Did you know that there are over 100 pieces of public art in Cape Girardeau? And that 85 of those pieces are located downtown? Our community is full of art in many ways, shapes and forms and it thrives off of the many talents that the local artists bring. In fact, come April 4th, two local artists will each have sculptures in the city's first ever Outdoor Sculpture Exhibit: On Broadway.

Before we go further, however, let's rewind time a bit. Two years ago, a group of community members from the City of Cape Girardeau, Arts Council of Southeast Missouri, Old Town Cape, and the Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce came together to form the Public Art Committee. This group worked to develop a public art policy to give framework and guidelines on how public art would be managed. Following City Council approval of the policy, the effort to host an outdoor exhibition began. Pretty cool, huh?

In August of last year, the committee released a prospectus to invited artists with the hope that the project would increase the number of arts-related activities within the region and provide an additional revitalization strategy for Old Town Cape. Proposals for consideration from the artists were due in October and the jurying process culminated in mid-November. The exhibit was juried by Tom Stancliffe, Professor of Art at the University of Northern Iowa, who has exceptional experience in creating sculptures, jurying exhibitions, and assisting communities in arts development strategies.

The two sculptures I mentioned earlier along with five others will be unveiled at a special reception kick-off event at 6 p.m. on April 4 at the Vasterling Suites Courtyard (Broadway & Fountain) and you're invited! Remarks will be given by Stancliffe and committee members and appetizers will be provided by Port Cape Girardeau. Following the reception, I encourage you to walk Broadway to view the pieces that will be in place for one year - you won't be disappointed!

The pieces are as follows:

'Splintering' by Beth Nybeck (Kansas City, MO)

'Quill' by Dan Perry (Waterloo, IA)

'Natures Quintet' by Stephanie Sailer (Swisher, IA)

'Lineage' by Ben Pierce (Cape Girardeau, MO)

'Victoria' by Chris Wubbena (Cape Girardeau, MO)

'Home Spun' by Andy Arvantes (Chicago, IL)

'Immigrants' by Mike Baue (West Chicago, IL)

For more information on the exhibit, visit the Cape Girardeau Outdoor Sculpture Exhibit website or Facebook page. I'll see you on the 4th!

This post is written by guest blogger, Steven Amrhein, Intern at Old Town Cape.

I'll admit that I like to go out downtown every now and then. My nights usually begin pretty early though because I don't stay up too late. One thing that I've discovered in my senior year of college is that the bars downtown have a lot more to offer than just bottomless pitcher nights - they have music, and a lot of it!

The first band I ever heard perform downtown was Old School Hype, the house cover band for The Library. They play every Thursday night at 8 and normally take breaks during their show to chat with the audience. One night while listening to them play, I decided to strike up a conversation with their guitar player, Caleb, since I too am a guitarist. He told me that the band is pretty busy, playing over 250 shows since they formed in 2010, and have booked an additional 145 show this year! Caleb started playing the guitar when he was just 8 years old, and after a few years of improvement, he got together with his brother, Alex, and decided to start a band. Chris, the drummer, joined the band after meeting Alex through the Southeast Missouri State University music program, while Skyler, the bassist, joined after being introduced by a friend.

My biggest question was why they played so many shows in bars rather than branching out to venues, wineries, etc. Caleb explained that they play downtown so much because they enjoy the atmosphere and they feel right at home. However, the band is willing to contribute their service to local charitable causes by playing benefit shows when asked. "The best thing about playing locally is the decent following that we have. A few die hard fans come to every show and cheer us on," explained Caleb. During one show, Old School Hype rocked so hard that they threw a breaker in the middle of a song and the building's power went out! Their fan base is so great, though, that they kept the show going even when disaster struck.

The last thing Caleb left with me before I headed home for the night, besides to follow them on Facebook for upcoming shows, was a great story about the band's favorite memory of a show downtown. "One night while playing at The Library when 'Gone Girl' was being filmed, a few people from the movie came in while we were playing 'Feel Like Making Love' by Bad Company. Actress Lola Kirke, daughter of Bad Company's drummer, Simon Kirke, was amongst the crowd and danced away. After she returned home from shooting the movie, she sent us autographed pictures of the band and her as well as autographs from her father," said Caleb.

As I was walking down Main Street just about to wrap up my night, I heard hard rock music coming out of Rude Dog. I'm a huge fan of 90s rock and that grunge feel, so I figured I'd pop my head in and listen for a minute with a couple of friends. The band on stage was Seems Legit, one that I had never heard of. I only intended to stay for a few minutes, but the mix of rock, country, and blues kept my interest and I ended up staying until last call.

The band then began tearing down the stage and putting away their instruments, but I had the opportunity to have a quick chat with lead singer, Jason. Beyond my belief, he told me that Seems Legit had only played about 10 shows. I was shocked because their sound was so professional for being a newbie. "We take pride in good, tight sound and try to learn something new at every show," Jason explained.

I thanked Jason for his time and let the band finish packing up their equipment and began heading home. It was the first night since I turned 21 that I had stayed out until closing time, and I couldn't be happier. I met two great bands, made some new friends, and learned from aspiring musicians that one day will be headlining in St. Louis. Sign up for the What's Up Downtown weekly update to find out where Old School Hype and Seems Legit will play downtown next!

This post is written by guest blogger, Steven Amrhein, Intern at Old Town Cape.

Comic book blockbusters are months away from being released on the big screen. Fans of Captain America, X-Men, Guardians of the Galaxy, Transformers and Godzilla are excited for the highly anticipated movies, but how do they spend the time between now and launch? The answer? A comic convention! As a superhero fan and movie buff, I'm ecstatic for Cape Comic Con coming to the Arena Building in Cape Girardeau March 21-23.

My favorite comic book store, Coffey's Comics and Games, has only been open for less than a year, but quickly filled the gap in the comic and gaming world in town when Marvels and Legends Comics and Cards closed shop. Whether you're a comic enthusiast, fantasy game player, or just want to hear what's going on in the entertainment world, owner Matt Coffey is the guy to talk to. He is more than thrilled to be a vendor at Cape Comic Con this year after his attendance last year brought a lot of traffic back downtown to his store.

Cape Comic Con is a great opportunity for local vendors like Coffey's for many reasons. Setting up prior to the opening of the event gives them a chance to mingle with other vendors from bigger cities like Indiana, St. Louis and so on. Coffey loads up his entire stores and puts it all in his designated booth. Things that sit in stores for years can be brought to the convention and sold within minutes. many vendors, including Coffey's, will even come to the event with a prepared list of items that customers are in search of and keep their eye out for those collector items.

According to Coffey, Cape Comic Con has grown exponentially in the past three years. He says the kids love that it's only $15 for the entire weekend compared to the Comic Con in San Diego that costs over $200 per person. When I asked Ken Murphy, organizer for the event, how he gets so many people involved, he responded "I seek vendors who are professional and bring a nice setup to the event. I want a good mixture of comics, gaming, artwork, t-shirts, toys, posters, vintage collectibles, and crafts." Getting it started was interesting through. Luckily Ken knew Gary Friedrich, the creator of Ghost Rider and he agreed to be the first ever guest. Guests this year include Jerry "The King" Lawler (WWE Hall of Famer), Shane Davis (Illustrator of Superman Comics), Brian Koschak (Drawer of Star Wars comics), and Douglas Paszkiewicz (Trip Tank of Comedy Central).

Both Coffey and Murphy agree that their favorite parts of Cape Comic Con are the cosplayers. For those of us who haven't attended, cosplay is a sight to see where people pay tribute to their favorite characters in any genre and dress up as them for the event. One of the things Murphy likes to see out of his event is getting the locals and visitors to head out to the downtown stores while they are here - they have to eat, don't they? He says a lot of people that visit Cape for the weekend can be see in the downtown nightlife and keep coming back from surrounding states throughout the year because they enjoy their time here.

After seeing how much Murphy has put into Cape Comic Con, I too am anxious! Murphy left me with this "I am very thankful to have support from our community and those around the Cape Girardeau area. I plan to keep building the event and hope that it's one that we can enjoy and look forward to each spring." I think that we all can look forward to the convention coming to town this year, and I wish I would have known about it years ago. I can't wait to order my tickets, now I just have to plan on who I want to dress up as! Feel free to leaves suggestions for me in the comments section below.

This post was contributed to by Claire Bruce, owner of Sloan + Themis.

When looking at a map of downtown Cape Girardeau, one would notice listings for restaurants, antique and vintage shops, gift retailers, churches, clothing stores, and a dojo. Wait, what? Yes, a dojo. Also known as Black Dragon Karate studio, currently located at 10 N. Sprigg.

For Claire and I, former 80s and 90s kids obsessed with classics like The Karate Kid, a chance to blog about downtown and learn how to land a devastating kick like Ralp Macchio couldn't be missed. In the spirit of bringing you more information about downtown business diversity, we were happy to oblige in a few kicks and punches taught by Nathan Henderson, owner and sensei.

Black Dragon originally opened in 2006 next to the Corner Grocery Store on Broadway. As enrollment grew, Henderson began looking for a larger studio. Luckily, Black Dragon's new home is still enriching Cape Girardeau's downtown.

Henderson has earned a third degree black belt in Chinese Kenpo and has additional experience with jiu jitsu, hapkido, freestyle fighting, and even a little stick fighting from the Philippines. Cross-training in various styles means Henderson brings a lot to the table when teaching group classes.

"You don't study martial arts; you become a martial artist. It changes you. What I tell my students is that martial arts affects every part of your life, no matter how minute the changes might seem," said Henderson.

Classes are available for all ages at Black Dragon Karate. Henderson's students range from ages five to 74. He believes a strong foundation in martial arts can improve students' confidence and discipline. The training also teaches situational awareness and protecting those who are unable to protect themselves, which can be empowering for children and female students.

Unlike other studios, Henderson wants his students to focus on learning practical martial arts skills instead of constant tournament style training. "I believe how you practice is how you perform...we're more street applicable," he said. "When you constantly fight tournament style you revert to that. And, there's rules in competition. It becomes embedded in you. We train in a continuous fighting style so students can learn how to take advantage of opportunities." Some students do attend local tournaments. Henderson is happy to assist students preparing for competition at which, he says, Black Dragon has done well.

Henderson was kind enough to show Claire and I several self defense techniques. First, he showed me a front kick. Then, I learned a self defense technique designed to take down a mugger in close proximity. He then showed Claire how she could cause maximum damage in limited space to a potential jewelry thief.

"No one gets hit as much as the instructor. Students think the floor mats are for them, but they're actually for me," joked Henderson.

By the end, Claire and I felt amazing and incredibly stress free. Henderson laughed and said, "People often ask me, 'Nathan, why are you always in such a good mood?' I say that it's because I teach karate!"

Thank you, Sensei Henderson, for sharing your studio and your passion with us! Learn more about Black Dragon Karate by calling 573-388-3293 and by visiting them on Facebook.