The Mid Rivers Mall parking lot was the setting for the first One World festival in our county–a Friday-Sunday weekend event. Ted and I thought it looked like fun, so we decided to see what it was like. The only free time we had that weekend was near the closing time of the festival on Saturday, and the crowds had thinned, but it looked like it had been a success. Here’s a photo of a family looking at the picture they took at the entrance to the event.

Just beyond the entrance, we walked through these colorful arches.

There was upbeat music. I assume these were local performers, because of the lack of publicity and the little girl you can see at the lower right corner of the stage. She had some solo parts with the two men beside her (relatives?). Maybe she’s an upcoming star like Michael Jackson, who started singing with the Jackson Five at the age of five. The music had a happy sound and helped create a mood of celebration.

There was also a skating rink. Only these two people were skating while we were at the festival, but I’m sure there were more during the peak afternoon hours.

When we passed this booth, the Wisconsin State Fair flashed through our minds. The two most popular “had to have” foods at that event were roasted corn on the cob and cream puffs. The husks were pulled back on the corn cob to provide a handle, and the entire cob was dipped in Wisconsin butter before it was handed to the customer. The cream puffs were filled with whipped cream and covered with a heavy dusting of powdered sugar. Don’t inhale before taking a bite. If you do, you’ll have to cough out the powdered sugar you inhaled. Healthy food, no. Highlights of the once-a-year fair, definitely.

Then we saw this booth and knew we were in Missouri. Funnel cakes. Present at every outdoor public event. (Not as good as roasted corn followed by a cream puff.)

Here’s another colorful attraction. There were lots of booths selling a variety of items–jewelry, hats, purses, T-shirts, food, trinkets, etc. Ted and I hope this was the start of an annual festival and, if it was, we’re going to go during the peak hours next year.

Kari and I have attended the St. Charles City-County Library Book Fair regularly on our own. After the pandemic ended, we started going to the book fair together and have made it a tradition. The first weekend in August is the annual date for the three-day event (Friday-Sunday). It caught us by surprise this year with the first day of August on a Friday, but luckily, it was easy for us to make plans to fit it into our schedules. Last year, we went on Saturday and discovered that the books were already well picked over, so this year we went on Friday afternoon, when it opened to the general public. (Library members may shop on Friday morning.)

As usual, I did well and came home with 35 new-to-me books. Unfortunately, I needed a small loan from Kari because of inflation. I brought $100.00 in cash, assuming that would be enough, as it was unlikely I’d find more than 50 books to purchase at $2.00 per hardcover book. Well, this year the price went up to $3.00 per hardcover book, so my 35 books cost $105.00. Still a great bargain over the bookstore prices, but $5.00 more than I brought in cash. (Another good reason to go to the book fair with a partner. 🙂 ) Here’s my haul for this year, already on the closet shelves that I keep empty for my annual collection of book fair books.

In the years we’ve been going to the book fair together, Kari and I have made it a tradition to have ice cream and conversation at Kilwin’s on Main Street in St. Charles after we have all the books we want. Today was no exception. We spent about an hour at the book fair and another two hours at Kilwin’s. It’s a great tradition, and it’s already on our calendars for the next book fair on the first weekend of August in 2026.

A room without books is like a body without a soul.

–Cicero

Theo, Ted, and I saw Superman yesterday. In my opinion, it was a combination of any current adventure movies (lots of noise and action, and the hero won), Jurassic Park (dinosaur-like super-creatures), Star Wars (weird, robotic super-creatures), the original Superman, and updated Superman. (Lois Lane is no longer pining for Superman. The two now obviously have a G-rated relationship and she knows Superman and Clark Kent are the same person.)

Yes, Kelly Anne Conway, the word “immigrant” is mentioned, but the three of us agreed there was nothing preach-y about it, nor did we think the movie was woke–no matter how you define that word. It was just fictional fun. The surprise of the movie was the number of laugh lines.

It’s still hot outside, so the three of us headed to DQ for treats afterwards. It was an afternoon well spent with our grandson.