If heading to Soulard for St. Louis’ Annual Mardi Gras celebration doesn’t get you as excited as, say, spending the weekend refinishing your hardwood floors or building a basement bar area you are in luck, Mardi Gras isn’t the only event taking place in the metro-area. Home enthusiasts have a variety of reasons to clear their calendars and put down their power tools. Here is a quick list of choice events for St. Louis’ weekend warriors to take in.

St. Louis Home and Garden Show – One of the area’s largest shows, the 34th Annual Builder’s Home and Garden Show starts today, Mach 3rd and runs through March 6th at America’s Center in downtown St. Louis. More than 500 exhibitors will reportedly be on hand, and there will be demonstrations and plenty of inspiration for your home, both indoors and out.

Drop. Swap. Grow Seed Swap - Garden enthusiasts take note, this Sunday, March 6, will be St. Louis’ first seed swap. Taking place at Urban Eats Cafe (located in the South Grand neighborhood), the event runs from noon until 3pm. Participants are being asked to register in advance and bring three different types of seeds to swap with other participants. You have until midnight March 4th to sign up, and you can do so by visiting www.dropswapgrow.com.

The DIY crowd knows that red-stained lips and painful morning headaches aren’t the only bi-products of a good time. Sometimes the best weekends are spent adding value and luxury to your home.

Image Credit: 21stcenturycollaborative.com

Each year on the second weekend of September St. Louis art lovers delight because within just a few miles of each other there are two art fairs that offer the best of national and local indie art, the St. Louis Art Fair in downtown Clayton and the Art Outside Festival at Schlafly Bottleworks in Maplewood. Both festivals offer art aficionados a chance to add to their collections. Both fairs are juried, and both offer a wide variety of art to take home, but they are two very different events that have to very distinct flavors. Here is a quick look at St. Louis’ dueling art fairs:

St. Louis Art Fair ~ This annual art exhibition is considered one of the top festivals in the country, and draws artists from all over the world. The names you see scrawled on the corners of paintings, photographs, and under sculptures are usually up and coming in the art world but collectors will pay the price for those works. The price per piece tends to be much steeper, but with the right eye there are many investment pieces that can be scoped out. More than 180 artists will be on hand to show, discuss and sell pieces from their collections. There will be plenty to eat and drink as many restaurants will be partaking in the “Pleasures of the Palate” row of restaurants, which includes a culinary competition and a wide variety of foods for fair-goers to enjoy from several of top, local restaurants. The St Louis Art Fair is going on Friday September 10 from 5pm until 10pm, Saturday September 11 from 10am until 10pm, and Sunday September 12 from 11am until 4pm, and it takes place in the heart of Clayton.

Art Outside ~ In it’s sixth year, the annual Art Outside exhibition at Schlafly Bottleworks is a showcase featuring local talent from jewelry makers, print makers, and all of the traditional medias. Pieces are a little easier on the pocketbook, and the art is guaranteed to be fresh and different. Last year the event featured a cooking stage with freebies from Companion Bakery, and they have a stage setup outside featuring a bevy if local musicians. With more than 40 booths, and 11 musicians slated to make an appearance this weekend there will be no shortage of local talents to enjoy. The Schlafly Art Outside festival takes place Friday September 10 from 5pm until 10pm, Saturday September 11 from 10am until 10pm, and Sunday September 12 from 12pm until 4pm.

The two dueling art fairs are sure to spark an interest in art collectors of every ilk. And since the two events are within minutes of each other you could easily make the trek from one to another, and back again in one afternoon, or plan a day at one then the next at another. Enjoy St. Louis’ favorite art weekend, and don’t forget to bring your appetite!

Each year, on Labor Day weekend, St. Louis’s Central West End becomes a little slice of Mediterranean heaven for St. Nicholas’ Greek Festival. One of the metro-area’s favorite festivals, the Greek Festival is a celebration of they country’s traditional food, dance, music and culture. The festival draws a large crowd each year, and some local celebrities like Mayor Francis Slay (pictured right at the church’s 2008 festival).

Saturday, Sunday and Monday festival attendees can enjoy phenomenal gyros, spanikotpia (spinach pie), and pyropita (cheese pie) under the tents outdoors or in the gymnasium where the St. Nicholas dance troupe will be performing all three days. Tours of the the Greek Orthodox Church will be led by congregation members, and Greek treasures will be sold at the marketplace. And for those so inclined you can enjoy the dangerously delicious frozen Ouzo (aniseed liquor) in the Taverna tent while enjoying live, traditional Greek dance and music.

The St. Nicholas Greek Festival runs Saturday and Sunday from 11am until 9pm, and on Labor Day from 11am until 8pm. Main Stage dance performances run daily at 12:30pm, 3:15pm and 5:15pm and in the Taverna outdoor beer garden at 4pm and 7pm. You can find more information about tours, the marketplace and their famous menu by visiting the Greek Festival’s website. Oopah!