All Arts and History in Sainte Genevieve

La Guiannée – Where Sainte Geneviève’s 250-Year-Old New Year’s Eve Tradition Shares Deep Roots with Louisiana’s Rural Mardi Gras Through Ancient French Begging Songs Every New Year’s Eve for over 250 years, something extraordinary happens in Sainte Geneviève’s historic district that directly connects Missouri’s oldest French colonial town to the rural Mardi Gras traditions of Mamou and Iota, Louisiana. As darkness falls on December 31st, a troupe of costumed revelers—dressed in bizarre and archaic 18th and 19th-century attire, some masked in grotesque fashion reminiscent of Louisiana’s courirs de Mardi Gras—emerges to wander from business to business, home to home, singing an ancient French begging song that, according to fiddler and French music expert Dennis Stroughmatt, shares actual lyrics with the Iota Mardi Gras song. This isn’t coincidental similarity; it’s evidence of common cultural ancestry connecting these seemingly distant French traditions through centuries-old songs brought to North America by French colonists and preserved in isolated pockets where French culture remained strong enough to resist complete assimilation. “Bonsoir le maître et la maîtresse, et tous les gens de la maison” (Good evening master and mistress, and everyone who lives here too) begins the song that’s been chanted in Sainte Geneviève since the Read more…

Masquerade on Main In a town steeped in genuine history, Masquerade on Main offers something delightfully different—a chance to create your own alternate reality through the magic of creative photography. This isn’t a museum where you observe from a distance but rather an interactive experience where you become the star of your own imaginative photo shoot, surrounded by elaborately themed scenes that transport you to different worlds, eras, and fantasies. With nine meticulously crafted scenes ranging from old-timey nostalgia through steampunk invention to Day of the Dead mystique, visitors can pose in street clothes for $1, add creative props for $5, or fully transform through hundreds of costumes for men, women, and children for $20. The flexible appointment-based system accommodates your schedule, meaning you can often arrange visits at times working for your travel plans. Whether you’re exploring solo, celebrating with friends, capturing couple memories, or creating social media content, Masquerade on Main delivers what few tourist attractions offer—genuine permission to play pretend as an adult without judgment. Nine Distinctive Scenes: Worlds Within Ste. Genevieve Masquerade on Main features multiple meticulously crafted scenes, each designed to spark creativity and provide perfect backdrops for memorable photos. The old-timey scene evokes vintage Read more…

About the Museum Learning Center:  If you’re looking for something that will dazzle you to see in a small town, be sure to stop by the Museums Learning Center (otherwise known as the “Dinosaur Musuem.”  This place is one huge labor of love and a microcosm of what makes this community special.   Your adventure starts in the hall of giants, a room full of massive life-like dinosaur and other Cretaceous Period animal replicas.  Surrounding those are shadow boxes filled with actual fossils from different periods.  On the west end of the hall is a glassed-in room where live Archaeologists periodically work in front of visitors scrupulously chiseling away the clay around the bones of the Missouri dinosaur.  The next layer of exhibits centers around the fossils of that now-famed dinosaur and the current dig happening just south of Sainte Geneviève.  The entire upstairs moves more toward modern times and focuses on interesting collections from a variety of topics, from Civil War Battlefields, to the objects found buried in the outhouses that used to reside in the yards of early St. Louisans.  The story that you won’t get that makes this so impressive is the collections on display, and the dinosaur Read more…

Music Art Love – Where ChrisAlex Created a Gallery/Boutique/Venue/Living Room That Refuses to Fit Any Single Category At 137 North Main Street, ChrisAlex (Christine Alexander) has created something that defies conventional retail categorization—part art gallery featuring her signature GuitArt (mixed media collages on salvaged guitars), part boutique selling clothing and home décor, part music venue hosting open mics and concerts, part community living room where you can play house instruments, challenge someone to chess, bring in wine from neighboring establishments, read inspirational books, or just sit and absorb the eclectic creative energy. There’s a kids’ nook so families can browse while children stay entertained. Monthly events include open mic nights (welcoming musicians, poets, stand-up comedians, and all creative expression), music showcases, trivia nights, movie nights with personal introductions from ChrisAlex, art exhibits, presentations, and classes in art, acting, exercise, and improv. Founded in 2020, Music Art Love represents ChrisAlex’s vision of what a creative space can become when you reject the rigid boundaries between gallery, retail shop, performance venue, and community gathering place—creating instead a fluid, welcoming environment where visitors become participants, where browsing transforms into playing instruments or games, and where the line between performer and audience dissolves during Read more…

Rural Heritage Day, the fourth Saturday in October, is a celebration of history, reverie, and reminiscence dedicated to the hard-working founders of Ste. Geneviève. Come see how it used to be done: whether it’s farming, cooking, spinning, lace-making, leatherworking, soap-making, wood carving, gardening, apple pressing or good old-fashioned games. Read more…