Downtown Christmas Open House concludes with Grinch at Catapult

Smiles from children visiting �The Grinch� at Catapult Creative House in Cape Girardeau created a glow on a cloudy and cold Saturday morning as day two of the Downtown Christmas Open House began.

Catapult operations manager Leah Powers was disguised as the Grinch atop Dr. Seuss� fictitious Whoville, celebrating �Grinchmas.�

By about 11 a.m., she wasn�t sure how many families had made their way through the venue for photos with her as The Grinch.

�9:45 was our first family, so it�s been steady since then,� she said.

Powers said this is the second year Catapult has been part of the annual Downtown Christmas Open House.

TYLER GRAEF ~ tgraef@semissourian.com Scarlett Rusher, 3, dressed as Cindy Loo-Hoo, high-fives Leah Powers as the Grinch at Catapult Creative House Saturday, Dec. 8, 2018.

Friday night, Powers said Catapult was part of First Friday with the Arts Council, along with offering a pop-up shop, featuring items made by Southeast Missouri State University students and alumni. Catapult also was offering live printing and had three gallery exhibitions.

�It was busy in a different way last night,� she said.

Powers estimated around 150 attendees who made their way to Catapult for activities Friday night, and was expecting the same or more by 4 p.m. Saturday.

�It�s just a fun experience,� she said. �The students helped with decorating and they of course make the product and work the event.�

Old Town Cape Inc. events coordinator Emily Vines said Friday night went really well, as she was directing visitors to �Whoville� for photos with The Grinch.

�It was very crowded downtown,� she said, describing the foot traffic as being shoulder-to-shoulder.

Vines said she received a lot of positive feedback from downtown businesses, stressing Friday night was �good for downtown.�

And Saturday is important, too, she said, because of the events being offered for those who were unable to attend Friday.

�A lot of parents work late, people have other obligations on Friday, so Saturday offers another picture opportunity for kids,� Vines said. �You don�t want to disappoint anyone by saying, �If you can�t get a picture with Santa, you can�t get a picture at all.��

Also, with a lot of the action located on Main, Spanish and Water streets Friday, she said, there were still businesses that were participating on Broadway during day two.

�Saturday gives us the opportunity to highlight those businesses,� she said.

By midmorning Saturday, Vines estimated at least 600 people participated Friday night, judging from what was left from the 800 entries for the $500 shopping spree ticket packets she took to Art Van Furniture in Cape Girardeau. She said the packets were �almost all gone.�

Johana Layton of Jackson was in attendance Saturday with her nieces, Cierra and Allie.

�We�re here for something new, because they�ve never been before,� she said. �We wanted to get out of the house and do some Christmas activities.�

jhartwig@semissourian.com

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