ST. CHARLES, Mo. – St. Charles community members are spending their Saturday celebrating 636 Day. It’s all about the people, places, and culture of St. Charles.

This is the third annual 636 Day and festivities run through 10 p.m. Saturday.

636 Day is a free, family-friendly street festival that features live music, interactive art, children’s activities, and vendors lining the streets in historic Frenchtown.

“Frenchtown is actually the birthplace of St. Charles,” said Mayor Dan Borgmeyer. “This is where my family started and a lot of other people around here and it’s grown.”

Mayor Borgmeyer calls Frenchtown one of St. Charles’ six boroughs. The neighborhood is known for its French colonial-style architecture and vibrant arts scene. The city, in collaboration with Local 636, is pulling out all the stops rain or shine. The mayor calls Ed Akers the mastermind behind the whole idea.

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“Ed Akers came to me three years ago and said, ‘Hey, I’m starting a thing called 636.’ And I said, ‘What’s that besides the area code?’ He goes, ‘It’s a brand.’ And I said, ‘I’ve been in advertising for 50 years. It’s not a brand.’ He goes, ‘Well, it’s gonna be,’ and I’ll be darned, he did grow it into a brand. Now it’s got clothing, it’s got festivals, it’s got everything,” Mayor Borgmeyer said.

There was even a toast at 6:36 p.m.

“We don’t have the easy numbers like 314 Day, right? Like, there’s no June 36th, so we have to be a little creative,” Akers said.

St. Louis is known for some unique foods like toasted ravioli, Provel cheese, and gooey butter cake. But people in the 636 area-code have this delicacy called the ‘Lake Bake.’ It’s a hash brown stuffed with sausage, bacon, and cheese, all topped with an over-medium egg and more cheese, served with a side of gravy.

“It’s incredible,” Lydia Crespo said.

Akers chimed in, “It’s tremendous.”

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You can try it at La Belle Vie on North Second Street, which is also hosting an unplugged acoustic show for the event.

“We’ve got three different stages of live music. We’ve got about eight different bands,” Akers said.

Crespo added, “We really love to bring attention to all of the incredible people here and what we’re doing to make St. Charles amazing.”

Crespo is one of the producers of 636 Day. She also owns CHUCK AND LOU and The Cozy Shop, both on Main Street.

“Main Street has 120 businesses on it,” she said. “It’s small business, and we’re known there. I mean, that street has been there since 1769, even longer than that. So we have an amazing culture of small businesses here and that’s what we like to highlight with 636 Day.”

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In addition to the music, interactive art, and food, the people behind Local 636 say they’re thankful for their sponsors, like BJC HealthCare – St. Louis.

“They’re just great community partners,” Akres said. “Obviously they help us financially and help to bring in some bands and stuff, but they’ll have a booth here.”

Helping to kick off the start of Men’s Health Month and celebrate everything that makes the 636 area special.

“Every time I’m walking down the street, I’m just constantly waving hi and saying hi to my neighbors, my friends. You just run into people all the time. It’s the biggest little city. It’s great,” Crespo said.

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