ROUND 'EM UP!: NEARLY 5,000 EXPECTED AT SENIOR FUN FEST SATURDAY!

Train robbers, the two-step and other activities reminiscent of the Old West are on tap for nearly 5,000 senior citizens expected to mosey on down to the Show Me Center Saturday for the 1993 Senior Fun Fest.

Scheduled from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Senior Fun Fest offers senior citizens a full day of food, fun and activities. The event, which is expected to draw approximately 5,000 participants from throughout Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois, is free to people 55 and older.

This year's fest will be highlighted by an Old West theme and will feature surprises in keeping with Dodge City days.

In addition, guests will have an opportunity to dance, play bingo for free prizes, watch performing artists and enjoy a complimentary picnic lunch and snacks throughout the afternoon.

Tickets are available now free for the asking at ticket locations throughout the area.

Senior Fun Fest Steering Committee member and Southeast Missouri Hospital employee Donna Gerard said, "We had a fantastic western town that we thought would fit this event really well."

So a variety of activities with a western flare were planned.

"Train robbers will come and hold everyone up," she said. "We have some volunteers coming to teach line dancing and the two-step."

Committee members and volunteers will be dressed in western style with cowboy hats, vests and western boots.

"We hope that some of the seniors will come dressed accordingly," Gerard said.

New to Senior Fun Fest this year is Coyote Creek, a Southern Illinois musical group noted for its down-home, toe-tapping sound of country. Coyote Creek will perform from 10:45 to 11:50 a.m.

The Country Club Western Dancers will present a dance program from 2:15 to 3 p.m. featuring 15 different country-western dances.

The Rafter 4 Robbers will present an old west show at 1 p.m. One member, Jory Levy, will do rope tricks outside the Show Me Center beginning at 10:45 p.m.

Returning entertainers include Bob Rosenquist Band, which has donated services to the fest since the event began. Participants will dance to the music from 12:05-1:30 p.m. and again from 3-4 p.m.

Also making a return appearance are the Sweet Adelines, presenting a repertoire of tunes from bygone days at 1:30 p.m.

"Back in 1984, Senior Fun Fest was founded to salute our area's senior citizens, who have helped make our region a good place to work and live," said Gerard. "Since then, Senior Fun Fest has grown considerably, but the philosophy behind it has remained the same.

"Senior adults are a vital part of our communities, and Senior Fun Fest is one way of letting them know how special they are."

When it began in 1984, the event was held at Trail of Tears State Park, sponsored by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources with the cooperation of area businesses and civic organizations. The first Senior Fun Fest drew about 1,400 guests. In 1991, it attracted over 4,000 senior citizens.

Tickets are available in Cape Girardeau at Schnucks, Mercantile Bank, Boatmen's National Bank, National Del Farm and the nutrition center.

Jackson ticket outlets are the senior citizens center, Schaper's IGA Foodliner and Southeast Missouri Hospital's Jackson Outreach Services.

Other area outlets are at Sedgewickville, the Country Mall; Marble Hill at Chandler Drug, Twin City Pharmacy and the nutrition center; and at Patton, the Security Bank of Bollinger County.

Perryville area residents may pick up their tickets at the Bank of Perryville (Investors' Club). In Chaffee, Medicap Pharmacy, Chaffee IGA and the nutrition center are outlets, and in Scott City, tickets are available at Medicap Pharmacy, Economy IGA, Baker's Bestway and the nutrition Center.

Corporate sponsors for the event, which is held every other year during Older Americans Month, are Mercantile Bank of Cape Girardeau, the Southeast Missouri Area Agency on Aging, and Southeast Missouri Hospital.

For more information, call Donna Gerard at 651-5533.