Thousands attend multiple events in Cape's downtown

Thousands of visitors flocked to Riverfront Park and the surrounding Cape Girardeau downtown area Saturday to attend a variety of all-day activities celebrating the history and wildlife of the city.

Shoulder-to-shoulder foot traffic congested entryways to the riverfront as hundreds waited about an hour to go aboard the riverfront’s main attraction — replicas of explorer Christopher Columbus’ ships, the Nina and the Pinta.

Exhibits and activities sponsored by the Missouri Department of Conservation spilled down Riverfront Park across 15 tents as part of the department’s annual Day on the River.

Each tent focused on one aspect of local conservation through demonstrations ranging from live exhibits of snapping turtles to stuffed displays of local wildlife, along with boat rides on the Mississippi River led by aquatic researchers.

While some enjoyed fish freshly fried by students in the American Fisheries Society from Southeast Missouri State University, Alyssa Robison and her 5-year-old son, William, found entertainment by fishing for paper cutouts of various native fish at a station led by Southeast student Randeya Aaron.

Charlotte Slinkard, curator of the Cape River Heritage Museum, shows a display Saturday of Jean-Baptiste Girardeau and Therese Nepveu, "Madame Girardeau."Fred Lynch

At an adjacent activity spot led by Southeast graduate students Jessica and Michael Hughes, children got the chance to cast lines with real fishing rods.

While he was impressed by many children’s level of marine knowledge, Michael Hughes said many of them were just excited to cast the rubber lure at a target.

“The best cast I’ve seen was the one that went over the wall and got stuck on the other side,” Michael Hughes said. “I think they’re just getting to learn that fishing is fun. They get to go up here and cast, then drag [the lure] past all the different types of fish they see. And I think they’re just having a good time doing it.”

Down the street from Riverfront Park, educational demonstrations and displays filled the Red House Interpretive Center lawn for the second annual Heritage Day, which celebrates history at historic sites across Cape Girardeau.

The Southeast Explorer van featured a World War I exhibit just outside of the Red House on Main Street, where arrowheads, tomahawks, cooking supplies and more technology from the 1800s were available for viewing, along with interactive stations for children, including a photo booth where children could dress up in fashions from the past.

Visitors walk from the Nina to the Pinta replica ships Saturday at the Cape Girardeau riverfront.Fred Lynch

After sinking a tomahawk into a hay bale at the tomahawk throwing station, 13-year-old Luke Barton of Eldorado, Illinois, said while it was harder than he anticipated, the exhibit was awesome.

“I think [living in the 1800s] would be both cool and hard at the same time — like, extraordinarily hard,” Luke said. “I just think this whole festival is cool. I even got to dress up like one of the old Navy men.”

Heritage Day activities at the Cape River Heritage Museum featured tours led by museum curator Charlotte Slinkard. Wearing a French 18th-century dress, Slinkard guided guests through the lives of Cape Girardeau’s founders, including city namesake Jean-Baptiste Girardeau; “the Betsy Ross of Missouri,” Marie Watkins Oliver; and city founder Louis Lorimier.

Heritage Day continued at six other locations in Cape Girardeau, including living-history demonstrations at Fort D Historic Site and Civil War displays at Heritage Hall.

Tours and displays also were held at the Glenn House, Crisp Museum at the Southeast Missouri State University River Campus and Old St. Vincent’s Church.

Similar crowds are expected Sunday with the bi-annual Downtown Flea Market, while the docked Nina and Pinta replicas continue their stay in Cape Girardeau.

bmatthews@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3652