MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND FEST HAS FRENCH THEME

When John James Audubon moved to Ste. Genevieve in the early 1800s, it wasn't as a naturalist. He was a merchant.

"But he had a problem," said Elizabeth Gentry Sayad. "When his partner was operating Rozier's Store at Ste. Genevieve, Audubon roamed the countryside looking for birds."

It was Audubon's undoing.

"On some occasions Rozier left young Audubon in charge of the store, only to return and find it locked up," said Sayad, who was in Cape Girardeau this week to discuss the annual La Fete Francaise, a French heritage festival to be conducted at three places along the Mississippi River: St. Louis, Ste. Genevieve and Cape Girardeau.

Sayad, a sixth-generation St. Louisan and president of Les Amis ("The Friends"), which will help sponsor the three-day festival during the Memorial Day weekend May 23, 24 and 25, said a musical story of Audubon and his business partner, Ferdinand Rozier, in early St. Genevieve will be presented at all three sites. "The musical story will be presented by the Historyonics Theatre Company," said Sayad.

"Audubon's merchant days ended when he left Ste. Genevieve and headed south toward New Orleans and Key West, Fla." Audubon later became famous for his life-sized artwork of birds.

Les Flagada Stompers of Lyon, France, also will present programs at all three sites.

"This is a well-known jazz group," said Sayad. "The group has previously appeared in the Fair of St. Louis (formerly the VIP Fair). "They do American jazz with a French twist. This group has played all over the world."

O.D. Niswonger of Cape Girardeau, president of the American Iris Society, will present a slide lecture on the history of the Fleur de Lys, symbol of French Royalty. Niswonger will share legends surrounding the Fleur de Lys, which dates back nearly 1,500 years.

He will speak at St. Louis at 3:30 p.m. the first day of the event and at Cape Girardeau at 10 a.m. the third day.

A bus tour from Cape Girardeau to St. Vincent's Seminary at Perryville will give people an opportunity to see some historic French collections, including art, furniture, rare books and manuscripts seldom seen by the public. Buses will leave at 2 p.m. on the tour from Riverfront Park at Cape Girardeau.

This marks the second year of the festival. The event defines the history of the French Corridor along the Missouri banks of the Mississippi River, said Sayad. The French Corridor loop also extended on the Illinois side of the river from Cahokia to Chester.

The La Fete Francaise celebration will start at the Old Courthouse in St. Louis at 10 a.m. May 23 for an all-day program of entertainment, lectures, tours, live theater and other attractions. a lunch break at Kiener Plaza will be served to the music of the Les Flagada Stompers.

The festival moves to Ste. Genevieve on May 24, with programs that include walking tours from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The celebration moves to Cape Girardeau May 25.

The Cape Girardeau festival will be held at two sites starting at 10 a.m. Entertainment will take place at Common Pleas Courthouse Gazebo, and lectures are scheduled at First Presbyterian Church, which adjoins the courthouse grounds.

The Rev. Louis Derbes will discuss the French origins of the Vincentian Fathers in the Mississippi Valley. The Zonon Brigade, a 20-member local re-enactor group, will discuss trapping and trades of those who lived in the area from the mid-to-late 1700s. Paul Breitenstein, a member of the Zenon River Brigade, said the group's name was derived from the Zenon River, as it was called during the days of founder Louis Lorimier. That stream today is called Hubble Creek.

A number of Cape Girardeau groups and businesses help sponsor and support the event. Union Planters Bank will have a presence at all three sites, said Sayad. "The bank is a regional sponsor."

Other sponsors include the Southeast Missouri Council of the Arts, Southeast Missouri State University, the Downtown Merchants Association and the Cape Girardeau Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Cape Girardeau businesswoman Judith Anne Lang, president of the Downtown Merchants, is coordinating the celebration here.

La Fete Francaise Schedule

Cape Girardeau schedule for May 25:

-- 10 a.m.: History of Fluer de Lys, Presbyterian Church, by O.D. Niswonger.

-- 10:30 a.m.: French origins of the Vincentian Fathers in the Mississippi Valley by the Rev. Louis Derbes of the Vincentian Fathers at the church.

-- 11:30 a.m.: Les Flagada Stompers jazz group at Common Pleas Courthouse Gazebo.

-- Noon: Arrival of Father Marquette, S.J. and Joliet by canoe.

-- 1 p.m.: Musical story on Audubon in Ste. Genevieve, Historyonics Theatre Group, at the gazebo.

-- 2 p.m.: Bus tour to Perryville for museum tour.

Sidewalk artists, dancers, musicians and traditional street performers will perform throughout the celebration.