Mark your calendar: Can't-miss events for fall and winter

__OCTOBER__

__Jackson Second Annual Oktoberfest:__ This event will be held in Uptown Jackson 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Oct. 11. It's presented by Uptown Jackson Revitalization Organization. The city is celebrating its Bicentennial as well. There will be authentic German food, live music, biergarten, a fire-truck rally and lots of family fun.

__Old Appleton Fall Festival:__ Family-friendly event with live music, food, craft fair with more than 20 vendors and lots more. Free to the public. Held 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Oct. 11.

__Dexter Fall Fest:__ The Historic Downtown Dexter Association provides a wide selection of crafters, contests and food at Dexter's annual celebration, which features live music as well as competitions ranging from pie eating to pumpkin decorating. The 2014 festival will be Oct. 11.

__Downtown Sikeston Cotton Festival:__ Held at Legion Square, the Oct. 11 festival features arts and crafts, concessions, live music, children's activities, pony rides, petting zoo, cake walks, contests, antique tractor show and more.

__Saxon Lutheran Memorial Fall Festival:__ Held the second Saturday in October, the festival celebrates farm life in the 1800s at the original farmstead site of the Bergt family in Frohna, Missouri. Crafts and a period fashion show are among the highlights.

__Halloween events:__ Cape Girardeau's annual Haunted Hall of Horror provides plenty of frights at the Arena Building in the weeks leading up to Halloween. This year's fright fest will be Oct. 17, 18, 24, 25, 30 and 31. Black Forest Haunted Ghost Town will be open for its 20th season Oct. 11, 17,18, 24, 25 and 31. At the Deja Vu Spirit Reunion in Ste. Genevieve, Missouri, guests tour Memorial Cemetery by lantern light and hear talks from the spirits buried there, including French pioneers and Native Americans dating back to 1787. Beggs Family Farm near Sikeston, Missouri, is the place to go for corn mazes and wagon rides, as well as its "phobia farm," and New Madrid, Missouri, is famous for its ghost tours. Halloween storytelling will be held at Bollinger Mill State Historic Site on Oct. 17. This free event is sponsored by Missouri State Parks and the featured storyteller is Marilyn Kinsella. Also, a guided hike to the Bollinger family cemetery to learn about the Bollinger family and 19th century burial traditions will be held Oct. 25 at Bollinger Mill. Wear comfortable shoes and clothing.

__NOVEMBER__

__Arts and crafts shows:__ 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 at the Arena Building, the Christmas Arts and Crafts Extravaganza at the Osage Centre and Show Me Center, and the Crafts Gifts and Collectibles Show at the Bavarian Halle. Shows are held the weekend before Thanksgiving.

__Parade of Lights (Christmas parade):__ Old Town Cape celebrates the start of the Christmas season on the Sunday after Thanksgiving with a parade down Broadway and Main Street. Dozens of floats light up the parade route and Santa caps the whole thing off.

__DECEMBER__

__Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament:__ The premiere high school basketball tournament in the area brings together 16 teams for four days of fast-paced action at the Show Me Center. The field includes traditional powerhouses and past state champions like Scott County Central, Notre Dame, Jackson and Charleston. The tournament kicks off Dec. 26.

__Holiday Home Tour:__ See how other folks decorate for the holidays with the Lutheran Family and Children's Services Holiday Home Tour on Dec. 6. The houses featured on the tour range from historic to new construction, but they're all decked out for Christmas.

__Christmas in Ste. Genevieve:__ Ste. Genevieve celebrates the season the first weekend in December with parades, parties, caroling, cooking and tradition. Festivities are highlighted by the annual Country Christmas Walk along with the "old-time" Christmas Parade. In addition, there are Strolling Carolers, the Ste. Genevieve Art Guild Show & Sale, open houses at the historic sites, free entertainment and, of course, the annual tree lighting.

__Christmas Country Church Tour:__ Get into the Christmas spirit with the annual Christmas Country Church Tour on Dec. 19 and 20. More than 20 churches in Cape Girardeau, Perry and Bollinger counties will deck their halls and invite visitors inside for Christmas music and refreshments.

__New Year's Eve:__ There are plenty of options to ring in the New Year in Southeast Missouri, and some events let you celebrate while raising money for a good cause:

> The United Way's annual New Year's Eve party in Cape Girardeau includes heavy hors d'oeuvre, a cash bar, live music, party favors, a late-night snack and complimentary champagne at midnight.

> Ste. Genevieve celebrates New Year's Eve with a nod to its French roots. During La Guiannee revelers -- descendants of Ste. Genevieve's earliest settlers -- dress in bizarre and somewhat archaic costumes and wander from place to place singing a beggars song for favors.

__JANUARY__

__Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Dinner:__ Each year Southeast Missouri State University brings a nationally known speaker to Cape Girardeau for the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Dinner. This year's guest speaker will be Soledad O'Brien, one of the most sought-after journalists. In June 2013, she launched Starfish Media Group, a multi-platform media production and distribution company dedicated to uncovering and producing empowering stories that look at the often divisive issues of race, class, wealth, poverty and opportunity. She will present the keynote address at the Jan. 21 dinner at the Show Me Center.

~Look for more Martin Luther King Jr. Day community activities on semoEvents.com.

__FEBRUARY__

__Annual King's Ball:__ The ball, originally held to celebrate twelfth night but now celebrated on the first Saturday of February, is just another of Ste. Genevieve's Old French settlers' traditions that has been celebrated annually for more than 250 years. Attendees are encouraged to dress in French Colonial attire and participate in the traditional music and dance. Some guests dress their tables with a candelabrum, tablecloths, wineglasses and buffets of food, so dancers can "nibble their way around the hall and visit."

Even more to do...

__Art shows__

On the first Friday of the month, galleries and shops in Cape Girardeau stay open late for the First Friday art openings, and Perryville does the same during its Art Walk the second Friday of each month. Ste. Genevieve hosts a Fourth Friday art walk on, you guessed it, the fourth Friday of each month. The art gallery at the Sikeston Depot Museum changes every two months, featuring a variety of styles from local and regional artists.

__Empty Bowls Project__

Empty Bowls is a national not-for-profit organization that raises money for local food banks by selling a small meal and giving away a handmade bowl with every ticket to its soup dinner in the fall. There are opportunities throughout the year to paint bowls.

__Food days__

Chili, spaghetti and pancake day fundraisers are traditions in Cape Girardeau. In other communities it may be hamburgers or chicken and dumplings. Be sure to keep an eye out for annual events that fill you up and raise money for community organizations.

__5k races__

Throughout the year, 5k races are held to benefit a variety of charities and causes. Check semoevents.com and caperoadrunners.org for details.

__Trivia nights__

Fundraisers are held throughout the year to support groups like the Safe House for Women, Cape Girardeau Roller Girls, Gibson Recovery Center, Cape Girardeau Jaycees and more. Round up your smartest friends and reserve a table; these fundraisers usually include snacks, drinks and raffle prizes. Search semoevents.com for upcoming trivia nights.

~Be sure to check semoEvents.com for full details on these and other events.