As of this week, the McKinley Heights neighborhood association's events page says "No upcoming events scheduled yet." Within a short trip in every direction, though, the next four weeks are booked solid. Soulard is opening homes for its parlour tour, Cherokee Street is turning dozens of storefronts into a print fair, Benton Park is bringing in Santa, Lafayette Square holds its own parlor tour, and the brewery on Lynch Street lights up on select nights through Dec. 26.
For McKinley Heights, December happens on the edges. Russell Boulevard gained two new kitchens this fall, one at the McKinley Heights end and one in Soulard, and they make the most practical place to start or finish a day.
Russell Boulevard Picked Up Two New Kitchens This Fall
The bigger change is at 1854 Russell Blvd. Union Bakehouse and Café opened there on Oct. 23 in the former Gather space, according to St. Louis Magazine's November openings roundup.
The building's main job is production. In September, before the opening, KSDK reported, drawing on the St. Louis Business Journal, that the roughly 4,600-square-foot building was expected to become Union Loafers' main bread production facility. About two-thirds of the space would go to baking and the rest to a café. Co-owner Sean Netzer estimated the new space would let the company quadruple its bread-making capacity and grow its wholesale accounts. KSDK quoted him on the demand behind the move:
"There's already demand that we can't meet, so the upshot of opening up wholesale in a way that is up to us to meet, where we can take what we can get and then we have to go find more, is exciting."
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch described the café side as serving coffee, pastries and food. Hours and the day's menu are posted on the bakehouse's Instagram account, the first place to check before a weekend morning stop. Union Loafers' original location on Tower Grove paused pizza service in early November. St. Louis Magazine reported that the company said the Bakehouse would continue as normal.
East on Russell, at 1009-B in Soulard, Donald Ray's Fried Rice opened Oct. 3. St. Louis Magazine named it one of two casual newcomers that "consistently drawn standing room-only crowds" in October. According to the restaurant's About page, it is family-owned and run by executive chef Jason Lamont, and it serves Southern-Asian fusion. The menu is built on St. Louis-style fried rice with onions and scrambled egg. Versions include smoked chicken, beef short rib, shrimp, crawfish, smoked duck and vegan, and St. Paul sandwiches are on there too. The homepage also calls out a gumbo fried rice. Check donaldrays.com for current hours before you go.
With one spot at each end of Russell, a December evening in Soulard or along Cherokee can start and finish with food from a McKinley Heights bakery or a new fried rice counter.
December 4 to 6 Is the Busiest Stretch
Most of the neighborhood events nearby land on the first weekend of December. Three different neighborhood groups have scheduled something inside the same 48 hours, and Brewery Lights runs a theme night on the Friday too.
| Date | Event | Where | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri., Dec. 4 | Benton Park Holiday Party with Santa | Bluewood Brewing, 1821 Cherokee St. | Free, all ages |
| Fri., Dec. 4 | Brewery Lights: Ugly Sweater Night | Anheuser-Busch, 1200 Lynch St. | Brewery Lights admission |
| Sat., Dec. 5 | Print Bazaar on Cherokee | 30+ Cherokee Street storefronts and venues | Free to browse |
| Sat., Dec. 5 to Sun., Dec. 6 | Soulard Holiday Parlour Tour | Homes across Soulard | $55 |
Friday night in Benton Park. The Benton Park Neighborhood Association's party at Bluewood Brewing is free and open to all ages. Food and drinks are for purchase starting at 5 p.m., and Santa photos run 6 to 8 p.m. You RSVP through Eventbrite.
Saturday on Cherokee. The Print Bazaar on Cherokee runs 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Dec. 5, with more than 150 artists spread across more than 30 Cherokee Street storefronts and venues. It is on the Cherokee Street Foundation's 2026 events calendar. Because it is spread across so many shops, the bazaar takes the place of a single holiday market and works for gift shopping.
The whole weekend in Soulard. The Soulard Restoration Group's Holiday Parlour Tour opens homes across Soulard on Dec. 5 and 6. Tickets are $55. Saturday tours start between 10 a.m. and 3:25 p.m., and Sunday tours between 10:25 a.m. and 3 p.m.
Brewery Lights Puts a Theme on Four Fridays
Brewery Lights is the one recurring event close to home this season. Anheuser-Busch's 2026 announcement puts it at the Lynch Street brewery on select dates from Nov. 21 through Dec. 26. Explore St. Louis lists hours of 5 to 8 p.m. and tickets at $12 for adults and $7 for ages 6 to 20. Children 5 and under get in free, and buying ahead is encouraged.
Four Fridays have themes:
- Nov. 27: Friends and Family Night, the day after Thanksgiving
- Dec. 4: Ugly Sweater Night, the same evening as the Benton Park party
- Dec. 11: Carol-Oke Night
- Dec. 18: Vintage Bud Night
The themes are included with regular admission. Brewery Lights only runs on select dates, so check the calendar linked from the Anheuser-Busch page before planning a weeknight around it.
Lafayette Square Has the Last Tour on December 13
The Lafayette Square Holiday Parlor Tour on Sunday, Dec. 13, comes a week after Soulard's. It runs 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. with historic-home tours, carolers, a holiday market and trolley rides. The City of St. Louis event listing gives the location as 2023 Lafayette Ave., with tickets at $45 in advance and $55 on the day. It is the only December event on Lafayette Square's public calendar.
Buying in advance saves $10 per ticket, so this is the tour where planning ahead pays off. For anyone who wants to see two historic neighborhoods decorated for the holidays, the two tours fall on back-to-back weekends.
One Way to Spend Saturday, December 5
Put together, the dated events make for a full Saturday without going far from McKinley Heights:
- Morning: Coffee and a pastry at Union Bakehouse and Café, 1854 Russell. Check @union_bakehouse for the day's hours first.
- Late morning to midafternoon: A Soulard Holiday Parlour Tour slot. Saturday start times run from 10 a.m. to 3:25 p.m.
- Afternoon: The Print Bazaar on Cherokee, open until 6 p.m. across more than 30 storefronts.
- Dinner: Fried rice at Donald Ray's, 1009-B Russell, once you've confirmed its hours at donaldrays.com.
The Friday before has the Benton Park party at Bluewood Brewing and Ugly Sweater Night at Brewery Lights, so the full weekend has something on each day. Downtown also has the Frizz Fest Winter Market at Winterfest in Kiener Plaza from 2 to 6 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 28. It is the closest dated shopping event to Small Business Saturday on the Gateway Arch Park Foundation's Winterfest schedule.
If the parlor tours have you wondering how your own McKinley Heights brick home compares with the ones on the route, The Winckowski Group is happy to help. Request your free home valuation, and our team will follow up quickly with a clear, local read on your home.
