LE FETE FRANCAISE PRESENTS SPEAKERS, ACTIVITIES

The French will rule during Monday's Le Fete Francaise Festival in Cape Girardeau.

The French Heritage Festival will be headquartered at the Common Pleas Courthouse, off of Lorimier Street. The free festival will run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Judith Ann Lang, event coordinator, invites families to participate in this day of history and song. She encourages people to bring lawn chairs and blankets for a picnic atmosphere.

Congressman Jo Ann Emerson will be on hand to introduce the Les Flagada Stompers, a Dixieland band from Lyons, France, at noon.

Most activities will be centered at the Gazebo on the courthouse lawns. Lectures will be held at the nearby First Presbyterian Church. A French flag will designate the church entrance. The day will begin with a lecture at 10 a.m. on the "History of the Fleur de Lys," the symbol of the French royals.

David Niswonger, president of the American Iris Society, will lead the discussion and slide show at the church.

At 10:30 a.m., Father Louis Derbes of the Vincentian Fathers in Perryville will discuss the "French Origins of the Vincentian Fathers in the Mississippi Valley." The Vincentians founded the former seminaries in Cape Girardeau and Perryville. This, too, will be at the church.

French tunes will play outside, and visitors can purchase French pastries from My Daddy's Cheesecake or a box lunch of red beans and rice from Jeremiah's. Flowers also will be on sales.

French students from Cape Girardeau Central High School will serve as volunteer hosts and hostesses, and many will be speaking French. In the Wine Cellar, a downtown business, visitors will have an opportunity to taste French wine.

At 11:15 a.m., members of a local re-enactor group called the Zenon River Brigade will provide a narrative of the French influences of the region. The site manager from Fort de Chartres at Prairie Du Rocher, Ill., will also speak. The fort served as the seat of government for French holdings and was built between 1753 and 1756. All members will be dressed in authentic period costumes.

At noon, the Les Flagada Stompers will take the stage at the Gazebo. The seven-member group performs traditional Dixieland jazz with a unique French twist.

The Historyonics Theatre Company from St. Louis will perform at 1 p.m. at the Gazebo. The troupe will transport audiences back to the days of early Ste. Genevieve and the life of naturalist John James Audubon.

A bus tour will then depart to St. Mary's of the Barrens in Perryville to view the extensive French collections. Advanced reservations are required for the free tour by calling 1-800-777-0068.

Financial assistance for the festival has been provided by the Missouri Arts Council, the Missouri Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Arts.