SOME IDEAS FOR PUTTING RIVER INTO RIVERFEST

There are no individuals more deserving of praise and gratitude than volunteers who organize major community events. This includes the 25 hardy souls who gathered earlier this week to start organizing this year's Riverfest celebration scheduled for June 11-12 in downtown Cape Girardeau.

For 21 years, Riverfest has drawn crowds downtown to sample good things to eat, to buy wares, to take carnival rides and to listen to good music. Last year's entertainment format -- strolling bands and five stages -- proved to be popular and will be retained this year.

Once again, organizers will have to accept the fact that June in Cape Girardeau can -- and usually does -- mean at least one show-stopping thunderstorm. And the wet weather of recent years also has often meant closing the gates in the floodwall that protects downtown Cape Girardeau from the rising Mississippi River.

Despite its name, Riverfest does little to celebrate the Mighty Mississippi, and that's a shame. For many Cape Girardeau visitors, the river is a source of awe and inspiration. There are bound to be ways to make the river a part of Riverfest, even if there's a flood in progress.

Recent newcomers to Cape Girardeau have likened the lack of river activities at Riverfest to going to an airport for an air show -- only to find out there aren't any planes.

It's not that Riverfest organizers don't want to incorporate the river into the annual festival. But there are so many hurdles to jump. The Riverfest folks could certainly use some good ideas.

Not that what follows is a sure cure for what ails Riverfest, but it's at least a start for brainstorming. Here goes:

-- Get one of the barge companies to dock a barge and tug next to Riverfront Park on the river side of the floodwall. Folks would like to be able to go on a tug or stand in the middle of an empty barge and see how big it really is.

-- Find someone with an appropriate-sized boat to accommodate passengers who would like to take short rides on the river.

-- Bring back the jet-ski performers.

-- Set off fireworks from a barge in the middle of the river.

-- Close the bridge for a couple of hours (we're used to it now) one night during Riverfest and let fireworks fans watch the pyrotechnics from the middle of the river.

-- Provide guided tours of downtown Cape Girardeau and the waterfront that highlight the city's rich river history and heritage.

-- Invite the Coast Guard to bring one of its patrol boats to Riverfest and have folks on hand to talk about the Coast Guard's important role on the nation's largest riverway.

-- And (this one seems to be the favorite of this newspaper's editor) put some artificial turf near the park benches in Riverfront Park and set up a temporary driving range so golfers can see how far they can hit a ball over the Mississippi. And put an empty oil drum on a midriver buoy to see if anyone can put a golf ball in it to win -- what do you think would stir interest? $25,000?

-- Build an observation deck on top of the floodwall, which could be used year-around and would provide at least visual access even if the river floods in June.

OK. That's a start. Readers might have other ideas. Send them in. There's no such thing as too many good ideas when you're making plans for downtown Cape Girardeau's biggest celebration of the year.