I live in west St. Louis County region (Ballwin, MO) and a show in St. Louis would be great!! About a year ago, I started to show in both AKC and in the CKCSC. My 8 y.o. daughter and I love the Club shows as it is always a fun out of town 'girls weekend' for us. Natalie has made wonderful junior handler friends in the Club. I also enjoy the fact that with AKC--I can 'show and go'. At this stage of my life, I still have a lot of family obligations at home. I'm thrilled to sneak out for a few hours, show 'Henry' and then come home to still have a half a day to spend with the family.
The Purina Farms show site is very nice. There are 6-7 covered pavillions with concrete floors. I've shown in the rain before so I can attest to the fact that you and your dog can remain relatively dry. Bring your own electricity source. Parking is tight, but what else is new for a dog show site. There is not an 'indoor' facility to show dogs. Handicapped parking is nearly non-exsistent as the Farm in on a rolling hillside. Vendors are not allowed to promote any other foods or display other food product signs...as this is Purina's property. A few months ago, Henry won Best of Breed at one of the shows held there, Purina donated a coupon for 50 lbs. of food and a grooming apron as a prize inside my packet. They seem very generous with their prize donations. (travel bags, beach towels, etc). There are many dog shows (conformation/obedience and agility shows) held at Purina, so I'm sure if a dual club event was to be held here---it would have to be booked far in advance. There are many hotels within 20 minutes of Purina Farms. Most are dog friendly. The Farm is only minutes away from Interstate 44, so you could easily drive further towards the city to stay too. Six Flags Amusement Park/Water Park is about 15 minutes west of the show site. You can find discount tickets everywhere. St. Louis has a lot of offer! Our Zoo is absolutely incredible--and it's free. There is a $2.00 charge if you enter the Children's Zoo area after 10am. The Zoo sits in Forest Park, which has more green acreage than NY City's Central Park. You can rent a paddle boat on one of my many ponds in the park. We have a newly renovated History Musuem within walking distance of the Zoo. It has a wonderful display of the westward expansion and 1904 World's Fair. St. Louis has an outstanding Art Museum in Forest Park that serves a brunch to remember. The Art Museum, History Museum and Zoo are within walking distance of each other. Downtown has the Arch, the Old Courthouse (where the Dred Scott case was heard) and the Anheuser-Busch Brewery offers free scheduled tours....yes, complete with free product samples in the tasting room!! There are free tours given at Grant's Farm in South St. Louis too--reservations are suggested. Grant's Farm is also owned by Anheuser-Busch. This farm has a lot of animals/animal shows the family will love. (The elephant and bird shows are legendary!!) It is the home of the world famous Clydesdale horses who pull the beer wagon on the TV commercials. If you love gardening, The Botanical Gardens are to die for!!! There are plants, outstanding garden designs and a Climatron. The Japanese Gardens are beautiful no matter what time of year you visit. We also have a new Butterfly House in Chesterfield. It features plants and butterflies from around the world. You can sit quietly on a bench and have huge rainforest butterflies land gently on you. Outside gardens show you how/what to plant to attract butterflies. The Butteryfly House sits inside of Faust Park--dog friendly, but bring your own poop bags. The AKC Museum of the Dog is also in West County. This renovated mansion holds beautiful works of art (sculptures, paintings, etc) honoring dogs. There is always a special display that changes monthly. The gift shop in stocked with every product of every breed you'd ever want. If they don't have it in stock, they'll order it for you. There is a nice banquet room with an outside brick patio also. Corgi friends of mine held their club specialty dinner here. (You need to find your own caterer though). The Museum sits inside dog friendly Queeny Park. You do need to keep your dog on a leash and 'pick-up' after them (poop bag dispensers are at the trail heads). The walking trails are in 1, 2 and 4 mile routes. The hiking trails takes you through hilly shaded forests, open fields, past ponds and a large children's playground. If you have kids-that playground is a must. Another St. Louis must is the Magic House Children's Museum. This large victorian home has three floors of totally fun stuff-whether you have kids or just a kid at heart...this place is amazing!! Just a few thoughts on coming to our lovely city. Warning: St. Louis is hot and humid in the summertime. Jan Liberman, St. Louis MO [EMAIL PROTECTED] --------------------------------- Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Games - play chess, backgammon, pool and more ========================================================= "Magic Commands": to stop receiving mail for awhile, click here and send the email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?body=SET%20CKCS-L%20NOMAIL to start it up gain click here: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?body=SET%20CKCS-L%20MAIL E-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] for assistance. Search the Archives... http://apple.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ckcs-l.html All e-mail sent through CKCS-L is Copyright 2002 by its original author.
