UNION COUNTY COLORFEST TO OFFER TOURS, MUSIC, CRAFTS TODAY, SUNDAY

ANNA, Ill. -- Leaves are changing colors in Southern Illinois providing a colorful landscape of deep oranges, fiery reds and bronzes.

The fall color display may be less than spectacular now, but each day trees show some seasonal changes, a Union County ColorFest spokesman said.

The ColorFest is scheduled today and Sunday.

"The colors are not at their peak yet," said Joe A. Johnson, a member of the Anna-Jonesboro Area Chamber of Commerce. The chamber sponsors the annual Fall ColorFest.

Maps showing points of interest and listings of activities in each of the communities will be available at visitors' stations in Alto Pass, Anna, Jonesboro, Cobden and Dongola."

The countywide festival is designed to showcase the beauty of Southern Illinois. It also offers arts and crafts, musical entertainment and food.

Activities start at 9 a.m. and continue through 6 p.m. both days.

A free gospel concert, sponsored by Living Bible Exhibition Inc. of Anna, will be held tonight at 6 at the Bald Knob Cross Amphitheater near Alto Pass.

"There's something for everyone," Johnson said.

Four buses are chartered for four different tours of the area.

- Blue Route (51 miles): Visitors go to the historic Kornthal Church, built in 1860. From there, they go through the Union County Wildlife Refuge, the scenic Big Muddy Bluff, Larue Pine Hills and the Trail of Tears State Forest.

- Red Route (33 miles): Visitors go to Lincoln Memorial Park, a site of a Lincoln-Douglas debate; Alto Pass and Bald Knob Cross.

- Green Route (33 miles): Visitors go to the Cobden Museum; tour the Lawrence Basket Mill; Giant City Park; and the villages of Makanda and Lick Creek.

- Brown Route (46 miles): Visitors go to Lick Creek General Store, Campground Church, named for a campground for Indians on the Trail of Tears march; to Dongola. They also will pass the monument of King Neptune, the $19 million fund-raising pig of World War II, and visit historic St. John's Church and Cemetery.