Fall festivals in Cape, Frohna attract crowds

Festivals from Frohna, Mo., to downtown Cape Girardeau were attended by people out to enjoy fall, celebrate neighborhoods and remember their forefathers.

The 28th annual Saxon Lutheran Memorial fall festival, held Saturday in Frohna, had activities from log splitting to rope making to preparing food in old-fashioned kettles.

The cabins at Saxon Lutheran Memorial commemorate the establishment of the East Perry County community by Saxon Lutheran immigrants from Germany in 1839. Many volunteers were dressed in period costume.

Anna Krauss of Perryville, Mo., who comes to the fall festival every year, said curator Lynda Lorenz "has really done a lot. She's brought in more things and really made this place come alive."

New activities this year included a straw-bale maze for children and the making of sorghum molasses from sorghum grown on the property.

Black Forest Villages

In Cape Girardeau County, Black Forest Villages celebrated its 18th annual fall festival with traditional crafts of basket weaving, furniture making, wood carving and leather making.

Owner Greg Macke said he tried to create a festival with German flavor early on but switched to the harvest theme after about four years.

Black Forest buildings were built in the 1960s by a construction contractor, the late Burton Gerhardt. Macke said Gerhardt created his own town for his own enjoyment.

In the 18 years the festival has been held, Macke said, crafters and artisans have returned faithfully each year.

"We've known them so long they're like family," said Macke, who opens his home to the crafters he's known for years.

However, in recent years he's had to find new artisans due to the deaths of those in the original group.

"I always like to put an emphasis on demonstrations," he said.

A 300-bale straw maze that children wandered through will be used in the haunted ghost town starting Oct. 17.

Black Forest Villages' fall fesival continues today.

Block party

The fourth annual fall festival and block party in downtown Cape Girardeau was celebrated by those who live and work between Spanish and Sprigg streets and North and Independence streets, and people involved in or interested in the community group Neighborhood Connections.

The festival, held on the grounds of May Greene Garden and on a block of North Fountain Street, was "steadily attended," according to Joan Jones, public relations chairwoman of the event.

Musicians participated in an open mic performance, firetrucks and police stopped by and neighboring restaurants donated food.

Marian Green comes to the monthly Neighborhood Connections meetings because she wants to see the center of town remain strong and viable for families. She hopes that Neighborhood Connections will help renters gain a voice and get to know each other.

The Rev. Bob Towner, a founding member of the group, said many single-family residences subdivided into four to six apartments are not well cared for. Towner would like to find out who owns the properties so that landlords who are absent can become involved in the group along with residents and business owners.

"The ideal situation is for them to all talk. We have had this happen before and would like it to happen again," he said.

cpagano@semissourian.com

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Want to go?

What: Black Forest Villages' 18th annual fall festival

When: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. today

Where: Four miles north of Cape Girardeau on County Road 638