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TAC Hears About Tourism/NPS Transition, Fall Events

By ERIC X. VICCARO

eviccaro@stegenherald.com

The Ste. Genevieve Tourism Advisory Council had a meeting on Sept. 15 to discuss future planning, upcoming events and Welcome Center transition.

Future events will have a autumn-centered theme, with Fall Colors on Oct. 3, “Night of the Werewolf” set Oct. 17 and other upcoming programs.

“The German band will perform from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. (on Oct. 3),” said Ste. Genevieve tourism director Toby Carrig. “Other musical acts also will perform that day.”

There will be a five-K run/walk in a partnership between the city’s tourism office and National Park Service (NPS).

Additional food vendors will set up in the Jean-Baptiste Valle yard and Lions Park in downtown. There’s also the possibility of a snack food court on Market Street.

The Centre for French Colonial Life will have events scheduled that day. Friends of Hawn State Park will have a “leave no trace” camping demonstration as well, plus a Ste. Genevieve High School Project Graduation 2021 shopping event in the evening.

Also on the horizon, the Déjà Vu Sprit Reunion will take place at Memorial Cemetery on Oct. 24 – however, there will not be a Rural Heritage Day this year.  A Thanksgiving, pecan-themed event set for Nov. 7 is still in the planning stages, Carrig reported.

NIGHT OF THE WEREWOLF

Oct. 17 will be filled with both werewolves and music, with the “Night of the Werewolf” from 7-9 p.m.

The Centre for French Colonial Life has provided a Halloween-style event since 2011, said director of museum operations Robbie Pratte.

“We are excited to offer this every year,” Pratte said. “It’s one of those events that’s popular with both our general followers and the staff. It keeps growing every year.”

The event attracts hundreds to downtown Ste. Genevieve, and the program changes from year to year to keep it interesting.

There will be lantern-led house tours, fireside stories and folklore will be told, and werewolf hunting patrols. Family friendly games will be provided. S’mores and apple cider are on the menu.

All activities are subject to weather. Children 14 years of age and younger will not be permitted without an adult.

Due to COVID-19 (coronavirus) concerns, masks will be required of patrons during house tours, and tour group sizes will be limited.

The cost is $6, and all events will begin as the Centre (198 Market Street). For more information, call 573-883-3105 or log onto the website: www.frenchcoloniallife.org.

WELCOME CENTER TRANSITION UPDATE

The transition of the Ste. Genevieve/Great River Welcome Center to a National Park Service facility is well underway after a signed agreement between the city and NPS.

“The process may take 18 to 24 months,” Carrig noted, “but the agreement has been a significant step in having the NPS use the space.”

Some items have been moved from the Welcome Center, and some new exhibits will be coming in.

Misselhorn artwork was moved out of the gallery, with a television moved into that space. The television plays a Ste. Genevieve orientation video. Three exhibit cases and a couch have been placed in city storage. An additional case was declared surplus, to be used by the Centre for French Colonial Life.

An exhibit on vertical log structures was moved from the Bauvais-Amoureux House to the Welcome Center.

A diorama of Ste. Genevieve also was moved to the Welcome Center from the Amoureux House this past Monday. The center was closed to allow public works staff to assist with the big move.