Rain plan keeps downtown's River City Music Festival rocking

Soft guitar music continued to be heard Saturday afternoon despite the sounds of a soaking rainstorm along Water Street in downtown Cape Girardeau.

One organizer of the River City Music Festival, Mitch Davis, said the staff and volunteers were well prepared in case of wet weather.

"We had a rain plan all along," said Davis as he surveyed a small number of people beginning to trickle around the corner near Ragsdale's Pub.

Two events and a few performances had to be moved inside between 4 and 6 p.m.

James Samons, who organized the 30-plus performers for the two-day event, said moving the band Scene of Irony into Ragsdale's Pub from the outdoor stage on Broadway worked out perfectly. Earlier in the evening, a speech and debate contest was also moved indoors, as well as the Rock and Roll Fashion Show put on by Style Stop of Jackson. The fashion show was moved to the upstairs stage at Port Cape.

Chief event organizer Mary Ramsey said Saturday the staff and volunteers had to fasten tent sides for vendors and throw out sandbags but that everything seemed to be turning out well once the rain had stopped.

Friday's weather worked out well for festival-goers, and Samons said the festival entertained a good family crowd with mainly acoustic band performances earlier in the evening. Later in the night the crowd's favorite, Fat Pocket, was allowed to play 20 minutes over its scheduled time because people were dancing and really into the show.

Organizers hoped for a good crowd Saturday but expected it later because of the rain.

"People that would usually show up at 5 or 6 probably won't show up until 8 or 9," Samons said.

"It takes longer for people to get out, but we will start having a normal crowd soon. We have great bands at all the stages, and there are none to miss."

Pam Barrath, a volunteer for the festival and student at Southeast Missouri State University, said she has seen larger crowds at the festival in the past.

Barrath said the smaller crowd may be the result of too many changes in the festival this year.

"The local bands always bring the most people," she said," and there are quite a few bands this year that maybe as many people haven't heard of," so fewer people might be expected to come.

Samons said performers like Reggae Redemption, from Illinois but whose sound came from Jamaica, were sure to be a good performance for the festival.

The festival's featured artist, The Backsliders, are also visitors to Cape Girardeau. They are from Dallas.