Today is #GivingTuesday 2025, the global day of unity and giving. It’s time to open your pocketbooks and give back to those less fortunate. Here, we have two ways to help. First, going on right now, Give STL Day is in full swing, and you can call in or pledge online to donate. Click here for a LIVE STREAM of representatives of charitable organizations as they are interviewed by the St. Louis Community Foundation, who is raising funds for #GivingTuesday. Also, our 2025 register is in the final stages. Click here for a look at last year’s register. The register is a way to help throughout the year.
Hearth & Soul kicked off the holidays with the reveal of its fourth annual holiday window. The debut of a life-size advent calendar happens every year and brings to life a different theme bringing the community together to take part. Reminiscent of the iconic New York style window displays, Peace on Earth came to life sending an important message of the importance of community, unity, and harmony. Daily drawings each day will bring joy throughout the month of December.
Hearth & Soul St. Louis CEO and Founder Susie Busch-Transou will unveil her fourth annual window on Monday, November 3rd from 5:00-7:00pm. Entitled Peace on Earth, the window isinspired by the universally embraced sentiment during the holidays - symbolizing unity, goodwill, reflection and hope. It reminds us to pause, reflect and experience the season’s deeper meaning.
Soon we will be singing Auld Lang Syne as we say farewell to 2025. Throughout 2025, we’ve shared with you the good life, both near and far. We are the region’s leading luxury lifestyle omnichannel publication. From print, to digital, to social media, we make sure that you have your finger on the pulse. Let’s take a look back at 2025 through the lens of our issues of the last 10 months, and say hello to our newly-minted November/December issue, which will be available soon.
The Gateway Outdoor Summit kicks off the Gateway Outdoor Expo + Summit 2025, a weekend celebration designed to inspire, educate, and unite people of all backgrounds in outdoor recreation. While the Summit focuses on industry stakeholders and leaders, the Expo will open to the public November 15th and 16th with 165+ exhibitors, hands-on activities, live entertainment, and presentations in the Basecamp area on the show floor.
The 21st annual Martinis at the Mansion is an evening of celebration, camaraderie, and community support for one of St. Louis’ most treasured green spaces, Tower Grove Park. This year’s event will take place on Friday, October 10, 2025 at 6 p.m., at the stunning Central West End home of Tower Grove Park Board Commissioner Robert Epperson and Jennifer Kingston.
On Friday, May 16, 2025, devastation swept through the City of St. Louis. Alarms were silent, although the deafening sound of the catastrophic tornado roared. The ear-piercing winds shattered lives and buildings. Yet, out of the rubble, voices still ring out. This October, the Union Avenue Opera will “lift every voice and sing.” Voices of Union Avenue Opera will rise in performances of the first-ever “One-Act Festival.” The festival will be held in an alternate part of the church that was spared within the historic Union Avenue Christian Church. Get tickets.
Beyond Housing is an organization that's proving comprehensive community development can work. At its helm is Chris Krehmeyer, president-CEO. What Beyond Housing has built represents one of the most all-encompassing community development efforts in the country — a model that refuses to see housing, education, health, economic development and civic infrastructure as distinct and separate challenges. Read here how they have positively impacted St. Louis County and the region.
Eight members of the St. Louis Circus Harmony troupe just returned from Stuttgart Germany after soaring high when reuniting with their partners there, Circus Circuli! This marks the fourth collaboration between the two youth circuses from the sister cities of St. Louis, Missouri and Stuttgart, Germany.
Just in time for fall, Pirates & Pumpkins makes landfall at The St. Louis Aquarium at Union Station. International Talk Like a Pirate Day on September 19 marks the opening this special event. The pirate invasion will continue through November 2. The Aquarium is decorated with pirate-themed scenes, including a ghost ship with smoking, booming cannons. Pumpkin carving demonstrations and trick-or-treating happen as it gets closer to Halloween.
Two decades ago, Theresa Carrington’s husband abandoned her with two children to care for. Suddenly, she had half the income and couldn’t make ends meet. Church members came to the rescue. Notes and letters and money came so thick and fast, they “decorated” her living room, then quickly overspilled into what she dubbed the “blessing basket.” Now, out of a time of nothing but heartache, she took her blessings and created a business with women in Africa. Carrington not only has touched the lives of countless people in seven countries around the world, but her nonprofit Ten by Three — formerly called The Blessing Basket Project — has altered those lives dramatically.
Book lovers, collectors, and avid readers all anticipate the J’s Used Book Sale – held in January and August each year! The summer event is held Staenberg Family Complex Arts & Education Building Sunday, August 24 through Thursday, August 28, 2025. Thousands of titles are available, including mystery and intrigue, novels, biographies, politics, religion, sports, cookbooks, history, animals, art, science, science fiction, business, women’s issues, foreign languages, gardening, poetry, psychology, self-help, humor…the list goes on.
Lambert International is slated for a multi-billion-dollar update. Director Rhonda Hamm-Niebruegge will overseeing it all. Prior to her appointment as director, the vital regional economic engine had seen drastic decreases in the number of flights in and out. Hamm-Niebruegge is a visionary. Under her watch, the airport is set to undergo a vast transformation. She has received approval from the airlines to spend the first $1 billion on the first of two phases. While preserving the airport’s historic Minoru Yamasaki dome windows and the ticket lobby, the two existing terminals will be raised to become one. The western half is slated to open by the end of 2028; the eastern portion by the end of 2031.
The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra (SLSO) and the Fabulous Fox announced that more than $350,000 has been raised to support the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis’ Disaster Relief Fund, a joint initiative that included a benefit concert on June 29 at the Fabulous Fox and a related online donation effort.
On May 16, 2025, an EF3 tornado with winds up to 152mph hit St. Louis and put newly-elected Mayor Cara Spencer’s leadership skills to the ultimate test. Soon after the hit, Mayor Spencer would realize the extent of the damage quickly. Tree root balls the size of Mini Coopers lined the streets and sidewalks all over the city. Branches jabbed gaping holes into roofs. Cars were crushed. Live power lines crashed onto the streets and sidewalks. Citizens were injured. The tornado lasted five minutes. The recovery will take years. And years.
As you globe trot this summer, you may notice that the planet is getting warmer. 2024 was the warmest year on record since 1880. Record-setting temps have swept the country in June, and St. Louis is no exception with the heat index soaring to 105 degrees or more. It’s about to heat up a whole lot more, especially when the July/August issue of Sophisticated Living St. Louis hits your mailbox, or you pick it up at one of our advertisers. If you’re reading this, you’re probably from the Show-Me State, and as always we SHOW YOU the best in fashion, travel, cuisine, architecture, design, and philanthropic endeavors to be, well, for lack of a better word...seen.
Ever eaten at Eleven Eleven Mississippi, Sqwires, Little Fox, or Union 30 at Hotel St. Louis? Then make your dining experience pull double duty tomorrow. This Thursday, June 12th, Vivent Health will host Dining Out For Life, an event to raise essential healthcare funds for St. Louisans affected by HIV. More than 20 beloved area restaurants will donate a portion of their proceeds to HIV/AIDS care and prevention.
On June 14, the Delmar Loop invites the St. Louis region to gather in honor of Juneteenth with a full day of vibrant programming, celebration, and community spirit. Stretching from morning to night, the 2025 Delmar Loop Juneteenth Celebration unites the communities of University City and St. Louis City, along with Delmar Main Street and the St. Louis Reconciliation Network, for a powerful event that transforms Delmar Boulevard into a symbol of healing and connection. Learn more here.
To kick off Pride Month 2025, That Uppity Theatre Company and Missouri History Museum will present a third Free “Queer Writes Showcase of LGBTQ+ Writers” on Thursday, June 5. Part of the goal of Queer Writes is to amplify the presence of St. Louis based or connected LGBTQ+ writers, to expand the circle and variety of representation with each version and to build on the great and historic literary legacy of St. Louis. Learn more here.
On Saturday, Ted Wight and his friends Brooke Meek and Blake Anderson did more than watch the devastation from the May 16th EF3 tornado from the comfort of their homes. They went down to one of the hardest-hit areas and put their hands to work. They took action. Now, they need YOUR help also. @brookemeekhas organized delivery of huge dumpsters that get filled up in 15 minutes. To help, please Venmo @brooke-meek-1 to help sponsor a dumpster. They are $800 each.
