Celebration to feature wide range of music

Saturday the Southeast Missourian Centennial Celebration will offer hours of entertainment ranging from Sousa-style march music, Creole sounds, a 13-year-old bluegrass prodigy, and magic to the wisdom of Mark Twain.

Hometown musical hero Jerry Ford will open the day with his brass band, providing music for the opening processional and throughout the day. The seven-piece band will play in the march style of John Philip Sousa and will be dressed in the old-time fashion of turn-of-the-century municipal bands.

"This will be a little something different," said Ford. "It will be like the old-time concerts for families in the park."

Ford's band will be joined by the traditional bluegrass sounds of The Ezell Family and by Alex Riffle and his Band; the Creole/Cajun/Zydeco music of Dennis Stroughmatt and Creole Stomp; the Southeast Missouri State University Faculty Brass Quintet, Chamber Winds and Jazz Ensemble; and the magic of Bill Coomer.

The entertainment will be presented on stages set up on Broadway, at the Common Pleas Courthouse gazebo and in a large tent in the parking lot behind the Southeast Missourian building.

Performers will play on the stages at different times throughout the day, giving visitors a chance to catch each act. The repertoire will include music from the beginning of the 20th century to the bluegrass of the 1930s and 1940s.

The entertainment begins after the opening procession to take place on Broadway from 10 a.m. to 10:20 a.m.

"The groups invited to play at the centennial party were selected according to musical quality and historic authenticity," said Southeast Missourian publisher and co-president Jon Rust. "Place yourself in Cape Girardeau during the early part of the 1900s and you would hear sounds similar to these accomplished performers -- who are at the peak of their profession today."

The Ezells are a regional bluegrass act who play traditional bluegrass, country and folk tunes. The band boasts singer Marge Ezell, three-time winner of Midwest Vocalist of the Year with the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music.

Alex Riffle is a 13-year-old bluegrass banjo player who fronts his own band, has already played in Branson and Nashville and has his own CD, "Pickin' Toward Perfection."

Dennis Stroughmatt and Creole Stomp is a national touring Creole/Cajun/Zydeco group. The band honors the French heritage in Missouri and Cape Girardeau in particular with its French-infused New World sound. Band leader Stroughmatt is originally from Southern Illinois, attended Southeast Missouri State University and has lived with the French Creole population in Old Mines, Mo.

The university ensembles -- brass, wind and percussion and jazz -- will play turn-of-the-century music with brass instruments.

Throughout the day Bill Coomer will perform his magic tricks, some of which employ the Southeast Missourian newspaper. Coomer, who has been a magician in Cape Girardeau for 57 years, likes to tear up copies of the newspaper, reassembling them before the viewer's eyes.

He will also roam around the celebration performing street magic.

Entertainment will also be provided by Jack Beahan III, a Mark Twain impersonator who will talk about history through Twain's eyes.

Between these entertainment options, 100 people in period costumes, street theater, special games and other events, the centennial celebration will be a great party for the entire family, Jon Rust said, and a fitting tribute to 100 years of newspaper history.

msanders@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 182

Centennial schedule

Schedule of entertainment (featured performers on stages only):

* Broadway:

Opening procession -- 10 to 10:10 a.m.

Alex Riffle Band -- 10:30 to 11 a.m.

Jerry Ford Band -- 11 to 11:30 a.m.

Bill Coomer -- 11:20 to 11:30 a.m.

Alex Riffle Band -- 11:30 a.m. to noon

Jerry Ford Band -- noon to 12:50 p.m.

Jack Beahan III -- 12:50 to 1 p.m.

Alex Riffle Band -- 1 to 1:30 p.m.

Bill Coomer -- 1:30 to 2 p.m.

Jerry Ford Band -- 2 to 2:30 p.m.

Alex Riffle Band -- 2:30 to 3 p.m.

Bill Coomer -- 3 to 3:30 p.m.

* Gazebo:

Opening Ceremony -- 10:20 to 10:50 a.m.

Jerry Ford Band -- 10:50 to 11 a.m.

Dennis Stroughmatt and Creole Stomp -- 11 to 11:50 a.m.

The Ezells -- 12:10 to 12:40 p.m.

Dennis Stroughmatt and Creole Stomp -- 1:10 to 2 p.m.

The Ezells -- 2:20 to 2:50 p.m.

Dennis Stroughmatt and Creole Stomp -- 2:50 to 3:40 p.m.

Jerry Ford Band -- 3:40 to 3:50 p.m.

Closing ceremony -- 3:50 to 4 p.m.

* Tent:

Southeast Brass Ensemble -- 10:30 to 11:10 a.m.

Bill Coomer -- 11:10 to 11:20 a.m.

The Ezells -- 11:20 to 11:50 a.m.

Jack Beahan III -- 11:50 a.m. to 12:10 p.m.

Alex Riffle Band -- 12:10 to 12:40 p.m.

Jack Beahan III -- 12:50 to 1 p.m.

Jerry Ford Band -- 1 to 1:30 p.m.

Southeast Jazz Ensemble -- 1:30 to 2:30 p.m.

Jack Beahan III -- 2:20 to 2:50 p.m.

Southeast Wind Ensemble -- 2:40 to 3:30 p.m.