SHAWNEE TO PRESENT FESTIVAL

ULLIN, Ill. -- Mark Twain, roasted corn-on-the-cob, blues and gospel music, and tennis, volleyball and basketball tournaments will be some of the attractions Saturday at Shawnee Community College's first-ever Frontier Festival.

Hayrides, a bonfire, fishing on the lake, crafts booths and door prizes also will be offered at the festival on the rolling hills of Shawnee's campus.

The festival celebrates the historical importance of Southern Illinois and will raise money for a new performing arts center at the college.

Theater and musical performances at the college currently are presented in the gym or cafeteria, said Tom Riechman, public relations director for the college.

The college has applied for grants that would help it build an auditorium that would seat a few hundred people.

"Our goal is to build a facility in connection with a humanities complex," Riechman said.

Activities will begin at 7 a.m. on the college campus and will continue until 10 p.m. Bringing lawn chairs and blankets is encouraged. A $2 parking fee will be charged.

The day will begin with a pancake breakfast in the SCC Cafe. Barbecue, hot and cold sandwiches, watermelon slices, lemonade and homemade desserts also will be offered throughout the day.

A firefighters competition will be held from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Demonstrations about canoeing and birds of prey will be offered in the morning, while Glyn Webb will make a guest appearance as Mark Twain from 4 to 6:30 p.m.

Webb is a former teacher in the Metropolis School District.

Entertainment on the main stage will include the gospel group New Harmony and Enloe Clemons (11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.), a drama camp presentation of "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" (12:30 and 6:30 p.m.) and the contemporary Christian group Reunion (2-3:30 p.m.).

Also performing will be the country group Kodiak (3:30-5 p.m.), the '60s rock band McKinley Street (5-6:30 p.m.) and the Pryor Brothers All-Star Blues Band (8:30-10 p.m.).

Children's activities, available for a single $1 fee, will include face painting, storytelling, frog jumping, a balloon bust, watermelon seed spitting, an egg toss, a water relay and a three-legged race.

Craft demonstrations will include Indian beadwork, pottery, broom making, blacksmithing, soft sculpture and chain saw art.

For more information about the festival, phone Tom Riechman at (618) 634-2242, Ext. 270.