You don’t have to be into the Lilith Fair to appreciate music written and performed by women. As Women’s History Month draws to a close, this Friday night the St. Louis Art Museum presents “Girl Power,” a free concert of chamber music written by women and performed by women.Ladies, this is a great chance to enjoy a free night out with your girlfriends. This isn’t stuffy, old chamber music written by dead guys in powdered wigs. All the composers are still alive and writing music today. These women are inspired by everything from the sounds of sirens in the background hum of traffic to the …

Sometimes you can get away from it all without going more than 20 minutes from home. This weekend, leave the kids with their grandparents and head up the street to Westport’s Comfort Inn for a geeky weekend with other grownups. Conflation describes itself as, “a great chance to get away from the kids, let your hair down and not have to worry about what you say being overheard.” It’s technically a science fiction convention, but really, it’s an excuse for people who consider themselves nerdy or geeky to get together for a weekend and party. Since there will be alcohol on the premises, you must…

Before the kids were born, remember when you used to go out dancing just to let go of all your tensions from the week? Now, it’s a lot harder to leave the house at 10 and not come home until 2 a.m. But if you still have that desire to dance, Aabla Raqs has a great alternative for you: bellydancing.Every Monday night from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. they offer an introduction to bellydancing class at their Creve Couer studio. You’ll learn to dance with veils, swords, finger cymbals and even Alladin’s lamps - all in the company of other women, many of them fellow moms. If you can’t persuade your …

With tight family budgets, sometimes it’s hard for a mom to justify spending $60 on a facial or $40 on a pedicure at a spa. Luckily, salon schools offer a great discount on these services in a comfy, pampering atmosphere for a fraction of the price. For the same cost as one facial and pedicure at a salon, you can take two girlfriends with you and make a day of it at Elaine Steven Beauty College on Florissant Road. Facials are only $20 and pedicures only $9. As an extra bonus, if you have free time on a Wednesday, the facials are discounted all the way down to $6. The school is open for walk-…

Leave the kids with your husband and call your girlfriends. This weekend, you’re spending an afternoon at Westport Plaza. The 25th Annual Missouri Wine Festival takes place on both Saturday and Sunday from noon until 5 p.m. This is a great celebration of Missouri’s award-winning wines where you can sample and compare the best our state has to offer. Twenty dollars gets you a commemorative wine goblet, wine samples, and live music by Tony Viviano. If that’s not enough to lure you out, there’ll be noshes from and to go with all the tasty Missouri wines. Plus, a portion of the proceeds benefit …

It’s your time. Each week, Creve Coeur Patch will share one great idea to give you a much deserved break, and make your life a little easier, maybe a whole lot easier. It may be local service or opportunity that helps you get away from it all -- if only for an hour! It may be an event or destination in the area that's a real getaway from the every day. Our first Great Escape comes from the Creve Coeur Massage Envy. You may think a massage is too expensive, but Massage Envy offers your first one-hour massage for $39. The Web site says you can schedule ahead or simply walk in. Massage Envy has …