AND NOW, LET THE 2000s BEGIN

Preparing for a party worthy of ringing in a new millennium is difficult enough. Doing so for a crowd of about 800 in an arena that just hours before was the site of a basketball tournament presents even more challenges.

But those at the Show Me Center say 20 hours should be plenty of time to transform the building from a sports venue into an elegant room for tonight's Y2K Eve Party, complete with stages for two bands, a dance floor with high-tech lighting and room for an indoor fireworks display.

Meanwhile, from a sprinkle of South Pacific islands to the skyscrapers of the Americas, across the pyramids, the Parthenon and the temples of Angkor Wat, mankind stood on the threshold of a new millennium, linked by satellite technology for the most closely watched midnight in history.

The excitement was typified by the Pacific archipelago nation of Kiribati, so eager to be first to see the millennium that it actually shifted its portion of the international dateline two hours east.

The Cape Girardeau party, which has been in the planning stages for two years, will begin at 7 tonight. About 750 tickets have been sold for $100 each, with about 50 still available for those with a last-minute urge to celebrate New Year's Eve with champagne in commemorative glasses, music from rock/Motown band Atlantic Express and big band Jerry Ford Orchestra, and a buffet-style dinner from Chartwells that will feature chicken Florentine and beef tenderloin and three types of desserts. There also will be a video system running coverage of millennium celebrations from other areas of the world and an indoor fireworks display.

For the party to begin on time, Jim Barbatti, operations supervisor at the Show Me Center, said the work on the changeover was set to begin as soon as the basketball tournament crowd cleared the building, around 11 p.m. Thursday. Barbatti expected four to five hours of what he called organized chaos.

Overnight a crew of eight should have cleaned the bleachers, then folded them against the walls; removed the basketball floor and installed a dance floor; built two stages for the two bands scheduled to perform; and set up 106 tables and more than 800 chairs. Also on the "to do" list was putting up the big screens for running videos of other millennium celebrations and blowing up hundreds of balloons and suspending them from the rafters.

By 8 a.m. today, Barbatti said, the area should be ready for the caterers, decoration committee members and the electricians and installers of the dance floor lighting, fireworks display and band sound systems.

Barbatti said his crew is used to making quick changeovers. They key, he said, is his people know what needs to be done and the fastest way to do it.

"We often have events back to back to back," said David Ross, director of the Show Me Center. "Going from basketball to this party will be tough. But our crew takes pride in getting such jobs done."

On Thursday, the kitchen at Chartwells, which is catering the food for the party, was filled with the sound of workers doing advance preparations for tonight's buffet.

There was the banging of mallets on chicken breasts as two men worked on flattening about 200 pounds of breasts that would be filled with a spinach mixture for chicken Florentine. Mixers whirled as bakers prepared 45 loaves of bread, 400 rolls and 900 servings of the three kinds of desserts chocolate bourbon pecan pie, coffee brandy mousseline and bread pudding with praline sauce. Pans clattered as 200 pounds of sliced potatoes were parboiled in preparation for turning them into a gratin dish with whole grain mustard.

Chris Nelson, senior food service director at Chartwells, said after working all day Thursday to get ingredients prepared, work today was set to begin about 6 a.m. when 800 Greek salads would be prepared. The cooking of such things as the oven-roasted vegetable medley and the potatoes gratin were set to begin about 2 p.m. He planned to cook the beef tenderloin, 240 pounds of it, last.

Then Chartwells employees will have to set up the buffet tables, serve the food, set up a midnight brunch buffet of bagels, fruit, stolen, quiche, pastries and coffee. He expected the last of his employees to finish up about 3 a.m. Saturday.

Altogether, he expects about 45 employees to put in 300 to 400 hours of labor.

Decorations for a party of this caliber normally would be put up the night before with any last-minute tweaking done the day of the party, said Terry McDowell, an interior designer at Rust & Martin who has led the creation of decorations for the Y2K Eve Party.

But because of the basketball tournament Thursday night, the 20 to 30 members of the decorating committee won't get started until around 8 this morning.

"We knew this would be the case, so we planned ahead. We kept things simple so it could be put up immediately with few last-minute adjustments," McDowell said.

But that doesn't mean the decor won't be elegant. Ross said the idea has been to make the decor one of simple elegance rather than being ostentatious.

The focal point of the decorations will be a 28-foot tall clock tower with an operational clock so revelers can keep track of the time. Each of the 106 tables will have a centerpiece that includes boxes that look like clocks, glittering top hats and balloons.

Elegant floral arrangements will decorate the entrance and the buffet tables, and 15,000 lights will be strung in 38 trees, ranging in height up to 14 feet tall.

There also will be reflective panels behind the buffet tables and bar.

"It's to represent a reflection of the past and a glimpse into the future, because the people at this party reflect Cape Girardeau's past and future," McDowell said.

Judy Wilferth is one of the organizers of the Y2K party and has been working on the project for two years. She is anxious to see those two years of work come together tonight, but first she will spend this morning putting up decorations.

"We hope to be done in about four hours so we can take naps so we'll be ready for the party," she said.

Wilferth said at $100 per ticket, the Y2K Eve Party is a bargain, especially since it's costing about $114 per person to put on the party. Sponsors are helping offset the difference to pay for the event, she said.

"If you went somewhere nice for dinner, two drinks, dancing to a band, champagne, fireworks and then breakfast, you could easily spend more than $100 a piece," Wilferth said. "Plus we'll have coat check, security and taxis available. We've covered a lot of bases."

Ross said the idea behind the party was to give residents of the Cape Girardeau area a special event to welcome in the new millennium.

"The year 2000 is a reference point for many people. People have long speculated on how old they would be when that year came or if they could be around for the next millennium," he said. "This party gives people a chance to celebrate the new year with people they know."

Wilferth is certainly looking at it that way.

"I plan on bringing in the new year with 750 of my closest friends," she said.

Around the world, armies of employees had to forgo parties and stay at work in case the Y2K bug attacked computers.

Many people were expected to stay indoors rather than swell the crowds at New Year's landmarks such as Times Square in New York, where Mayor Rudolph Giuliani appealed to the public "not to let the psychology of fear infect the way they act."

"Otherwise, we have let the terrorist win without anybody striking a blow," he said.

U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan urged mankind to count its blessings.

"Many of us have much to be thankful for. Most of the world is at peace. Most of us are better educated than our parents or grandparents, and can expect to live longer lives, with greater freedom and a wider range of choices," he said.

President Clinton, in a millennium message to the nation, extolled the country's economic boom and said America should be proud that democracy "still inspires the world and that America continues to serve as a leader in promoting peace and human rights across the globe."

Technically, the century and millennium do not end until Dec. 31, 2000, but the world has brushed that aside and opted for the moment the calendar reaches 2000.

That calendar, supposedly dating from the year of Christ's birth, was begun in Roman times and fine-tuned by medieval sages. It is used throughout the world to conduct everyday business, but at a historical and religious level it is hardly universal. For Jews, Jan. 1 falls in the year 5760, for Muslims 1,420, and for the Chinese 4698.

In Israel, rabbis banned celebrations because New Year's, which they regard as a Christian festival, coincides with the Jewish Sabbath. It also falls during Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting and repentance.

"Celebrating the holidays of the infidels is not allowed, even if it's out of courtesy, because they are not holidays that Allah revealed," Sheik Abdullah bin Jabrain, a senior Saudi Arabian cleric, warned Muslims this week.

But for much of humanity, the calendar change will present an image of rituals and celebrations rippling across the globe as midnight arrives in each of Earth's 24 time zones.

Kiribati, once the Gilbert and Ellis Islands when colonial empires bestrode the world, renamed one of its islands Millennium Island, hoping to cash in on the honor of being first to greet 2000. The celebrations include song, traditional grass-skirt dances, and an elder and boy bearing a flaming torch westward in a dugout canoe.

Essay Contest Winners

Eight winners have been chosen in the Southeast Missourian's Millennium Messages essay contest. The contest had two categories: Looking Forward and Looking Back.

First-place winner in the Looking Forward category is Grant F.C. Gillard of Jackson. Three awards of merit go to Dr. Clayton Smith, Cape Girardeau; Dorothy Wolfe, Chaffee; and Mara Kennon.

In the Looking Back category, first place goes to Margaret Cline Harmon of Cape Girardeau. The three merit-award winners are Pat Nelson, Jackson; Patricia Murray, Cape Girardeau; and Florence Calhoun, Scott City.

First-place winners will each receive a $100 check. Award-of-merit winners will each receive $50 checks.

The winning essays, along with others selected by the judges, are published in today's edition of the Southeast Missourian beginning on Page 17A.

Y2K Eve Party

When: 7 tonight.

Where: Show Me Center, 1333 N. Sprigg

Tickets: $100 each. There should be tickets available tonight.

Includes: Dinner buffet (menu of Greek salad, chicken Florentine, beef tenderloin, oven-roasted vegetables, potatoes gratin, rolls and whole breads and three types of dessert), two drink tickets, a bottle of champagne for each table of eight, breakfast, souvenir program, souvenir champagne glass and party favors.

Performing: Rock/Motown band Atlantic Express and big band Jerry Ford Orchestra will alternate sets so there will be continuous dance music.

Throughout evening: There will be a video system running coverage of millennium celebrations from around the world

At midnight: An indoor fireworks display will blast in the new year. There also will be a balloon drop and the singing of "Auld Lang Syne."