OPENING NEAR FOR STE. GENEVIEVE MARINA

STE. GENEVIEVE Marina de Gabouri, a 52-acre full-service marina facility at the mouth of South Gabouri Creek along the Mississippi River at Ste. Genevieve, will hold its grand opening next month.

"The new marina is designed to provide service for all sizes of boat traffic," said Jerry Boshert, a Missouri Extension Council member who is assisting with plans for the Oct. 4 grand opening. "The facility presents a park-like setting on the west bank of the Mississippi River just south of town."

The marina will offer boaters year-round, full-service docks, state-of-the-art covered floating slips, 200 private docks, repairs and parking spaces, and 24-hour security.

"Food services, a laundry room, lockers and shower facilities will be available," said Boshert. "All we're waiting on now is the completion of a bridge that crosses a railroad track. Crews will be working on the decking for that bridge next week."

The new marina is a project of the Missouri Department of Conservation and a non-profit group called Marina de Gaboauri.

"This project has been in the planning for about five years," said Bill Beckerman, one of the developers. "We have excavated a long, slack-water harbor about 15 acres off the Mississippi River."

The facility will feature a free boat-launching ramp and 2.5 acres of public parking.

"The Conservation Department is providing funds of up to $500,000 for the launching ramp and public parking," said Boshert.

A private yacht club is also included in future plans. "We hope to attract pleasure craft from the St. Louis area," said Beckerman.

The Oct. 4 grand opening will provide an opportunity for the public to see the facilities, said Boshert.

"We have made arrangements for a riverboat, the `Huck Finn,' to be on hand for cruises during the day," said Boshert. "We're looking at four cruises during the day, at 11 a.m., 1:30, 4 and 6:30 p.m."

Tickets for the cruises are available at several locations in Ste. Genevieve and Bloomsdale.

The dedication ceremony is scheduled at 12:30 p.m., said Boshert. "We'll have a ribbon-cutting, color guard by the Boy Scouts, a christening of the ramp, remarks by a speaker to be announced later."

Dixieland and jazz music will be provided throughout the day.

"Hopefully the marina will put Ste. Genevieve back on the river," said Beckerman.

Ste. Genevieve was the first settlement on the west bank of the Mississippi River, founded by the French more than 250 years ago, about 1735. The town still has the largest and best-preserved collection of French Colonial buildings in the U.S.