Who would imagine that athletics would inspire art in rural Missouri? But in two separate cases that I’ve witnessed personally, the Tour de Missouri bicycle race did exactly that.

I blogged about a street mural that was painted in Farmington, Missouri the evening before the Tour de Missouri Stage 3 Kickoff in September, 2009.

On Saturday, I discovered [...]]]>

Who would imagine that athletics would inspire art in rural Missouri? But in two separate cases that I’ve witnessed personally, the Tour de Missouri bicycle race did exactly that.

I blogged about a street mural that was painted in Farmington, Missouri the evening before the Tour de Missouri Stage 3 Kickoff in September, 2009.

On Saturday, I discovered another public art display inspired by Tour de Missouri, this one in Ste. Genevieve, Missouri.

As I crouched down on the sidewalk to photograph these brightly painted bicycles chained to a street-tree-bed, the proprietress of shop called Lulu’s walked up to explain the bikes to me. She painted the bikes for Tour de Missouri, and once the race ended was asked by local officials to remove the bikes.

Although the bikes are resting on the sidewalk, the sidewalk is not city property, but is part of the property owned to by the proprietress. So despite the wishes of officials, this colorful public art display remains as a reminder of the internationally recognized Tour de Missouri bicycle race.

Chalk one up for the creative community of this small Missouri town – sometimes small town Missouri life surprises me in very good ways.

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For other posts related to Ste. Genevieve County, Missouri:

Public Art in Ste. Genevieve

The Brooklyn Bridge

Tour de Missouri

O’Dear!

Pickle Springs State Natural Area

Hawn State Park

Baetje Farms

Contemplating Corn

Ste. Genevieve Chocolate Walk Pt. I: Hats

Ste. Genevieve Chocolate Walk Pt. II: The Walk

Ste. Genevieve Chocolate Walk Pt. III: Trust

Saturday’s Chocolate Walk in historic Ste. Genevieve, Missouri was a friendly reminder that small town folks are…well…friendly. My mom and I made friends in nearly every shop, and as the day progressed, we came across one shop who’s trusting owner left a sign in the window saying “I went [...]]]>

Hello From Big MO, photo by milligfunk

Saturday’s Chocolate Walk in historic Ste. Genevieve, Missouri was a friendly reminder that small town folks are…well…friendly. My mom and I made friends in nearly every shop, and as the day progressed, we came across one shop who’s trusting owner left a sign in the window saying “I went next door to stay warm. Come on in and look around!”

This next shop’s owner must have had a vested interest in the Mineral Area Athletic Association basketball tournament, because he left his chocolate sitting on the street with his own variation on the other shop owner’s friendly note:

Help Yourself, photo by milligfunk

I think it’s worth noting that the same window that holds the “The Cranberry Merchant” sign here is the window that used to hold a black and white photo of the Brooklyn Bridge. I blogged about that storefront window this fall.

In yet another window – this time of a gallery – was an 8.5″ x 11″ piece of paper with friendly, block-printed, Sharpee marker letters saying, “They listed me by accident. I’m not here. Sorry!!!”

Ste. Gen. is the vision of small town life with it’s quaint shops, historic buildings, and incredibly trusting and friendly people. If you find yourself tooling down the the Mississippi Riverfront, I highly recommend a stop in this fantastic little town.

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For other posts related to Ste. Genevieve County, Missouri:

Public Art in Ste. Genevieve

The Brooklyn Bridge

Tour de Missouri

O’Dear!

Pickle Springs State Natural Area

Hawn State Park

Baetje Farms

Contemplating Corn

Ste. Genevieve Chocolate Walk Pt. I: Hats

Ste. Genevieve Chocolate Walk Pt. II: The Walk

While much of the under-30 population of Greater St. Louis imbibed in Soulard today for Mardi Gras, I celebrated my awesome mom by spending the day with her at the Ste. Genevieve, Missouri’s Chocolate Walk.

For the most part, the only thing Mardi Gras-esque about our day today was that Ste. Genevieve – like New Orleans – [...]]]>

While much of the under-30 population of Greater St. Louis imbibed in Soulard today for Mardi Gras, I celebrated my awesome mom by spending the day with her at the Ste. Genevieve, Missouri’s Chocolate Walk.

For the most part, the only thing Mardi Gras-esque about our day today was that Ste. Genevieve – like New Orleans – is a historic, French, Mississippi River town. The pageantry of our trip into Odile’s Linen & Lace, Etc. where we tried on antique hats, was a bit reminiscent of Mardi Gras floats, costumes, and balls.

This isn’t my first time trying on silly hats in an antiques shop. Check out my post from Caledonia, Missouri’s Old Village Mercantile last summer. Life’s hard sometimes, and once in awhile you’ve just GOT to get a little silly to survive it.

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For other posts related to silly hats:

SmallTownGirl’s Many Hats

Maplewood Arts Walk

For other posts related to Ste. Genevieve County, Missouri:

Public Art in Ste. Genevieve

The Brooklyn Bridge

Tour de Missouri

O’Dear!

Pickle Springs State Natural Area

Hawn State Park

Baetje Farms

Contemplating Corn