At the 155th annual SEMO District Fair it's hard to miss the many banners and booths with slogans or messages from Southeast Missouri groups.

Some are straightforward, such as businesses advertising their products.

With other groups, the message is less obvious -- and gotten across with strawberry-seasoned chicken wings.

Mike Peters, one of several friends who organized the multiple sclerosis donation tent, said their friend Tara Taylor's struggle with MS recently took a turn for the worse. Her medical bills skyrocketed, he said, and the friends wanted to do something to help. Cooking up hundreds of wings for the fair crowds and partnering with the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation was the best way to do it, they thought. The group sold wings, BBQ sandwiches and drinks at the food court Sunday.

"We said, 'We've got a talent, so let's give something back and help out a friend,'" Peters said.

A number of churches have set up booths at the fair this year, too, including Lynwood Baptist Church of Cape Girardeau, which held a service at the activities tent Sunday morning. Fair volunteers and carnival workers, as well as the public, were invited to the service.

"A lot of people are giving up the day when they would normally be going to church. There are many people in our fair family that that's important to," said Pete Poe, fair association president.

Although the environment was more casual than a church's sanctuary, Lynwood's senior pastor the Rev. Mark Anderson said the message he delivered was no different from usual.

"It's a biblical message but is very applicable for where people are in life," he said.

While Lynwood was asked to host the worship service and paid no fee, other vendors and businesses who set up a booth had to submit an application and, upon the application's approval, submit a fee, according to Poe. He said it's an easy process and vendors pay a "very affordable" price, though he didn't have the figures on hand Sunday.

"When you consider that we have 100,000 people that will pass through our gates in the eight days, they have plenty of marketing opportunities," Poe said.

A few steps from the grandstand, Crisis/Food Source business owner Wes Medler was seeking to inform fairgoers of the importance of emergency preparedness. Medler showed couples a small Berkey water purifier, a case of five day's worth of freeze-dried food and a 72-hour survival kit. All the items he sells in his store near BG's Olde Tyme Deli & Saloon on William Street, he said, and are important to keep around in the case of a natural disaster.

"Everybody's still got the ice storm on their mind," Medler said. "People still wait until the disastrous event, though."

For Jackson resident Larry Bill, independent candidate in the 8th District congressional race, fairs have played an important role in his campaign. At last year's SEMO District Fair, he received 600 of the 7,462 signatures he needed to be on the November ballot. This year, at a booth inside the Arena Building, Bill is taking time to connect with fair attendees and encouraging them to vote.

"I've talked with agricultural farmers, retired military men, IT businessmen, preachers, a lot of people. They have concerns, and I try to address them," Bill said. "The fair is a real good opportunity to talk to people."

ehevern@semissourian.com

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