The annual Arnold Days festival will offer something for everyone throughout the three-day event, organizers said.
The festival is scheduled to be held from 5-10:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 20; 8 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 21; and noon to 8 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 22. The event is held in Arnold City Park, which is on Bradley Beach Road off Jeffco Boulevard near the Meramec River.
The festival includes live music all three days, firework displays on Friday and Saturday nights, the annual Arnold Days Parade on Sunday and a bevy of returning attractions mixed in with some new ones.
“We are super excited, and we hope the public joins us,” said Ajsa Hukic, Parks and Recreation Department deputy director. “We have something for everyone. We have free items, and things that have a low cost. There is something fun and exciting for the whole family to do.”
The first two days of the event will each end a half hour earlier than in the past. The festival previously operated until 11 p.m. the first two nights.
“We decided to shorten the first two days because most of the crowd leaves following the firework shows,” Hukic said. “This also allows the staff to end their days earlier and start getting ready for the next day.”
Friday
Carnival rides and the vendor and food booth area begin operating when the festival kicks off at 5 p.m. The opening evening also will feature lawn games, a pro wrestling exhibition, balloon artist, princess photo opportunities, a free friendship bracelet making station and performance by the Real Rock Revival band.
The first of two fireworks shows of the event is scheduled to start at approximately 9:30 p.m. The second show will start at about 9:30 p.m. Saturday.
The fireworks shows are put on by Gateway Fireworks Displays of St. Louis.
Hukic said the city pays $35,000 per show, which will again emanate from a barge on the lake.
“They are so great,” Hukic said of the firework shows. “It is up close and personal. People love the fireworks.”
Little Egypt Shows of Marion, Ill., will operate 18 carnival rides on the fairgrounds.
“Little Egypt brings a wide variety of rides that appeal to all ages,” Hukic said. “They also have very dependable and high-quality rides.”
The first night also will be the first chance for fairgoers to purchase an array of carnival foods.
Hukic said food vendors will be selling funnel cakes, hamburgers, doughnuts, boba tea, barbecue and other carnival classics. The Arnold Jaycees will operate a beer booth and snow cone booth.
“There are plenty of food vendors who may offer something you haven’t tried before,” she said.
Arnold has revamped its lawn-game offering on the festival’s first night. Instead of holding tournaments, the lawn games will be open for anyone to use from 5:30-7 p.m.
The game offerings will be a frisbee game called Kan Jam, cornhole and ladder ball. The games will be set up in the field near the lake and the Pecan Pavilion.
“From a recreation standpoint, it gives people more opportunities to play,” Dylan Toole, recreation supervisor, said of not holding tournaments this year. “This way you don’t have to stay in one place for the tournament, people may experience it as they please. I think there will be more participation with it being open play.”
A pro wrestling show put on Dynamo Pro Wrestling of St. Louis will make its debut on the first night. Matches will be held from 5:30-9:30 p.m. Friday with the ring set up between the Kiwanis Pavilion and vendors area. The wrestlers return to action with matches held between 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Saturday.
“I am not into wrestling, but I want to see it,” Hukic said.
From 6-8 p.m., John Stafford will sell balloon creations for $3 each; there will be opportunities to take pictures with princess characters from Dream Time Princess Events of Villa Ridge on the former tennis courts; and people may make friendship bracelets for free.
The princesses are returning after not being part of last year’s Arnold Days, and people will need to take their own pictures with the characters. There is no charge for photographs.
“I love it because you can just see the joy on the kids’ and adults’ faces,” Hukic said. “The kids just light up when they talk to the princesses. I think having those photos and moments are priceless.”
Real Rock Revival is scheduled to perform from 6:30-10:30 p.m. on the main stage near the lake.
Saturday
The second day of the festival kicks off with the annual Children’s Fishing Tournament.
Registration is free and starts at 7 a.m. at the Pecan Pavilion. The fishing contest, which is for children 15 and younger, will be held from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m.
The event is sponsored by the Jefferson County Optimist Club, and members of the St. Louis Longbeards, a chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation, will be at the fishing tournament to loan fishing poles and tackle to those who need them.
Children are divided into five age groups – 5 and younger, 6-8, 9-10, 11-12 and 13-15 – and prizes are awarded to the three children who catch the longest fish and the three children who catch the shortest fish in each age group.
Some poles will be available for children to use, but children are encouraged to bring their own pole.
Toole said the city will stock the lake with about 500 pounds of catfish for the tournament.
“After we stock the lake, people are not allowed to fish in the lake until the tournament,” Hukic said.
Children may also enter a drawing for a Nintendo Switch video game console during the fishing tournament.
“The Optimist are very excited about that,” said Teresa Kohut, recreation superintendent.
The Longbeards also will make bird houses with children from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Bandstand Pavilion, and they will operate an archery range and BB gun shooting range.
The Arnold Farmers Market, which is near the front of the park, will be open from 8 a.m. to noon, and vehicle owners may start registering for the 11th annual Back the Blue Car Show that is held by the Arnold Police Officers Association and Arnold Kiwanis Club.
Judging for the car show will start at 10 a.m., and awards will be handed out at about noon.
“I think people get really excited for it,” Hukic said of the car show. “We love the car show, and it is really cool to see.”
Vendors and food booths open at 10 a.m., which also is when the craft show will start.
The craft show has been part of Arnold Days since 2021, and Hukic said the city expects 25 craft vendors. The show is held on the former tennis courts, and it ends at 7 p.m.
“I think it is popular because people can buy a lot of things that you can’t online, and some of the items may be personalized,” said Karen Fay, Arnold Parks and Recreation Department procurement and maintenance coordinator.
When the carnival rides open at noon, customers can purchase wristbands for unlimited rides until 4 p.m. The wristbands cost $25 each.
“People love it,” Hukic said of the wristbands. “It allows kids to ride quite a bit of rides.”
The first of two new animal attractions opens at 1 p.m. with a petting zoo presented by Cowboy Critters of St. Louis. It will be open until 5 p.m. near the playground.
The Tye-Dyed Iguana of Fairview Heights, Ill., will put on a reptile show from 2-3 p.m. at the band stand.
“I am excited that we have a reptile show and a petting zoo,” Hukic said. “I think these are two items that will be very cool for kids.”
A bubble party will operate from 3-5 p.m., and there will be three contests held near the bandstand starting at 5 p.m. with the new baby crawl. All contests are free to enter, and participants may start registering at 3 p.m. at the beer booth, and winners of each event receive a $25 Target gift card.
Infants younger than 1 who have not started walking may enter the contest. The baby who crawls the quickest from one end of the track to the other wins.
The Children’s Cupcake Eating Contest is scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m. The eating competition is for children 14 years old and younger and limited to 60 participants.
The competitors are not allowed to use their hands, and the first one who eats a cupcake wins.
“They are done within five minutes,” Hukic said. “The kids get so excited, and because they can’t use their hands, it is messy. You will see friends compete against each other, and not even to win, just to see which one of them finishes faster.”
The final contest is the Grasp for Glory, which is limited to 25 participants. Competitors hold a pitcher of water parallel to their body with one arm, and whoever holds the pitcher the longest wins.
“It is another contest where friends compete against each other, and not even to win, just to try to beat each other,” Hukic said.
The band Superjam is scheduled to perform from 6:30-9:30 p.m., and the fireworks display will start at about 9:30 p.m.
Sunday
The final day of the festival begins at noon with carnival rides operating and vendor and food booths open until 8 p.m.
The annual Arnold Days Parade is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. It begins at the Fox C-6 Service Center, 849 Jeffco Blvd., and ends at the park. The parade entrants are encouraged to reflect the carnival’s theme of “In My Arnold Era,” a play of the popular Tayor Swift: The Eras Tour.
The parade grand marshals will be members of various boards and commissions that serve the city. The Fox and Seckman high school marching bands will perform during the parade.
The stretch of Jeffco Boulevard between the service center and park will be closed during the parade, starting at 12:30 p.m. and remaining closed until all participants have entered the park.
The Dirty Money band will perform from 3-8 p.m. on the main stage.
Logistics
Carnival ride tickets may be purchased in advance at the Arnold Recreation Center, 1695 Missouri State Road. The city is selling 10 ride tickets for $20 until 4 p.m. Friday, Sept. 20, and ride tickets cost $3 each at the Arnold Day fairgrounds.
ATMs will be available near the food vendors and carnival rides throughout the festival.
Free parking will be available in Arnold City Park from Friday through Sunday.
Coolers, alcohol, pop-up tents and glass bottles or containers are not allowed at the event.
Hukic said the city will spend about $100,000 on the three-day festival.
For more information, call 636-282-2380.
Read more about the Arnold Days festivities in the Sept. 19 Arnold-Imperial Leader:
