CVB EYES CIRCUS AND RIVERFEST

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus will return to Cape Girardeau, Show Me Center Director David Ross said Wednesday.

"And, it certainly won't be another 30 years before they return," said Ross during the monthly meeting of the Cape Girardeau Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) Advisory Board. "Circus officials were well pleased with the turnout they had here."

Ross, who is director of the Show Me Center on Southeast Missouri State University campus,

The circus presented four shows in two days at the Show Me Center.

In addition to serving as the center's director, Ross serves on the CVB advisory board.

"We had good turnouts considering the show was held here during weekdays Tuesday and Wednesday," said Ross. "We had total attendance of 18,243. That was about 3,000 more than circus officials were expecting. They were pleased."

Other subjects discussed by the board, which met Wednesday at City Hall, included brief comments on Riverfest, future conventions to be held at Cape Girardeau, tourism inquiries, and a new discount coupon program for Cape County attractions.

Ross told the board that the Missouri Foresters Products Co. would return to the Show Me Center in 1992.

"We had attendance of between 8,000 and 9,000 at their last conference and show here, and company officials have notified us they will return for a weeklong show in September of 1992," said Ross.

Laurel Adkisson of the CVB also reported on a group which will be in Cape Girardeau in 1992.

"The Missouri Square Dance group will hold its state meeting here in October of 1992," said Adkisson. "This will include more than 1,500 square dancers."

An Atlanta group, comprising about 45 tourism escorts and leaders, visited Cape Girardeau in early June, investigating the area as a future stopover and overnight spot.

"They were impressed with the area," said Lyn Muzzy, director of the CVB. "They had dinner on the steam train, stayed overnight here, and had breakfast at the Glenn House."

Another group will visit the area in September, said Muzzy.

He added that tourism inquiries continued to come into the CVB office.

"Tourism inquiries through June 19 are 1,514," he said. "This is up over 1990, when we had only 1,700 inquiries throughout the entire year."

The CVB has joined the Missouri Division of Tourism with a radio advertising campaign.

"A Riverfest advertising spot ran on 146 stations in Missouri, Iowa and Illinois," said Muzzy. "Other radio advertising has promoted the steam train and the Cape Shrine Club Rodeo.

The CVB has been busy with promotions and city tours.

"We provided step-on guide service at two of the shuttle bus stops during Riverfest, and were represented at the information booth at the celebration, handing out the discount coupon pages," said Cathy Crites of the CVB.

The new coupon page provides discount coupons for a number of county attractions, including skating at Plaza Galleria, tours at the Glenn House and Oliver House, St. Louis Iron Mountain & Southern Railway Company rides and other attractions.

Crites added that May was an exceptionally busy month for giving city tours.

"We had 19 city tours with step-on guide service," she said. "That represented 794 people. We have 15 tour groups on the June calendar, for approximately 600 people."