Community Corner
St. Jean Baptiste Day Brings Historic Fun to St. Charles
St. Charles celebrates a rich French heritage with annual event.
A canon boomed while children ducked for cover then clapped in delight. Behind them, a fiddler sang in French while adults enjoyed a leisurely picnic dinner. Nearby, a man dressed as a Spanish soldier showed off an actual bloodletting tool to a cluster of fascinated boys. For one night, people reveled in St. Charles’ historic French origins.
The St. Jean Baptiste Day celebration in St. Charles began three years ago. Bob Adams, festival organizer and historian at the First Missouri State Capitol approached the Historic Frenchtown Association about creating a local festival celebrating St. Charles’ French heritage. Frenchtown had celebrated Bastille Day, but Adams said, “I thought it would be a good idea to celebrate something more uplifting than a prison revolt.”
He was given permission to organize the St. Charles St. Jean Baptiste Day Festival which brings together celebrations of both St. John the Baptist and the summer solstice. The first festival took place in Frenchtown, but was moved to the First Missouri State Capitol and has stayed there ever since.
Adams said the First State Capitol of Missouri on Main Street is an excellent place for an historic festival.
In keeping with the theme, Adams brought in live, historically representative entertainment.
Fiddler Dennis Stroughmatt sang entirely in a Louisiana dialect of French and learned his songs from old miners and musicians in the Louisiana Bayou. The Milicia de San Carlos, a Spanish Historic Recreation Society dressed in clothes representative of the era. They brought a wood spinning wheel to demonstrate turning fibers into yarn as well as a table full of artifacts ranging from bullets to bloodletting supplies. To the delight of boys and confusion of people on nearby streets, they also brought a cannon which was fired several times over the course of the evening.
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Carla Button, who brought her son to the festival, was fascinated by the wood piled up for the evening’s bonfire.
“I’ve never seen one like this before, and I love bonfires,” said Button. “ It’s built up, almost as though it’s a tower instead of being flat. All the kindling is inside. I thought that was such an ingenious idea and I couldn’t help wondering why people don’t build bonfires like that anymore.”
Picnicker Stacey Chambers sat on the archaeological site while sharing a meal with friends and enjoying the live music. She has attended every one of the St. Jean Baptiste festivals.
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“I live in Frenchtown, of course I had to come to a French festival," she said. "It was the hottest day of the year the first year, but I still danced in front of the bonfire. It’s a great excuse to visit the park, listen to great music, and learn some local history.”