St. Charles, MO was settled by the French in 1769 and was named Les Petite Côtes, “the little hills.”  Obviously, the city’s name was later changed, but every year on the third weekend of August, the city celebrates the Fête des Petites Côtes–the Festival of the Little Hills.  Ted and I go every few years.  Since the weather was beautiful last night, we decided to mingle with the crowd at the Festival’s opening night of the weekend.

The Festival has grown a lot over the years and has shifted more toward the “arts” of “arts and crafts” with fewer country craft displays and more (literally) art.  This year, we counted thirteen blocks of vendors on Main Street (from the 400 block of North Main to the 900 block of South Main), plus just as many vendors one short block over on Riverside Drive, plus more vendors in the strip-style parking lots along Riverside Drive.  In addition, Frontier Park, which runs the length of Riverside Drive, was filled with rides for the kids, and three bands were playing to good-sized crowds along Riverside Drive.  We enjoyed the event for about two-and-a-half hours and then topped off the evening with ice cream at Fritz’s.  It was another fun-filled summer night.