Old Town Cape to kick off Christmas season with SEMO basketball, Shop Small Holiday Market

Redhawks Athletics and Old Town Cape are joining forces this Christmas season. The result: a fun night of basketball and some great holiday deals supporting downtown Cape Girardeau.

The Shop Small Holiday Market featuring downtown businesses and Cape Riverfront Market vendors will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 22 at the Show Me Center in conjunction with the SEMO men's basketball game.

Come shop local and shop small for holiday gifts before the Redhawks take on the William Woods Owls. The market will be open at 5:30 p.m. and at the halftime break.

Vendors will sell local holiday gifts. Holiday ornaments and other Old Town Cape merchandise can be purchased at their welcome booth where visitors can learn more about the organization.

Local musician Logan Chapman will perform a pregame show on the upper concourse.

Tipoff for the game is at 6:30 p.m.

Old Town Cape executive director Liz Haynes said any time the two organizations have the opportunity to work together it is a win for the entire community.

"Old Town Cape is thrilled to partner with SEMO Athletics on this inaugural event featuring downtown businesses and well-loved Cape Riverfront Market vendors as well a performance by Logan Chapman," Haynes said. "In addition to all of this, attendees can enjoy a SEMO men's basketball game. SEMO is one of Old Town Cape's strongest community partners, and we are so grateful for the incredible impact the university continues to have on our downtown district and our local economy as a whole."

Nate Saverino, SEMO's senior associate director of athletics for external affairs, said the university is excited about the partnership this holiday season.

"Southeast Missouri State University is proud to be a part of the downtown Cape Girardeau community, and we think this is a great opportunity to showcase some of our local merchants at a SEMO basketball game," Saverino said.

To purchase tickets for the SEMO Men's Basketball game on Thursday, Nov. 22, go to fevo.me/shopsmallsemo. By using this link, a portion of proceeds from ticket purchases will benefit Old Town Cape.

Old Town Cape will celebrate the holidays in downtown Cape Girardeau this year with several other events.

On Friday, Nov. 25, the day after Thanksgiving, Santa and Mrs. Claus will be arrive to help light the 30-foot Christmas tree in the Vasterling Suites courtyard. Food trucks and s'more stations will begin at 5 p.m. An ensemble and carolers will play and sing at 5:45 p.m. And the tree lighting will take place at 6:20 p.m.

On Sunday, Nov. 27, the 30th annual Parade of lights will roll through downtown Cape Girardeau with the theme: "A Very Merry Grinchmas."

The parade, which starts at dusk, begins at the intersection of Broadway and West End Boulevard (Capaha Park entrance), marches down Broadway then onto Main Street ending at the Hutson's Big Sandy Furniture parking lot. Applications are now being accepted. The parade will be limited to the first 100 entries.

The Downtown Holiday Open House, on Friday, Dec. 2, a family-friendly event that includes pictures with Santa in the Vasterling Suites courtyard, children's activities in Santa's Workshop, and horse-drawn carriage rides on Spanish Street. Participating businesses will be decorated and waiting with holiday merchandise, in-store deals and special events!

The Holiday Bazaar will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 3, on Frederick Street between Broadway and Themis. This event will feature vendors offering locally grown, handcrafted and homemade products such as winter produce, baked goods, artisan crafts, and First Missouri State Bank will be on site with a hot chocolate bar. The Grinch will be available for professional photos by Luxe Magnolia Photography.

Old Town Cape encourages the community to shop first at any of Cape Girardeau's local downtown businesses. For items that can't be found at local businesses, shoppers are encouraged to consider using Amazon Smile and to select Old Town Cape as the beneficiary. Doing so supports Cape Girardeau's downtown revitalization efforts!

Old Town Cape also has an Amazon Wish List! The items listed are needed in order to facilitate the free events Old Town Cape hosts for the community throughout the year! Many of the items are needed for the upcoming holiday events in our downtown.

Old Town Cape volunteer committees work to achieve areas of revitalization such as economic vitality, design, promotion and organization. In 2021, these committees clocked in 2,022 volunteer hours. With their help 24 new businesses opened, generating 112 new jobs bringing in over $18 million in public and private investment.

Visit downtowncapegirardeau.com for more information about Old Town Cape events.