Katy Trail, small-town charm bring visitors to Rocheport festival

Merchants dressed in period attire filled white tents with handcrafted items, and horses were washed in preparation for carriage rides as Roche-port geared up Saturday for a weekend celebration of the small town’s past.

Rocheport River Days helps visitors understand how the history of the Missouri River town has been preserved.

“Rocheport is actually experiencing a renaissance,” said Lisa Friedemann, an organizer for the 2005 River Days festival. “We’re making an effort to get the word out to show what we have and that we’re still preserving the charm.”

River Days emphasizes Rocheport’s role in Missouri history with activities for kids, a Lewis and Clark exhibit, a covered wagon tour around the city and merchant tents.

The festival continues from noon to 5 p.m. today. Rocheport was a booming river town in the 1800s. As a major steamboat stop between Kansas City and St. Louis, businesses thrived, including a ferry service across the Missouri. Preserving this information has helped the town stay afloat.

Rocheport River Days is in its second year, but Friends of Rocheport, the town’s historical society, hopes to make it an annual event.

“It’s something to bring more people into the town,” Friedemann said.

Small-town charm gives Rocheport its ability to attract visitors from far and near.

“We get people from all over the world. I don’t know how they end up here, it’s truly amazing,” said Larry Horning, a cafe and bike shop owner.

The town is alive with shops, bed and breakfasts, and restaurants.

“The town is doing well because of the merchants and the enthusiasm,” shop owner Richard Saunders said. He singled out contributions from Friends of Rocheport, the town council and the Rocheport Area Merchants Association.

Saunders explained that another part of this success comes from repeat visitors.

Half the people who stay at the Yates House Bed and Breakfast are regulars, owner Conrad Yates said.

Rocheport has seen an increase in visitors in the past 12 to 15 years, and Friedemann gives some of the credit to the Katy Trail, which runs through town.

“I strongly believe that the trail is a great aspect of this community today,” Friedemann said. “Fifty percent of people who are visiting this town in May through October are riding on the trail.”

People who visit just because of the trail are pleasantly surprised with the charm of Rocheport itself, Friedemann said: “It’s a symbiotic relationship.”