St. Louis Garden Awaits Chinese Lantern Spectacle

Elaborate, illuminated works of art from China will take center stage this summer at the Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis. Lantern Festival: Art by Day, Magic by Night (May 26-Aug. 19) showcases Chinese culture through larger-than-life scenes crafted from colorful silks and molded steel. Ranging up to three stories tall, the sets will be lit for special evening viewing, giving visitors the opportunity to experience a cultural event that is rarely staged outside of Asia. The summer exhibitions highlights the garden’s “Year of China.”

The lantern festival will be among the first displays of its kind and size in the United States. A team of artisans from Zigong in the western province of Sichuan, the center of the lantern-making industry in China, will spend two months in residence at the Missouri Botanical Garden  to construct 26 lantern scenes from scratch. (www.mobot.org/lanternfestival)

St. Louis to Unveil Chuck Berry Statue

The man known as the “Father of Rock ’n’ Roll” will soon hold court in St. Louis 24/7. In November an eight-foot-tall bronze statue of legendary rocker Chuck Berry will begin standing guard in Chuck Berry Plaza in the trend-setting Loop neighborhood.

Located at the intersection of Delmar Boulevard and the Centennial Greenway Bike Path in University City, the statue will show the ever-fluid Rock and Roll Hall of Famer in an old school tuxedo with his trademark Gibson guitar. It will stand across the street from Blueberry Hill, the iconic Loop neighborhood restaurant and music club where Berry still plays monthly concerts. Delmar Boulevard is known for its Walk of Fame sidewalk with stars celebrating famous St. Louisans like Berry, Ike and Tina Turner, Vincent Price, Betty Grable and St. Louis Cardinals greats. (www.visittheloop.com)

St. Louis Museum to Present Vatican Exhibit

The Missouri History Museum in St. Louis will host the only Midwest presentation of the exhibition Vatican Splendors: A Journey through Faith and Art from May 15-Sept. 12.

The 170 artworks and artifacts, some never before on public view, include works by such masters as Michelangelo, Bernini, Giotto and Guercino. From the venerated relics (bone fragments) of Saint Peter and Saint Paul to Michelangelo’s art and tools used in work on the Sistine Chapel, the exhibit comprises one of the largest Vatican collections ever to tour North America.

The exhibition is organized into 11 galleries that illustrate the evolution of the Catholic Church and its papacy beginning with Saint Peter through the papacy of Pope Benedict XVI, with thematic areas highlighting important developments, moments, people and events tied to the history of the church and the Vatican. The objects are presented in galleries and recreated environments that enhance the visitor’s understanding of their historical and artistic significance.

Exhibition designers want visitors to feel transported to the Vatican, from the underground catacombs where the remains of Saint Peter were discovered to the magnificent papal chambers found above ground. From the sights and sounds of the grand Basilica to a touchable cast of John Paul II’s hand, the exhibition is a multi-sensory experience.

(877-282-8422, www.vaticansplendors.com or www.mohistory.org)