to visit and we always have a great time.

A nice alternative to some of the bigger and more popular orchards around St. Louis and across the…read moreriver in Illinois, Braeutgam Orchards is definitely a place you'll want to visit in the Fall for your annual pumpkin and apple picking traditions. Crowds were manageable and any line we stood in (whether it was for the tractor to take us to the orchard or in the bakery to buy goods) didn't take long to go through. Loved that there was no additional fee to ride the tractors to the orchards. The one downside is that while there is a bakery, there is no food stall to buy lunch or snacks like chips or hot dogs. If you plan on spending a portion of your day there, you'll want to be sure to bring a cooler with food. We made the mistake of assuming there would be things to buy for lunch and we left starving after snacking on a couple of apple cider donuts.

I came by Craft Alliance before the holidays looking for some cute ornaments. Their selection of…read moreglass blown ornaments is beautiful and kept my tree very pretty. The people working there were very nice and helpful in teaching me about the artist and pointing out other items that might be of interest. I plan to keep these for years to come!

Craft Alliance offers camps for kids, classes for kids, teens, adults and 1 day craft seminars. All…read morethe teachers I have had there do a great job of balancing the students interests and aptitudes in the class while allowing freedom to explore and for projects in. I am so thankful to have a place like this in St. Louis. I highly recommend joining as a member and taking some classes (you get a discount as a member)!

Really like the basement bar scene here with a selection of cigars and the only place I know of…read morethat smoking is permitted inside. Different nights have different entertainments. Nice stiff drinks to be enjoyed by all.

Belleville is full of surprises. This downstairs bar and lounge always has great music, upscale…read moredrinks and of course the best selection of cigars around. If you don't know what you want, they are very helpful in offering suggestions. If you are an avid smoker, I'm sure they have what you like as well. Come in and relax and have a great time or venture outside they'll serve you out there too !!!

With all the money they charge after the pandemic (cost has doubled), you would think that they…read morewould provide better support for weekend and pay issues. It's amazing that they can have your service cut off during the weekend and force you to wait until Monday to restore service. IL Am Water won't restore without the approval of sewer who only works M - F, so if freezing weather is coming, you're just out of luck, just pray that your pipes don't freeze. Trash and water should be totally separate. Reality is nobody earns their pay anymore. Sad!

City of Belleville- A good place to live. School district is good, great local small businesses, it…read moreboasts a old eclectic almost historical movie theatre in the downtown area, with restaurants, and bars. Belleville is good for nightlife, arts, and festivals. Come check out the annual chili cook-off, Art on the Square, Eckert's orchard, and the Fairgrounds. The city has public transportation, three MetroLink stops, and Lindenwood college campus.