TURTLE RACE A BIG DRAW

Penny Ford's family started collecting box turtles about a month before the big race.

On Saturday, the Cape Girardeau woman showed up at Riverfest with a stable of turtles -- one each for her daughter, three nieces and a nephew.

The turtles, confined to beds of grass in plastic buckets, peered out from under their shells as race time approached.

Ford said her husband collected the turtles along Highway 177. He regularly spots them crossing the road.

Ford said they collected about a dozen turtles in all. "They eat oranges, apples, tomatoes, strawberries and worms," she said.

The family began racing turtles at Riverfest three years ago. It's become a family tradition.

Thousands turned out for Riverfest. But with no admission fees, attendance was difficult to judge.

Riverfest Chairman Tim Hahn said the festival drew bigger crowds than last year.

Last year's attendance was estimated at more than 30,000.

"The streets are completely packed with people. It is very busy down here," Hahn said Saturday night as fireworks lit the sky.

"As soon as the sun went down, they started coming," he said.

Ford's stable of turtles were among 36 entries in Saturday's turtle races, held in a chalk-drawn circle on Spanish Street in front of the Common Pleas Courthouse.

The races have been a fixture at Riverfest since the first downtown festival 20 years ago.

Despite all the efforts of the Ford clan, their turtles didn't win in the sweltering heat.

Neither did Ben Matthews' turtle, "Boxcar Willie."

The 5-year-old boy named the turtle, which he has had as a pet at his rural Cape Girardeau home since the beginning of May.

"Everybody else has monster turtles," said Mark Matthews. "We didn't know much about training."

Mark Matthews rigged a blue canopy to the shell of the turtle to protect the animal from the sun.

A turtle sporting an election sticker for U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson won one of the heats. But the turtle didn't win the final race.

The winner was "Biggie," a turtle raced by Brittany Hastings, 7, of Jackson. She received a $100 savings bond

Hastings said she had only had the turtle for three hours prior to the race.

A handful of children entered their hard-shelled animals in the "Best Dressed Turtle" contest.

The winner was dressed as a ladybug. Courtney VanNostrand, 7, of Cape Girardeau received a $30 gift certificate for her costumed turtle.

A turtle dressed like the Energizer bunny came in second.

Hahn was on the move most of the day, coordinating activities as Riverfest chairman.

Hahn said the weekend festival went smoothly.

He said many festival goers seemed pleased with the new format, featuring a variety of musical performances on five stages.

Hahn said Riverfest always has catered to families. It will continue to do so, he said.

Festival goers are being surveyed for the first time this year about what they liked and didn't like about Riverfest.

Hahn said that information will be used to tailor activities for next year's celebration.

Riverfest didn't feature any activities on the Mississippi River.

"The river is the big unknown. It is hard to schedule anything," explained Hahn.

Still, that didn't keep festival goers from walking through the floodwall gates to get a glimpse of the river.