Chinese Culture Days, co-produced by Chesterfield-based nonprofit Chinese Culture and Education Service, returns to the Missouri Botanical Garden on May 2–3 for its 30th year — bringing acrobats, a 70-foot dancing dragon, and a collaboration with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra.

The festival is a partnership between the Garden and CCES, a Chesterfield organization that has helped stage the event since it launched in 1996 to celebrate the opening of the Grigg Nanjing Friendship Garden. About 10,000 people attend each year, according to St. Louis Public Radio.

This year's highlights include the acrobats of the Grand Shanghai Circus, a performance by musician Hong Wang alongside St. Louis Symphony Orchestra members spotlighting Chinese music in film, and tai chi and martial arts demonstrations. A Grand Parade with the 70-foot dancing dragon anchors the weekend, along with Chinese square dance and street dance performances, authentic cuisine, and special tours of the friendship garden.

Pulling it off takes serious community muscle. Planning begins each September, and the festival comprises about 30 individual programs requiring roughly 800 volunteers, according to CCES Chairman Matthew Yu.

If You Go

• When: Saturday and Sunday, May 2–3, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Where: Missouri Botanical Garden, 4344 Shaw Blvd., St. Louis
• Admission: $16 adults, $8 children (ages 3–12), $8 Garden member adults. Free for Festival-level and higher members and member children 12 and under.
• Parking: Free at the Garden entrance and at two lots at Shaw and South Vandeventer boulevards, with complimentary shuttle service to the gate.