Dancing, Drinking, and Door-To-Door Singing.
Story by Andrea Kaneko
Each year on New Year’s Eve since the 1730s, Ste. Genevieve, the oldest permanent European settlement in Missouri, pays homage to its French-colonial roots through the event La Guignolée.
This event, which began in France in the 1600s, features a troupe of traveling carolers who go door- to-door singing comedic songs in exchange for gifts of food and drink. In Ste. Genevieve, the carolers dress in late-1800s style French-colonial attire and take a trolley to perform at retirement homes, schools, restaurants, and house parties.
“La Guignolée is special because it shares a lot of the French traditions you find in rural Mardi Gras festivals held in places like Mamou or Iota, Louisiana,” says Aaron Smith, tourism marketing director for Ste. Genevieve. “Our Guignolèe song even shares lyrics with the Iota Mardi Gras song.”
People can catch the troupe at one of many stops or follow them from stop to stop. The most lively places to catch them are at The Anvil, Old Brick House, and Audubon’s Restaurant in Ste. Genevieve.
“It’s not just some dry historical event,” Aaron says. “People are drinking and dancing and being merry.”
For more information, visit VisitSteGen.com
Fresh Espresso with Festive Flavors.
Story by Sydney Jones
In September 2022, seven years after moving back to her hometown of Blackwater, Andrea Stevens opened the doors of River & Rail Coffee. This smalltown coffee shop began offering fresh-baked pastries, such as lemon blueberry scones and German chocolate whoopie pies, as well as espresso drinks with deep, layered flavors, dirty sodas, and flavored teas. Andrea’s dream had always been to open a coffee shop, combining her love of coffee with her passion for making homemade baked goods.
“When I told people that I was opening a coffee shop in Blackwater, they were like, ‘There are 199 people. You’re never going to make it,’ ” Andrea says. But with customers flocking in from Boonville, Fayette, Marshall, Pilot Grove, and Columbia, River & Rail Coffee continues to defy expectations.
Each season, the shop releases a new menu, in addition to offering traditional coffee drinks. This winter, the menu will feature festive drinks such as Mrs. Claus’s Cookies: a warm blend of gingerbread and brown sugar syrups topped with cold foam, cinnamon, and a gingerbread man, and Christmas in a Cup: a “Christmassy” blend of warm spices and roasted hazelnut syrup topped with whipped cream and cinnamon.
Beyond bringing life to the downtown area, Andrea has brought new experiences to the citizens of Blackwater. “There is one lady who had never been in a coffee shop before. She now comes in every day,” Andrea says. “I love it when they walk in and we know their order right off the bat and are making it for them.”
In 2023, Andrea expanded River & Rail Coffee. She relocated from a small shop in downtown Blackwater to a larger space in a historic building, still downtown. Most recently, River & Rail Coffee has added two Airbnbs above the coffee shop. The quaint Airbnb space offers a two-bedroom, one-bathroom suite and a one-bedroom, one-bathroom suite, both overlooking Main Street.
Find on Facebook at River & Rail Coffee • 129 Main Street, Blackwater
This article was originally printed in the November/December 2025 issue of Missouri Life.
