Events, Events, Events in the Fall ...

The cup is full of events this fall. This is not unusual for this time of the year, but this year there seems to be more activities for people in this area than ever before.

One of the annual events that is always popular is the Washington High School Marching Band Festival that will be held Saturday. This event brings thousands of students and adults to Washington for the parade and field competition. The festival is expected to bring 2,100 students from 35 high schools. This is the 44th festival — yes, 44 prior parade and field marching contests. Many of us remember the early ones very well and it doesn’t seem that long ago.

The wineries in this area are jammed with visitors, especially on weekends. They offer more than wine. There are food offerings and entertainment. We counted more than a half-dozen ads from wineries in this immediate area in Wednesday’s Missourian. We are on the “wine trail” and the wineries attract thousands of visitors to this area on weekends when the weather is good, even when it’s not so good.

Churches in this region have a wide variety of offerings, from Sunday breakfasts, to dinners, to shooting matches. There even is Plow Day coming up Oct. 14 with a plowing exhibition in the Labadie bottoms, just west of the Ameren power plant. This Sunday there are Mouse Races at the city auditorium, sponsored by the Lions Club. Meramec Caverns is the site for Franklin County Day this Saturday. We suggest you look at the entertainment pages of Wednesday’s Missourian to view all of the events for this weekend and in coming weekends.

On top of this there is Friday night high school football games all around this region. Then there is football at Mizzou Saturday night. The St. Louis Cardinals are making a run for it, but it may be all over after the game Friday night at Atlanta, or the Redbirds will have more playoffs games. There are countless other sporting events for the younger set that keep adults busy also.

There is so much to do that adults and children have to pick and choose carefully as to what to do with their free time so they don’t miss something they are interested in and enjoy.

Downtown Washington, Inc., and the Washington Area Chamber of Commerce really do a good job in promoting events, chiefly in the core of the city. These downtown and riverfront events are enjoyed by thousands of people every year. They promote a variety of events that draw people and satisfy their interests.

“Nothing to do” has been replaced with “too much to do.”

But it’s nice to get away from the politics of the day. Like others, we are weary of the constant political arrows that point our way. They can be dodged. Simply check The Missourian for things to do since in this commentary we couldn’t cover everything. This is the season for countless activities because winter is coming.

As they say in restaurants when serving your order, enjoy!