Out of the Darkness event to be held Sunday

September is National Suicide Awareness Month, and the Cape Girardeau Out of the Darkness Walk for Suicide Prevention this weekend aims to raise both funds and awareness.

The event is in its 10th year in 2020, said co-organizer Laura Matlock-Hill.

"Normally it's a walk but this year it's not," Matlock-Hill said. "We're calling it the Out of the Darkness Experience."

In 2011, Matlock-Hill lost her brother to suicide. That ignited something in her, she said, to try to prevent this happening again.

After some online research, she had found the American Foundation for Suicide Prevetion and the community walks that organization sponsors.

"I wanted to find one in my area, but I didn't, so I started it," she said.

The first year, she figured on maybe 50 people participating, and 150 people showed up, and the event has grown every year since, she said.

"That's good, but also puts a perspective on this, that so many people have dealt with this," Matlock-Hill said.

The past couple of years, Amber Stepp has taken the planning over, Matlock-Hill said.

Last year, more than 800 registered participants were involved, she said.

All told, the event has brought in more than $200,000 for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

"There is still such a stigma when it comes to suicide," Matlock-Hill said. "I feel these events really shed a light on that, and help people realize that this is a major problem. It's so important to get the word out so people realize this is a problem, and that there are resources. People can ask for help."

Every year, the goal is to raise awareness, she added. "Funds are important too, but mainly, it's about awareness."

Half of the event's proceeds will go toward national-level research and education, Matlock-Hill said, and the other half is for local programs aimed at prevention and providing resources.

"Here in Cape, we don't have a lot of programs," she noted. That means what resources are available have waiting lists, and that can be frustrating for people seeking help.

Construction on Southeast Behavioral Health Hospital began in late 2019, and that will be beneficial, Matlock-Hill said, but in the meantime, it's important to help get the word out about suicide prevention resources that are available.

This year's fundraising goal is $35,000, according to a Facebook post, and this will help bring more education, healing, awareness and advocacy efforts to the region.

Participants can register online to be in the virtual walk, and volunteers will be in Cape County Park South to hand out AFSP resource supplies, online auction items, take donations and sell items. The park will be a drive-up event -- no need for participants to exit their vehicles.

The planned event schedule for Sunday's event is:

• 10 a.m. Event and sponsor announcement
• 12:30 p.m. Opening ceremony
• 1:15 p.m. Speaker
• 1:50 p.m. Closing ceremony and announcements

Register: www.afsp.org/capegirardeau

Note: The virtual walk is online, but an in-person event will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday at Cape County Park South in Cape Girardeau. Due to road construction in the area, the park entrance is accessible via a short stretch of Highway 61. A map is at www.modot.org/center-junction-ddi

Touch a Truck

The Cape Girardeau Parks and Recreation Department will host Touch-A-Truck from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at the Shawnee Park Sports Complex at 1157 S. West End Boulevard in Cape Girardeau.

Touch-A-Truck allows children and adults to discover and learn about different vehicles. Fire trucks, police cars, a boat, a semi-truck, construction vehicles, box trucks, an ambulance, buses, military vehicles and a helicopter are just a few of the many vehicles available to explore.

All ages are welcome for this free event. Food trucks will be on site with food and beverages

available to purchase. There will also be door prizes.

More info: Tessa Bollinger, (573) 339-6736 or tbollinger@cityofcape.org

Saxon Fall Festival canceled

The Fall Festival, originally set for Oct. 10, is cancelled.

The Saxon Lutheran Memorial is in Altenburg, Missouri, and includes log cabins and other historically significant structures important to the early history of the region.

Tickets on sale for '9 to 5'

Three unlikely friends will take control of their circumstances in surprising ways while working in a man's world when "9 to 5: The Musical" hits the stage at Southeast Missouri State University's River Campus.

Live performances are set for 7:30 p.m. Sept. 30 through Oct. 3 and 2 p.m. Oct. 4 in Bedell Performance Hall as part of Top of the Marq and Commerce Bank Theatre and Dance Series. Face coverings will be required, and social distancing guidelines will be in place. Due to capacity limits, patrons are encouraged to reserve their seats early.

Kenn Stilson, director of the show and chair of The Jeanine Larson Dobbins Conservatory of Theatre and Dance, called the musical comedy a "feminist piece celebrating the intelligence and creativity and the power of women."

With music and lyrics by Dolly Parton and a book by Patricia Resnick, "9 to 5: The Musical" is based on the seminal 1980 film and set in the late 1970s.

Tickets: River Campus Box Office at 518 S. Fountain St. in Cape Girardeau, (573) 651-2265, www.rivercampus.org.