More than 30 giant inflatables, a mechanical bull, and a gel-blaster arena are set to take over a Frenchtown athletic facility later this month as St. Charles debuts its newest family festival. The Big Backyard Bash runs Saturday, August 29, and Sunday, August 30, at The Steel Shop, 49 Lawrence Street, promising a weekend of inflatable slides, obstacle courses, and food trucks aimed at families with kids of all ages.
The festival is the brainchild of Kayci Crew, founder of Belledene Events, who is based in St. Charles and has four children ranging in age from 8 to 18, according to St. Louis Magazine. Crew said she wanted to bring something different to families in St. Charles and St. Louis, and designed the event so activities span multiple age groups, from toddlers to teenagers, per the same account. She also said she wanted parents to feel comfortable at the event, a priority reflected in the festival's security plans and layout.
What's Inside the Fenced-In Grounds
The Big Backyard Bash is fully fenced-in with a single entrance and exit, and organizers say security will be on site throughout the weekend, the outlet reports. Admission includes unlimited access to attractions throughout the day, and the grounds are designed to be stroller- and wagon-friendly. With August heat in mind, organizers are also installing a fully air-conditioned cooling tent for attendees to escape the sun.
Among the headline attractions is gellyball, a game new to the St. Louis area that's been described as a cross between Nerf, laser tag, and paintball, using gel-filled blasters in an arena lined with inflatable barriers. Other attractions include a four-person bungee trampoline, water slides, rock climbing walls, foam parties, and obstacle courses. Families can also try their hand at three-legged races, potato sack races, and relay races throughout the weekend.
Food, Vendors and a Homegrown Headliner
More than a dozen food trucks will be on hand serving barbecue, lemonade, crepes, pierogies, and shaved ice, while more than 75 local vendors showcase handmade goods, skincare products, pet services, and home improvement companies. Live music runs throughout the weekend, with St. Louis rocker Steve Ewing headlining Saturday evening.
Ewing is best known as frontman of The Urge, the St. Louis alternative rock and ska-punk band formed in 1987 that broke through nationally in the 1990s with hits like “Jump Right In,” according to Wikipedia. Beyond music, Ewing is also a St. Louis entrepreneur who founded Steve's Hot Dogs in 2008, a restaurant brand whose signature hot dog was named the official hot dog of St. Louis in 2022, as noted by Steve's Hot Dogs.
A Growing Arts District Gets a Big Crowd
The Steel Shop, the festival's venue, is a 58,000-square-foot indoor-outdoor training facility with more than 20,000 square feet of field turf that regularly hosts regional athletic competitions, comic cons, and climbing events, according to the Greater St. Charles Convention and Visitors Bureau. It sits in Frenchtown, a growing arts and commercial district north of Main Street known for antique shops, micro-roasteries, and historic architecture, home to landmarks like Course Coffee Roasters, Climb So iLL, and the Foundry Art Centre.
Belledene Events projects turnout of over 20,000 attendees across the two-day weekend, a scale that would make the Big Backyard Bash one of the larger single-weekend draws to hit Frenchtown this year. The company is also organizing the Next-Level Health & Wellness Expo at The Steel Shop in September, an event targeting 250 exhibitors and up to 7,000 attendees, according to FestivalNet, underscoring the promoter's growing reliance on the venue for large community gatherings.
Tickets, Hours and Safety Rules to Know
General admission tickets for the two-day festival range from $22 to $30 on Eventbrite, with single-day tickets granting unlimited play access across all inflatable attractions and games without extra per-ride fees. Saturday hours run 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. to accommodate the evening concert, while Sunday hours run 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Under Missouri Division of Fire Safety regulations, standard inflatable bounce houses do not require state operating permits, though inflatable dry slides taller than 20 feet and rock climbing walls taller than 10 feet must undergo annual inspections, according to the Missouri Division of Fire Safety. State law separately requires amusement attraction operators to immediately halt operations and notify the division if any fatality or serious physical injury occurs on site, a reporting obligation that applies to large-scale festivals like this one.
