Fashion, and flowers, and folk music—oh my! Mark your calendars for The Grand Market, a new festival coming to Grand Center that celebrates local artistry. There will be tons of St. Louis vendors, boutiques, makers, and musicians showcased in this free, day-long event Sunday, June 4 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Local creative agencies Hex and Socially Jen and Co. teamed up to create a new, fun summer fest for St. Louisans. In the past, Hex founder Laura Heying worked with Socially Jen and Co. Partner Alicia Underwood, but the two wanted to come together again.
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“We had put on events at New York Fashion Week together, so we wanted to do something fashion based but with a twist,” Heying says. “[Underwood and Jennifer Singleton, President of Socially Jen and Co.] came up with adding the folk element to it, and our friends over at Snapdragon Studio wanted to participate as well. So that’s how the whole fashion, flowers, and folk music all sort of came together.”
Grand Center was chosen as the location for this half indoor-half outdoor event because of its lack of street festivals, and the fact that the area gets overlooked a lot of the time. In addition to wanting to highlight the area, organizers decided to play it safe and have a backup in case the unpredictable Missouri weather is, well, unpredictable. Being an indoor/outdoor venue with a lot of it happening inside, the event will still go on no matter what.
The street in front of the .ZACK building (3224 Locust) will be shut down. Outside, there will be fashion trucks, a photo booth bus, and some flower activations. A stage will be set up to listen to folk tunes while grabbing some grub from food trucks. David Kirkland’s new restaurant, Turn, will be open to sample its food as well.
Inside the .ZACK building, festival goers can get a photo op in front of Snapdragon Studio’s flower backdrop. The event space on the third floor will have even more flowers with a build-your-own bouquet bar, a flower crown bar, a succulent bar, and you can watch the pros make flower arrangements. Bring the kids and let them enjoy interactive crafts and games like a coloring bar by Goodnight St. Louis. Other local vendors and boutiques will have interactive activities, like exploring their creativity in a DIY floral arranging experience with Snapdragon Studio.
“I think that’s something that separates it from all the other events in St. Louis—it’s a really fun experience, not just shopping,” Heying says.
Got folk? This festival does, and it’s all local music. Bands scheduled to perform live are Salt of the Earth 10 a.m. to noon; Letter to Memphis, noon to 2 p.m.; and Catching the Westbound, 2 to 4 p.m. Heying thinks the folk music will be a nice additive to the shopping experience.
This is the first event Hex and Socially Jen and Co. are doing together, but depending on the turnout, it will most likely be made into an annual festival. Though it was a little challenging getting people on board at first, Heying thinks the event has come together nicely, and is excited to see all of the activities and products that local vendors will bring.
“I think there’s this mind shift from big box stores to making it more of a local focus—keeping the money in the community and supporting local artisans and businesses,” Heying says. “Playing on that mentality [we’re] giving people more of an option to be able to do that.”
Participating vendors include Snapdragon Studios, Blissoma, The Normal Brand, Bohemian Babies, Glo Blow Dry Bar, Mineral + Roots, Goodnight St. Louis, Tiny Hedgehog, Golden Gems, Living Collective, Hazel & Poppy Boutique, Pop & Vintage, The Spotted Pig, and more.
The first 100 festival attendees will receive a special gift, and Snapdragon Studios will have flower crowns for you to rock your inner hippie while you browse, shop, and enjoy some tunes.
“I think that it’s a good group of curated vendors, and with the addition of flowers and folk music, I think it’s just a unique shopping experience that’s exciting,” Heying says.
