Revivify and relax!

Old Town Cape executive director Liz Haynes said the key word for 2020 is innovate.

Liz Haynes

That's exactly what organizers for the annual Old Town Cape fundraiser are doing by holding Revivify, a multi-faceted fundraiser to benefit OTC's revitalization efforts in downtown Cape Girardeau, set to happen between 4 and 9 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 22.

The fundraiser can be attended in person at Century Casino Cape Girardeau or online from the comfort of attendees' own homes, Haynes said.

"We still had to raise the money to continue doing what we do," Haynes said.

If people are comfortable attending in person, Haynes said, the event at Century Casino will be free to attend, and social distancing and masks will be required. It will be an open house style event, with raffles and live music, as well as scheduled entertainment, she said.

The event website at www.downtowncapegirardeau.com/revivify has more details, including the app, Auctria, which will handle the event's auction, Haynes said.

Even in-person attendees will use the app to bid, she said.

Prior to the event, beginning Oct. 19, Haynes said, the silent auction opens so bidders can chime in for four days total.

The event's livestream will have testimonials from downtown residents, business owners and other community members, Haynes said: "We'll have all kinds of different ways to showcase the vibrancy of downtown Cape."

Visual artist Dave Pfanstiel, known for his pop-up painting demonstrations in downtown Cape Girardeau, will create a painting live, during the event, Haynes said.

Work by Arthur Fields

Fingerprint Urban Dance Studio's students will perform, too, she said, and 93.9 The River radio station will have a live broadcast.

Haynes said the transformation in downtown Cape Girardeau in the past 20 years has been exciting, with incredible changes to both spaces and places. New businesses and refurbished buildings mean more people can play and stay in the area, she noted, and she's excited to see what's to come.

New film partly produced in Cape, Jackson

A new Tom Green/Les Stroud comedy, "Interviewing Monsters and Bigfoot," was released Tuesday on several streaming services, and was partly produced in Cape Girardeau and Jackson.

The film follows a dysfunctional protagonist, a twisted narrative, and a series of events that builds into a shocker of an ending. It follows by-the-book forest ranger Billy Teal, who is dead set on preventing Cory Mathis from finding the truth about the Mark Twain forest. Mathis, a professor, claims Bigfoot killed his wife turning him into a man obsessed with revenge and partners up with a team of misfits for the capture of the creature, but Ranger Teal, a covert government agency and a serial hoaxer (Rick Dyer) have other plans.

60% of the film was shot using local actors and produced by a local film production company, said AJ Koehler, a producer on the film.

The film also stars Jessi Combs, Tera Eckerle, Stacy Brown Jr. and Elise Edwards.