A Birthday Wreath for Shakespeare in Tower Grove Park

As if you needed another excuse to hang out in Tower Grove Park before the skull-splitting heat of midsummer descends: on Friday at 10am, you can wish William Shakespeare a happy 446th birthday when park administrators, the English-Speaking Union and Shakespeare festival of St. Louis decorate the Shakespeare statue with a wreath, recite some of his works and lay out "light refreshments" in the shelter near the lily pond. The statue, which is located at Center Cross Drive at the Flag Circle, was donated by Henry Shaw and sculpted by German artist Frederick Von Miller, and is considered one of the "most significant representations of Shakespeare in North America." It's a nifty way to start the countdown to the Shakespeare Festival in May. If you've never been, note they have a new artistic director, Rick Dildine, who's going to do some new stuff with the staging. (And they are also doing Hamlet!) Though they will probably not run into space problems in a public park, the organizers are asking for RSVPs, which you can dial in at 314-771-4484. But no worries about the ticket cost -- like the Shakespeare Festival, it's free. --Stefene Russell