60 ARTISANS DISPLAY THEIR WARES DURING DOWNTOWN FESTIVAL

A working 1904-model antique peanut roaster will highlight this year's Cape Girardeau Riverfest Arts and Crafts festival.

The peanut roaster is owned by Larry and Cathy Hughes of Springfield, Mo.

The Hugheses will demonstrate how turn-of-the-century street vendors roasted fresh peanuts and give bystanders a chance to watch first-hand.

"We will allow people to look inside the roaster while its working, talk about the different stages of peanut roasting, and provide samples of roasted peanuts," said Hughes. "We also will have old-time sarsaparilla made from an original mid-1880s recipe and iced down in an antique washtub."

Nancy Ross of the Riverfest Arts and Crafts Committee said the peanut roaster display is one of 45 arts and crafts that will be showing at Riverfest Friday and Saturday.

"We have artisans and crafts people coming from as far away as Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Tennessee and several from Illinois and Kentucky," she said. "Many of them have been here in the past."

Ross said local artist Mark Farmer will be on hand with his prints of regional scenes.

Other crafts represented include pottery, jewelry, silver and copper making, and rug weaving. There will also be wooden toys for children.

Ross said the arts and crafts displays will be on Main Street.

Judy Bradley of the Work Crafts Committee said 15 working crafts are represented at Riverfest. That's the most working crafts ever shown at Riverfest.

Among the craftspeople is a weaver working on an eight-harness floor loom. Another weaver will be making small items such as placemats and coasters while another will be weaving rag rugs.

Ross said a spinner will be spinning wool on a spinning wheel while another will make pottery on an old-fashioned spin wheel.

"We will have three different kinds of basket weavers at Riverfest, including split weaves and pine-needle weaving," she said. "There will be a ropemaker demonstrating how rope was made, using an antique ropemaker."

Ross said a craftsman will be making Shaker Style split-oak chairs while another makes furniture from willow trees.

"We'll also have people making cane chairs, woodcarvings, and a painter who does miniature painting," she added.

All of the working crafts will be in the Common Pleas Courthouse Park.