ARTS AND CRAFTS: `CHRISTMAS AT THE SHOW ME CENTER,' RIVER VALLEY EXPO THIS WEEKEND

You've heard of paper trails and paper tigers and even paper roses.

Welcome to the world of paper fruits and vegetables.

At this time of year, Greg and Linda Illers and their sons Cliff, 10, and Clay, 6, spend almost every evening making their living room look like the produce section in a grocery store.

Each one has a job as they fashion Styrofoam, colorful twisted paper ribbon and glue into strawberries and cabbages and other delectable-looking items.

Only Claire, their 10-month-old, hasn't figured out what's going on yet.

The Illers family will be among the approximately 660 exhibitors from all over the Midwest whose work will be for sale this weekend at two large crafts bazaars in Cape Girardeau.

The Illers family will be at the "Christmas at the Show Me Center" arts and crafts bazaar sponsored by the Southeast Missouri Council on the Arts.

More than 260 booths will fill the main floor and the concourse at the Show Me Center during the council's 22nd annual Christmas fund-raiser.

Across town, the River Valley Arts and Crafts Expo will be featured at the A.C. Brase Arena Building and at the Holiday Inn. It will offer some 400 crafts tables.

President Rick Werner said the expo, now in its 15th year since breaking away from the arts council event, annually draws 10,000 people.

"It's always been one of the largest (crafts shows) in the area," he said.

Free shuttle buses will move people between the two locations. Admission is free. The hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.

One exhibitor annually sells out her hand-made baskets, Werner said. Another, who seems to have taken the Illers' approach, makes pies and cakes meant for looking at, not eating. Many of the crafts have Christmas themes.

"It's the perfect place for people to start their Christmas shopping," Werner said.

Hours for Christmas at the Show Me Center will be from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Admission is $1 for adults, free for children under 18 and Southeast Missouri State University students.

There will be a free "reading room" for children ages 3 and older, and a "spouses' lounge" with a cash bar and big-screen TV tuned to sporting events.

Attendance prizes will be given away hourly.

Laura Brothers, administrative assistant for the arts council, said the two crafts shows have "somewhat of a rivalry." But she said many of the thousands of people who come to town to see the crafts intend to attend both events.

Four bus loads of people will visit the arts council show on a tour organized by the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce.

The Illers family, who live west of Cape Girardeau, were infected with paper-produce mania three years ago when Linda Illers picked up a pamphlet explaining how to make them.

Greg took the first shot and admits the early efforts weren't prize winners. His first head of cabbage took him an entire evening to complete.

Now people at crafts fairs are amazed at the life-like appearance the Illers family is able to achieve with its products. For some reason, people like to feel them.

"We even had a lady smell the fruit," Linda said.

They sell the multi-colored fruit and vegetables singly and also in groupings in baskets or as centerpieces.

"People who have bought them as shower gifts are pretty sure they won't get a duplicate," said Greg, who is a sales representative for Warner Lambert.

It's not easy work. Making 10 bunches of grapes means covering 120 tiny Styrofoam balls with purple paper.

The cabbage is still tricky, and at $6.25 is the highest-priced item offered by the Illers family.

This year, they plunged headlong into adding a complete line of fruit to their vegetable repertoire. Linda, a receptionist for a pediatrician, lately has taken to combining the paper fruits and vegetables with her antiquing finds. She adorns an antique whisk with radishes, for instance.

But their most popular products remain the bright orange carrots. Greg thinks he knows why. "It's because a lot of people have rabbit collections," he said.