BIG STORM CLOSES RIVERFEST EARLY

Early Friday evening, Jerra Huston was saying that preparations for Riverfest have never gone as smoothly as they have this year.

"We're wondering what's going to go wrong," the Riverfest board president said.

Before 9 p.m., the lightning of an approaching storm cell purported to carry 65 mph wind gusts was flickering in the skies above Riverfest. Riverfest organizers shut the bands down and patrons began heading for their cars.

Police were confronted with handling a spurt of traffic on the routes out of downtown but said no major jams ensued.

By 9:15, rain was coming down steadily, and the first night of Riverfest was over. By 9:25 the rain was torrential.

A power outage was reported at Neely's Landing.

Dean Field, the festival's director of general services, said one tent may have blown over but most everything was secured by the time the storm hit.

"We had a good head start," Field said.

The storm vanished as quickly as it arrived, but by then an estimated 90 percent of the patrons had left, Field said.

A severe thunderstorm shut down the first night of Riverfest last year as well.

Before the storm hit Friday, the crowd at the 1998 Riverfest was encountering a different festival from past years. The main difference was the lack of dead spots on the grounds.

Where past festivals focused the major entertainment on the stage at the foot of the Common Pleas Courthouse steps, this Riverfest has five smaller stages positioned around the downtown area offering 20 different bands -- from blues to bluegrass, rock to reggae.

In an attempt to consolidate the festival downtown, the crafts were eliminated from the Common Pleas Courthouse lawn and the number of craft booths was limited. They have been replaced with music, gymnastics demonstrations, a classic car show and a game called the Bungee Run, among other things.

"It really is a different atmosphere," said Judith Ann Lang, president of the Downtown Merchants Association.

"This makes more people happy," said Dionne Hoffmeister, who was working with her daughter Ashley in the Riverfest information booth.

Standing at the booth is a large sign with a complete listing of the performance schedule and a map of the grounds.

One of the stages is the Family Stage, now located below the courthouse. North on Spanish, where a beer garden was located in previous years, are kids games and pony rides.

"This is fantastic. I like the way they have changed the grounds. It makes it more of a family event," said Calvin Bird. Bird is a member of the Under the Influence, one of the groups entertaining at the Family Stage.

At Riverfest 1998, you can bombard a friend with water balloons, learn how to avoid consumer scams and test your marksmanship on a computerized A-1 rifle used by the National Guard.

Terry Nichols, consumer education coordinator for the Missouri attorney general's office, and University of Missouri law student-intern Darick Hemphill are handing out information meant to help protect consumers against fraud.

No, these aren't your tax dollars at work.

"When we sue for fraud, they pay restitution and pay into an educational fund," Nichols said. "The bad guys are paying for this."

Wilma Wilcoxson of Jackson is handing out free ice water and religious tracts on behalf of the SEMO Son Riders, who are affiliated with Christian Motorcyclists Association.

Riding a motorcycle helps spread the word about Christ, she said.

"We reach people a lot can't because we go to secular rallies."

Linda Royce, who has come to every Riverfest since moving to Cape Girardeau in 1983, is willing to give the new design a chance.

"What I miss are the working crafts," she said. "Oh well. They can't have everything."

In another new Riverfest wrinkle, three restaurants -- Jermiah's, Port Cape and Papa Bear's -- have their own stages and seating for customers.

Jerra Hutson, a member of the Riverfest Association, said positioning the stages around the downtown wouldn't have been possible without the cooperation of the merchants. "We didn't have accessible power on Main Street," she said.

Hutson said the feedback so far on the new design has been positive. "People notice there's a difference.

"Wherever you go on the grounds, you can be entertained," Hutson said.

The two-day festival continues today, beginning at 11 a.m.