MERCHANTS OFFER NEW HOLIDAY ORNAMENT

Thanksgiving is just 22 days away, and the weekend after Thanksgiving marks the start of the big rush toward Christmas and the annual Christmas Lights Parade.

Actually, there are just 50 shopping days until Christmas -- including today. Some Christmas merchandise is already making its appearance on retailers' shelves.

One of the items already on downtown shelves is a special holiday ornament, the first in a series of Christmas ornaments featuring Cape Girardeau.

The new, hand-painted ornament of Common Pleas Courthouse and clock is not so much Christmas as a decorative ornament.

They are great souvenir gifts of Cape Girardeau, said Judith Ventrella, owner of Judith Anne's gift shop and vice president of the Downtown Merchants Association, which is sponsoring the limited edition ornaments.

The custom ornaments were suggested because so many people look for something about Cape Girardeau, Ventrella said.

Proceeds from the ornaments will help the merchants with the annual Downtown Christmas Parade, downtown decorations and other services.

The courthouse and clock issue will be the first in a series of numbered ornaments, said Ventrella.

"We'll be looking for other ideas," Ventrella told a recent gathering at the Downtown Merchants meeting. "Anything that depicts Cape Girardeau is what we're looking for. We want to offer something new and unique every year."

The ornaments were designed by a company that creates custom ornaments for a number of different cities and regions. No more than 600 of the ornaments will be available.

"I think the ornament idea is great," said Dennis "Doc" Cain, owner of Port Cape Girardeau and chairman of the Downtown Merchants' annual Christmas of Lights Parade. "The ornaments are selling, and people are already looking to next year's design."

Cain is expecting another big year for the fourth annual Christmas parade. "This could be our biggest parade ever," said Cain. "We already have 50 entries and are hoping for double that amount."

The parade starts lining up at Capaha Park Dec. 1 at 3 p.m.

The parade has created a lot of interest over the past three years, said Cain. "We've had crowds of 5,000 to 6,000 people."

The 1993 parade was the first Christmas parade in about 30 years.

The Downtown Merchants will have two floats this year: the traditional Santa Claus Christmas Train that leads the parade and a paddlewheel boat, also featuring Santa, which will close the parade.

A Christmas train also will visit downtown Cape Girardeau next month. The Burlington Northern Christmas Train, adorned with more than 20,000 lights, will appear here at 9 p.m. Dec. 11.

"The train is decorated by the company's employees," said Cain. The appearance also features a special Christmas theme show.