Weekend rain kept some away from fair, music festival

Rainy weather diminished this year's SEMO District Fair opening weekend crowd by about 8 percent, roughly 4,000 people, compared to last year's, but organizers say those numbers are a positive considering the effect the rains could have had.

"Saturday the crowds didn't start to build until just before show time with the tractor pull," said fair spokesman Pete Poe. "Yesterday, they were in and out all day. We're real happy attendance has been as strong as it's been."

Poe said considering the weather, an 8 percent drop in attendance is minuscule. With good weather in the forecast for the coming week, Poe said the fair is hoping to make up the loss in attendance.

An exact count of Saturday and Sunday's crowd was not available Monday afternoon.

Rains on Friday, Saturday and Sunday dampened what was to be a busy entertainment weekend in Cape Girardeau. First a large fireworks exhibition over the Mississippi River underwritten by National Asset Recovery Service to coincide with its grand opening was canceled due to rain Friday night. The outdoor stages of the River City Music Festival were shut down, with bands moving inside.

Saturday rains also diminished music festival crowds, and one of the festival's three stages moved inside. The Southeast Missourian has so far been unable to obtain festival attendance numbers.