Performers to entertain crowds during Tour of Missouri

Performers of all ages will entertain crowds Tuesday during the street festival for the Tour of Missouri.

From middle school percussion group Shere Khan to country line dancers from a retirement community, the stage on Main Street in front of Hutson's Fine Furniture will be packed.

Shere Khan started at Cape Girardeau Central Middle School seven years ago and has had as many as 50 members at one time. It has performed for local community organizations like the Optimists and national conferences as far away as Omaha, Neb.

Director Pam Dumey said the group currently has 10 members and will play new songs for the occasion, both West African songs.

"The kids are going to do some improvising," Dumey said.

Country line dancers from the Chateau Girardeau retirement community will take the stage at 2 p.m. The line dancers got involved when Tracey Glenn, vice president of Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce and chairwoman of the local Tour of Missouri organizing committee, called Chateau Girardeau and the Lutheran Home of Cape Girardeau to invite their residents to attend the downtown celebration.

She said when she called she didn't know she would be gaining more than spectators. She had never heard of the Chateau Girardeau Line Dancers but said she was happy to learn they were available.

The dancers practice every Monday for an hour said Donna Barks, who has been the dance instructor for the group for about 15 years. Barks said the group learns new routines often but only keeps the ones members like best.

"You'll always perform better with something you like," Barks said.

The group dances mostly for exercise, said member Norma Buerck. She said this is their first public performance since a performance several years ago around Christmas at the mall. The group performs for fun at Chateau Girardeau about once a year, she said.

Tuesday the dancers will perform to country music, big band sounds and some rock n' roll. The group of 10 to 12 men and women will stomp, kick and turn across the stage. They will perform the Cowboy Charleston to Glenn Miller's "In The Mood" and the Texas Waltz to Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Edelweiss" from "The Sound of Music." The performance will last about 20 minutes and will be held in front of Hutson's Fine Furniture.

Glenn said she tried to get a varied group of performers to provide entertainment for everyone.

"There will be lots of different audiences for this event," she said.

Festivities will begin at noon with a performance by Shere Khan, followed by the Jackson High School Band at 12:40 p.m., Notre Dame Regional High School Choir at 1:20 p.m., the Chateau Girardeau Line Dancers at 2 p.m. and the Cape Central High School Chamber Choir at 2:40 p.m. There will be demonstrations by Southeast Missouri Hospital at 12:20 and 1:40 p.m. Saint Francis Medical Center will be hosting demonstrations at 1 p.m. and 2:20 p.m.

Southeast Missouri Hospital and Saint Francis Medical Center will both have time on the stage for demonstrations and there will be children's bicycle and tricycle races sponsored by the hospitals. To register for those races, visit www.visitcape.com/tom.

Parking downtown will be limited to street parking and some streets around the event will be closed. However, shuttles will be available beginning at 11 a.m. from the Show Me Center and West Park Mall. The shuttles will run until 6 p.m., Glenn said.