RIVERFEST BUILDS ON RIVER DRAW; 14TH ANNUAL EVENT WILL PROVIDE FUN FOR FAMILY

Entertainment, fireworks, riverboat cruises, contests, games and good old-fashioned fun will be "Rollin' on the River" at Riverfest '92.

Riverfest is scheduled Friday and Saturday on Cape Girardeau's riverfront. Tens of thousands of people are expected to attend the 14th annual event.

Activities for all ages are offered because Riverfest has always been a family-oriented festival, said Evelyn LeGrand, this year's general chairman.

"We want this to be a family activity, so we've expanded the carnival and some of the children's things. I think we have a lot to offer," she said.

Riverfest usually draws as many as 60,000 people over two days to downtown Cape Girardeau.

General Riverfest hours are from 3-11 p.m. Friday and from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday.

Corporate sponsors for Riverfest '92 are Southwestern Bell Telephone, St. Francis Medical Center, Fox 23 KBSI-TV and Shop 'N Save.

Entertainment for Riverfest '92 features an up-and-coming country band and an encore performance from last year.

All performances are provided free of charge and will take place on the Miller Genuine Draft mainstage, which will be at the intersection of Themis and Spanish streets at the foot of the Common Pleas Courthouse terraces.

Friday at 6:30 p.m., Riverfest will feature Bruce Zimmerman and the Downtown Blues Band. At 7:30 p.m., the Blues All Stars band will appear, and at 9:30 p.m. Dixiana, one of Billboard Magazine's Hot 100 Country Bands, will perform.

Saturday at noon, New Humans, a contemporary Christian music group, will kick off the day's entertainment; at 1 p.m. Heartland Songwriters will be on stage; at 2 p.m. Volume 2, a children's country band, will perform; and at 7 p.m., Waterstreet Six, a Dixieland jazz band, will perform.

Back by popular demand, Yesterday, as the Beatles, featuring several former cast members from Beatlemania, will perform at 8:30 p.m.

At dark, the band will take a break for the fireworks display. They will resume their performance after the fireworks.

In addition to the mainstage entertainment, Riverfest '92 will feature a number of strolling performers.

Also back by popular demand for Riverfest '92 is the Spirit of St. Charles riverboat, which made its first visit to the Cape Girardeau riverfront last year. This year, four cruises aboard the Spirit of Riverfest paddlewheeler have been added for Sunday from noon to 4:30 p.m.

The three-decked, Victorian-styled boat will carry passengers up and down the Mississippi River as part of this year's Riverfest activities.

Advance tickets for various cruises, ranging from one-hour excursions to day-long trips along the Mississippi, are available at Capital Bank locations in Cape Girardeau and Jackson and the Show Me Center ticket office.

Celebrating its 10th year, the Kohlfeld Riverfest Run has become a tradition at Cape Girardeau's Riverfest. The event is scheduled for Friday, starting at 7:30 p.m. at Main and Broadway.

There will be plenty for children to do and see at Riverfest '92, including the first Children's Safety Parade down Broadway to Main. The parade is scheduled Saturday beginning at 9 a.m. from Capaha Park. The "Kids' Kruise" riverboat ride will leave from the Broadway floodgate at 10:30 a.m. The $2, one-hour ride is limited to the first 300 people.

The famous turtle race will take place at 3 p.m. and the Best Dressed Turtle Contest will be held at 3:30 p.m., both at the Courthouse lawn. A sandcastle contest, arts, crafts and games are also planned.

The fifth annual Miss Riverfest pageant will be held Saturday at 4 p.m. on the mainstage. Miss Riverfest 1991, Julie Schoeninger, will serve as co-host for the event. Mrs. Missouri, Melannie Duncan, will be the pageant's guest judge.

In celebration of the pageant's fifth year, a Little Miss Riverfest competition is being held. This pageant is open to any child born in 1987. The girls will be judged on two modeling presentations, casual wear and party wear.

One of the highlights of the pageant will be a performance by the St. Louis Professional Dancers and Cheerleaders.