CONVENTIONS DRAW MANY VISITORS TO CITY

As many as 400,000 people call Cape Girardeau "home for a night" each year during weekend visits.

Some of those visitors will be in town this weekend for two conventions.

Cape Girardeau motels are expected to fill quickly this weekend with visitors arriving for the Missouri Elks State Convention and the Children with Attention Deficit Disorder (CHAD) Conference.

As many as 750 people are expected for the annual Elk Convention, to be held Friday through Sunday with representatives from clubs throughout the state. About 600 people, including parents and educators, will be here for the annual CHAD Conference Friday and Saturday.

Another large group of visitors will arrive April 24-25 for the annual City of Roses soccer tournament. As many as 5,000 youths are expected for the event. At least four soccer tournaments of similar size are planned this year.

Hotel rooms have been booked as far north as Perryville and south to Sikeston for the big soccer weekend. Adding to this influx of people are those who seek rooms for an annual quilt show held at Paducah, Ky., the same weekend.

Conventions and conferences, both large and small, provide big business for the motel and restaurant industries and retail business throughout the year. A number of smaller conferences and meetings are scheduled into May.

Some of the May conferences include the Missouri Lions Club State Convention, April 30-May 3; Missouri Association of School Nurses, SEMO District, April 17-19; Council of Catholic Women, April 24-25; and Historic Preservation Program, April 17-19.

May meetings include the U.S. Forest Service's Mark Twain National Forest Services, May 12-14; the annual Gerontological Conference; the Professional Secretaries International Convention, May 15-17; and the League of Women's Voters State Convention, May 30-31.