Brewery Lights 2015 Opens November 19

The annual Brewery Lights celebration at the Anheuser-Busch Brewery kicks of tomorrow night, November 19. MLB Hall of Famer and St. Louis Cardinals great Ozzie Smith will be on for the ceremonial "flipping of the swtich".

Brewery Lights will run from November 19 to January 3 at the historic Brewery in south Soulard.

For more on the holiday celebration, check out this post from RealLifeSTL.

St. Louis SantaCon 2014 This Saturday

not the actual event logo

The annual pub crawl that is the 2014 St. Louis SantaCon will take place with Saturday through Soulard.

The fun kicks off at 5pm at Franklins Pub at the corner of 8th and Lafayette.

Here's the schedule

5p-6:30p: Franklins Pub

6:30p-8p: 1860 Saloon

8p - 9p: Molly's

9:30p-11p: Great Grizzly Bear

11p-Close: John D. McGurk's

SantaCon is held in cities all over the world. The local one was started several years ago by two women from Soulard, Natalie and Cara. If you go on the pub crawl, you'll meet both of them. Well, at least you should because they're awesome.

This year another Santa pub crawl, STL Santarchy, will be happening as well. That crawl has stops all through the day with the evening spent in Soulard. Beginning at 9p, Santarchy will hit Nadines, Joanie's, Bastille, Sonny's, Great Grizzly Bear, 1860 and Molly's.

Here's more about the St. Louis SantaCon from 2013 and 2012.

Nationally, SantaCon has gotten a bad rap due to people being shitheads in other cities. If you are interested in coming out for this crawl, dress up in your best Santa, elf or other Christmas attire and come ready to meet new friends and enjoy Soulard. If you plan on being a shithead or tend to do that when you're drunk, everyone would rather you go somewhere else, like St. Charles.

Don't have a Santa suit? Through the wonders of the internet and Amazon Prime, there is still time to order one and get it here by Saturday. Or were you thinking a different Santa suit? Amazon also has some very nice looking options for the ladies.

For more St. Louis SantaCon 2014 information, check out the event's Facebook page.

2014 Anheuser-Busch Brewery Lights Display Opens November 20

Anheuser-Busch's iconic brewery on the southern edge of Soulard is a destination for St. Louisans and visitors alike year-round, but each Holiday season, the brewing giant takes things up a notch with their holiday lights display. This year, the annual St. Louis Brewery Holiday Lights Display opens tomorrow night, November 20th.

This year, the 29th for the event, Brewery Lights activities will be held every Thursday-Sunday from 6-9 pm during the season. That season runs from Thursday, November 2 to Sunday, January 4, 2015.

Here's a listing of things happening during each night of the event, taken from the brewery website:

• Walking Tour– Guests of all ages can soak in the holiday spirit on a self-guided walking tour of the brewery grounds to view dazzling lights along Pestalozzi St. and topping the iconic brewery buildings (complimentary).
• Beer Sampling– Guests age 21 and older can sample their favorite beers along the walking tour route, including Budweiser, Bud Light, Stella Artois, Stella Cidre, Shock Top Shockolate and Bud Light Lime Ritas (complimentary).
• S’mores Station– Warm, cozy fire pits for roasting s’mores (s’more kits $2.50 each).
• Biergarten Buffet– A buffet of Biergarten favorites offers a dinner experience surrounded by festive lights and decorations ($10 adults; $8 youth).
• Holiday Cheer Pass– Pose for a souvenir photo in a themed snow globe or with a Budweiser Clydesdale and take home a print plus a commemorative sampling glass ($10).
• The Biergarten Package– Enjoy the best of food and fun with access to The Biergarten Buffet, a commemorative sampling glass, printed photo and s’mores kit ($22.50 adults; $10 youth).
• Fire Pit Fun– Reserve a fire pit for a relaxing, private experience with seating for eight people, eight s’mores kits and wait staff service (3 hours, $75).
• VIP Clydesdale Photo Opportunity– Families or friends can enjoy dinner for four in The Biergarten, a 15-minute private photo session with a Budweiser Clydesdale in the historic Clydesdales stables, two holiday ornaments, and one print and digital copy of their photo – perfect for that holiday card ($200; limited availability on Tuesday, Nov. 25, Dec. 2 and Dec. 9 from 5-7 p.m.)

I was lucky enough to get to sample the new menu at The Biergarten the other night and talk with chef Travis Odle. The food on the menu, like the Butternut Squash soup, was fantastic and Odle seemed quite excited about his restaurant's role in this year's festivities. His buffet should be top-notch and steal at $10. The temperature inside the heated tent was nearly as perfect as the Bavarian pretzels with Bass Ale Cheddar dip. 

The staff was excited about all of the decorations going up and there was talk of a beach scene as well as a snowy area for snowball fights going in on the grounds.

For more Holiday lights displays around St. Louis, check out this post.

(Photo Credit: Anheuser-Busch)

Santa At The Market