SUMMER IN ST. LOUIS

The famous Clydesdales are one of the attractions at Grant's Farm.

ST. LOUIS -- From jazz in a garden to loop-the-loops aboard Batman the Ride, St. Louis offers a heady mix of things to do this summer.

Music and musical theater always draw thousands of visitors to St. Louis during the summer. Stellar R&B performers Bonnie Raitt and Jimmie Vaughan get the summer started right with a concert June 4 at the Fox Theatre.

Two nights later, George Thorogood and the Destroyers play the Fox with guest Jake Andrews.

Comedian Chris Rock performs at the Fox June 25. The musical "Chicago" is in town Aug. 10-15, and "Titanic" comes calling Aug. 24-Sept. 5.

Toni Tennille of the Captain and Tennille fame will appear at the Fox Theatre June 8-13 in the musical comedy "Victor/Victoria."

The musical "Grease!" opens the season at the Muny Opera June 21-27. It will be followed by "The King and I" July 5-11, "Annie" July 12-18, a celebration of British composers July 19-25, "1776" July 26-Aug. 1, the all-dance "Anything Goes" Aug. 2 -8, and "Meet Me in St. Louis" Aug. 9-15.

Coming up at the Riverport Amphitheatre are concerts by Elton John June 5, the Allman Brothers Band June 15, the Dave Matthew Band June 11 and 16, and Sammy Hagar June 19.

Deeper into the heat, Paul Simon and Bob Dylan provide a Baby Boomer dream double bill July 10, and Tom Petty and special guest Lucinda Williams perform July 24.

The Queeny Pops Series at air-conditioned Greensfelder Recreation Center in Queeny Park gets started July 6 with The Legacy Big Band. The band also plays July 7 and 8.

The River City Brass Band performs July 9 and 10, the Manhattan Rhythm Kings July 13-15, the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra celebrates St. Louis July 16-17, and the orchestra performs Irish ballads to Broadway runes July 10-22 to complete the pops series.

The Whitaker Jazz Festival at the Missouri Botanical Garden will begin with the Kim Portnoy Big Band Wednesday. Subsequent Wednesdays will offer jazz trumpeter and vocalist Jeremy Davenport, jazz and R&B vocalist Denise Thimes, Vargas Swing, the Allegro Jazz Ensemble, and finally jazz and blues musician Johnnie Johnson.

The free shows begin at 7:30 p.m. each night in the Garden's Cohen Amphitheater. Guests are invited to stroll the garden and bring a blanket and picnic supper. Boxed suppers can be ordered by calling (314) 577-9528.

A cash bar and ice cream will be available. Glass containers or alcoholic beverages may not be brought onto the grounds.

Chinese Culture Days are June 5-6 at the Garden. The Shanghai Acrobatic Troupe will perform five times during the weekend.

The St. Louis County Department of Parks and Recreation sponsors a Blues on the Mississippi concert series kicking off June 11 with Blind Mississippi Morris & the Pocket Rockets. Following Fridays will feature the Mighty Big Band, the Clayton Love Group, Oliver Saint, the Soulard Blues Band, Mark Stallings & the Famous Unknowns, Marcel Strong & the Apostles, and finally Billy Peek on Aug. 6.

The 8 p.m. concerts are presented in an amphitheater in Jefferson Barracks County Park with lawn seating for 5,000 in a family-friendly atmosphere. Admission is $5.

Opening at the Saint Louis Art Museum June 19 are "Useful Beauty: Early American Decorative Arts from St. Louis Collections" and "Structure and Surface: Contemporary Japanese Textiles."

The museum's monthly Summer Gourmet in the Galleries program includes a themed art tour, four-course dinner and live entertainment for $36.95 per person.

Six Flags St. Louis will offer guests a new water park called Hurricane Harbor. The park has three slide complexes. On the Big Kahuna, multi-person rafts descend a snaking course from six stories up. At Kontiki Falls, Wahini Falls and Geronimo Falls offer twisting body slides and a 64-foot free fall body slide.

There are also four inner tube slides with 400-foot chutes, a family water play area, a wave pool and an adventure river.

Also new for 1999 are the Speed-O-Drome Grand Prix Carts on a 1,100-foot track.

Six Flags also has a lineup of entertainment scheduled at Old Glory Amphitheater, beginning with rocker Rick Springfield June 26.

Also scheduled are Randy Travis July 31, Big Tent Revival (alternative Christian music) Aug. 2, Britney Speers Aug. 13, Weird Al Yankovic Aug. 14 and Michael W. Smith Aug. 21.

"EarthQuest: The Challenge Begins" opens June 5 at the St. Louis Science Center, offering 20 hands-on activities and displays focussing on the "reduce, reuse, recycle" message.

Grant's Farm is celebrating its 45th anniversary. A trackless train takes visitors through the 281-acre compound that was once home to the Busch brewing family and includes the hand-built cabin of President Ulysses S. Grant. Nearly 1,000 exotic animals now live on the land. Admission is free.