Visitors to downtown Cape Girardeau got their first taste of holiday spirit Tuesday night when Old Town Cape and the Downtown Merchants Association began hanging new Christmas decorations.

Workers supervised by the group hung 61 wreaths fitted with LED lights on Main, Spanish, Themis and Independence streets. In addition, seven-foot stockings donated last year by Capaha Bank will decorate Broadway.

The new 48-inch wreaths, their upkeep, storage and installation will be the responsibility of Winterland Inc., an Indiana-based group. The total cost of the project is $23,500 and will then cost $7,000 annually.

Those involved feel the cost is worth it.

"The old ones were 15 years old and just on their last legs. The cost to have them all was going to be astronomical," said volunteer Teresa Maurer. "This company will professionally clean, refurbish and store the wreaths each year."

The garland decorations that hung across Broadway will be officially retired this year after the committee decided they were too old.

Old Town Cape donated $8,000 to the project with merchants and volunteers making up the difference. They are hoping to find donors to help shoulder the total costs of the decorations for this year and future years.

Organizers expressed disappointment that the city of Cape Girardeau did not offer to chip in.

"We asked the Convention and Visitors Bureau for $1,000 and we were denied. They said they cannot give money for decorations to one area of town and not to another," Maurer said.

Chuck Martin, executive director of the Cape Girardeau Convention and Visitors Bureau, pointed to the holiday decorations at Town Plaza and West Park Mall as other worthy displays.

"We could not do this in good faith and not be able to support those other places," he said.

"For a CVB it's at best gray area when you start talking about things like funding Christmas decorations."

Greg Cook, who works at Zickfield Jewelers downtown, feels the decorations are integral to attracting shoppers to the area during the season.

"A lot of times like with Hutson's window, it just becomes a tradition for families to come downtown," he said. Hutson's Fine Furniture assembles Christmas scenes in its store window each year.

Those interested in donating money to pay for the wreaths may call Old Town Cape offices at 334-8085.

tgreaney@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 245