Change

One good thing about St. Louis is our growing appreciation of change. That was certainly apparent on Saturday as thousands of people came downtown for the Veiled Prophet Parade and Fair Saint Louis (Day 1), the kick-off events of 12 days of summer celebrations built around free concerts, a refurbished bridge, and plenty of fireworks.

Missy Slay and her logistics team — and the many corporate leaders who are making the $3 million celebration possible — already deserve our thanks and congratulations.

There was a time — not too long ago, in fact — when simply changing the name of the annual celebration to “Fair Saint Louis” from “VP Fair” set off towering waves of protests. Yet, this year’s completely re-tooled version of the summer festival has been met with almost universal approval, enthusiastic crowds, and positive media attention.

I suspect that all the other changes in the City — revitalized neighborhoods, a rebounding population, downtown’s $3 billion face-lift — have made most of us more willing to celebrate new things.

If you haven’t been downtown yet this summer, tomorrow night’s Hootie & the Blowfish concert on the Budweiser Stage would be a good way to get started.

Happy 4th!