Five things to do: Rage, watch and run

Saturday is supposed to be mostly sunny with a high of 78-ish degrees. Mostly sunny. Not miserably hot. Do you see what I’m getting at? It’s time to get out.

Several outdoor social activities are available this weekend, including the Belleville Wine Dine and Jazz where you can — wait for it — drink wine, eat well and listen to jazz. The yearly festival is setting up at the Belleville Public Square as I type on Friday, and it runs from 4 to 10 p.m. Saturday. Go to http://winedinejazz.com for the music and dining lineup.

Settle your rage

There’s a lot of numbers involved at Rage Fest* this weekend: 22 musical acts; two stages; three days, two nights; $50 at the gate; or go to rage-fest.com for tickets. It’s all part of the music, art and camping festival at Freedom Lake near Waterloo (Note: it had been planned for the Kaskaskia Riverhouse in New Athens, but flooding has forced a location change.) Music starts on Friday and runs sometime into the wee hours Sunday.

Take a listen for yourself at rage-fest.com/

index.html – beware of “Satan’s Word” by Acoustics Anonymous, you and I may share that earwig all day long.

*About that name: Yours truly opened the website expecting angry music – instead, it’s bluegrass and raggae inspired acts, some with “socially conscious lyrics.”

Spokesman Andrew Howie said the name was inspired by an observation he made after a Copecetic show — “it’s super-intense bluegrass but a bit more thunderous, and after one of the shows I called it ‘rage-grass.’” The reference stuck.

“Bring a kid and a dog,” Howie said. “It’s not going to be wild and out of control.”

Free fireworks

Two words to practice for Saturday night at Three Springs Park in Shiloh — “Ooh” and “Aah.” Practice ahead of time for the Frierdich Fireworks show, which the company is putting on free as a “thank you” for 25 years. Bring lawn chairs and listen to some live music starting at 5 p.m. or watch the kids bounce away in the inflatables. Food available for purchase; and Frierdich is giving away a $500 shopping spree. Three Springs is at 2250 Frank Scott Parkway in Shiloh, and the show will be followed by more music until 11 p.m.

Run with some dreams

Start your Saturday with a run with NAMI — that’s the National Alliance on Mental Illness, which aims to improve life for those with mental illness and for their families. Sign-in is at 7:15 a.m. Saturday at GCS Ballpark in Sauget; race is at 8:15. It’s $30 for the 5K or the 1-mile walk; you can register online at runsignup.com/

NAMI5KRaceforRecovery.

Saturday afternoon, head up to Edwardsville High School for the Butterfly Dreams Pageant, where the “differently-abled” contestants are paired with a PAL (person assisting with love) to be with them backstage, helping with interviews and on stage.

“The crown is not the goal. The crown is the result of achieving the goal,” wrote Kim Gravel on the website.

The pageant is from 4 to 6 p.m. Saturday at the school’s auditorium, 6161 Center Grove Road, Edwardsville. Tickets are $10 at the door.

Dip a paddle

The Missouri White Water Association, St. Louis Canoe and Kayak Club and Team River Runner are ready to make you a kayaker. Free sessions with a kayaking instructor last about an hour from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday at Drost Park in Maryville. To make reservations, call 618-772-8555. The event is free.

Comic Books

We’re talking Hulk, Spider-Man and the like at this convention, “not NASCAR, Beanie Baby, sports card shows which have one guy who has a box of over-priced Image and Valiant comics from the 1990s,” promises the website at www.epguides.com/comics.

The convention is from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday at the American Legion Post 365, 1022 Vandalia St., Collinsville. Admission is free.

This story was originally published June 26, 2015 at 10:09 AM with the headline "Five things to do: Rage, watch and run."