101 Fun Things to Do: Holiday Highlights

90. Annual July 4th celebrations include everything from 5K runs to musical performances. The day culminates in many communities with fireworks after dark. If you're setting off your own display, be sure to check your town's ordinances regarding fireworks.

Way of the Cross

91. Way of the Cross in downtown Cape Girardeau is an annual Good Friday celebration that re-enacts the 14 stations of the cross.

92. Old Town Cape will celebrate the start of the Christmas season Nov. 25 with a parade down Broadway and Main Street. Dozens of floats light up the "Parade of Lights," and Santa caps the whole thing off. Ste. Genevieve, Mo., will have an Old-Time Christmas Parade the first weekend in December, along with caroling, an art show, free entertainment, a tree lighting, food and more. Scott City, Jackson and Perryville, Mo., also have Christmas parades.

Haunted house at the Arena Building

93. Have a spook-tacular Halloween by visiting one of the area's haunted happenings. Cape Girardeau's annual Haunted Hall of Horror will be Oct. 19, 20, and 26 through 31 at the Arena Building. At the Deja Vu Spirit Reunion on Oct. 27 in Ste. Genevieve, Mo., guests will tour Memorial Cemetery by lantern light and hear talks from the spirits buried there, including French pioneers and Native Americans dating back to 1787. Also on Oct. 27, a Ghost Tales Dinner Train will take off from the St. Louis Iron Mountain & Southern Railway in Jackson. Beggs Family Farm near Sikeston, Mo., is the place to go for corn mazes and wagon rides, as well as its "phobia farm," and New Madrid, Mo., is famous for its ghost tours, set for Oct. 19, 20, 26 and 27 this fall.

94. Cape Girardeau County is home to three huge arts and craft shows just in time for your Christmas shopping. Choose from the River Valley Craft Fair Nov. 16 to 18 at the Arena Building, the Christmas Arts and Crafts Extravaganza Nov. 17 and 18 at the Osage Centre and Show Me Center, and the Crafts Gifts and Collectibles Show Nov. 17 at the Bavarian Halle.