SEASONAL CRAFT FAIRS BECOME A TRADITION; THE SHOWS ALSO BOOST ECONOMY

For the Cape Girardeau economy, Christmas comes early.

Nearly 800 crafters will set up shop in the Cape Girardeau area this weekend in four shows. They will draw thousands of shoppers from throughout the region.

The four shows feature crafts in five buildings. Next year it could spill over into six.

The shows are so popular with crafters that there are waiting lists to get a booth. Even the opening of two new craft shows in the last two years hasn't lessened the demand for booths.

For the public the weekend craft fairs provide an opportunity to shop for the holidays. For crafters it is an occasion to display their wares and make a little money too.

Over the years the November-weekend craft fairs have fashioned an economic bonanza for Cape Girardeau's economy.

"It has gotten to be a big thing," said Beverly Strohmeyer, who directs the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri.

The council has been holding a craft show close to Thanksgiving for 26 years. Since then other groups have followed suit, holding shows on the same weekend.

The River Valley Craft Club has sponsored a craft fair for two decades.

This is the second year for the Christmas at the Armory crafts show. The event is held at the National Guard Armory.

This year there will be a fourth crafts fair. It will be in the Bavarian Halle at Interstate 55 and the Jackson-Fruitland exit.

Admission is free at the latter two craft shows. The two large craft shows charge admission.

The craft fairs draw shoppers who buy gasoline and eat at local restaurants. Exhibitors fill the local motels.

The shows also prompt people to take up hobbies. That leads people to buy craft supplies at local stores, said Mary Miller, director of the Cape Girardeau Convention and Visitors Bureau.

"All of that is good for the community," she said.

Having so many craft shows on the same weekend isn't overkill. The wealth of crafts draws more shoppers, Miller said.

"It is a good marketing strategy that they do it on the same weekend every year," she said. "People have learned to depend on that."

Miller said the crafts fair extravaganza is the largest in at least a 100-mile radius.

Timing has a lot to do with its success, she said. It comes around Thanksgiving, traditionally the start of the holiday shopping season.

The Arts Council's crafts show at the Show Me Center will feature nearly 350 crafters.

The Show Me Center has housed the crafts show since 1987. But Strohmeyer said the arts and crafts bazaar has become too big even for the Show Me Center.

Next year, the show may expand to include the Osage Park community center, she said.

The crafts bazaar annually attracts some 12,000 shoppers.

Combined with the other three crafts fairs, Miller said well over 12,000 shoppers will visit the area.

River Valley Craft Club's show fills up the Holiday Inn Convention Center and the Arena Building. This year, some 300 crafters will participate.

Rick Werner, who helps organizes the show, said it has drawn bus loads of shoppers from St. Louis and the surrounding region.

About 60 crafters will have booths at the armory show. James Watkins of Oak Ridge organized the first show last year to accommodate crafters who couldn't get space in the two other shows.

Another 75 crafters will display their creations at the Bavarian Halle. The show is sponsored by the River City C.B. Club.

The club previously held its shows in Chaffee, but felt it could attract more shoppers and exhibitors by moving it to larger quarters in the Cape Girardeau area.

The club's Dixie Burnett helped set up the show. She said the show provides an opportunity for first-time exhibitors from throughout the region.

Two years ago, the city's tourism bureau promoted the crafts fairs in a direct-mail advertisement to about 700 homes in the St. Louis area.

Miller believes the marketing effort helped draw more St. Louis area shoppers to the crafts shows.

She said organizers of the crafts shows haven't joined together to promote the event. But she said she hopes to encourage such cooperation in the future.