JULY 4TH: THE SOUND AND THE FLURRY OF ACTIVITIES

Close your eyes and imagine the sounds of Independence Day: the rumble of bass drums, the sharp pop of firecrackers, the ping of an aluminum baseball bat on a fastball, the somber tones of a political speech and the whisper of paper fans.

Add to that the whine of an electric guitar and the rasp of a snare drum.

Now open your eyes and take a look at this year's Old Fashioned Fourth of July Community Picnic at Arena and Capaha parks. With two rock 'n' roll concerts, fireworks, an American Legion baseball game, a parade, Congresswoman Jo Ann Emerson and a performance by the Compton Heights Concert Band, this Independence Day should have enough noise to fill 10 holidays.

The picnic resurrects a community wide celebration that was discontinued in 1989.

"I recall what used to transpire on the Fourth of July when I was growing up and there was always a picnic," says Rodger Brown, committee chairman for the community picnic. "I'm trying, I suppose, to bring that back."

The picnic is free to the public and is sponsored by VFW Post 3838. Brown said as long as support stays strong, Brown says, the picnic will be a yearly activity.

Friday's musical lineup kicks off at 2 p.m. at the Arena Park Grandstand with Cape Girardeau alternative-rock band Papa Aborigine taking the stage. Last year, Papa Aborigine became the first local band to perform at the Show Me Center. The group opened for Eddie Money and Kansas last July.

The band consists of Billy Keys, Keller Ford, Chris Ford and Alex Allen, all of Cape Girardeau. Keys said the band's latest concert performance was a showcase with 200 other bands in April in Memphis, Tenn.

"We've been trying to get out of town a little bit and play here and there," Keys said, adding that the showcase was a good chance for the group to make some contacts.

Since April, Papa Aborigine hasn't been performing as much as fine-tuning some new songs. Keys said the picnic concert will be a good opportunity to give hometown fans a chance to hear the new work.

"Playing in town's great," Keys said. "Everybody knows you, you're playing in front of friends and family. We look forward to this thing."

A Kansas City band, House of One, follows Papa Aborigine to the stage at 3 p.m. House of One is an alternative-rock band that plays original music.

Lead singer Don Crosby said House of One is fun. "We're a fun band. We have fun playing and interacting with the audience," he said.

House of One will be playing a selection of songs off its new compact disc due out later this month. Crosby said the CD offers ballads laced with some heavier rock tunes. "Our music is very diverse," he said. "It covers quite a spectrum of current styling within the alternative mode."

While change is good, Independence Day is a celebration of the past. Bringing the past to Arena Park will be Compton Heights Concert Band directed by Dr. Gregory C. Fox. Compton Heights is making its fourth trip to Cape Girardeau for July 4th celebrations and will take the stage at 7 p.m.

Beverly Strohmeyer, Arts Council of Southeast Missouri executive director, said the 50-member band plays "old-fashioned concert, patriotic music."

Strohmeyer said the brass and percussion band travels with its own stage and shell. When it performs its rendition of "The 1812 Overture," the sound booms between the shell and the concrete grandstand.

Compton Heights will feature baritone Robert Ellison, who has performed in Cape Girardeau with the band for two or three years, Strohmeyer said.

Harry Swanger, executive director and founder of Compton Heights, said his band members love coming to Cape Girardeau for the Fourth. This year, Swanger said the band will unleash a few songs they don't usually play.

Compton Heights will add "The Ballad of the Green Berets," and a Morton Gould composition called "American Salute" that is an adaptation of "When Johnny Comes Marching Home."

Swanger said those songs will bolster Compton Heights' already patriotic-laden repertoire. He added that Compton Heights, which was formed in 1976, is a slice of American history in itself.

"The American concert band is a unique art form," Swanger said. "The instrumentation of reeds, brasses and percussion was created here in America."

Compton Heights will feature a patriotic sing-along and the "Armed Forces Salute," which is a compilation of each service song. "That is quite moving," Swanger said. "It really gets the audience going and creates a terrific mood."

Swanger said Compton Heights will conclude its presentation and the Community Picnic's Friday activities with the "1812 Overture."

"Last year we had a very good, enthusiastic crowd," he said. "Our show is a nice prelude to fireworks to close out the Fourth."