By ANN PIERCEALL

Herald-Whig Staff Writer

HANNIBAL, Mo. -- The rising Mississippi River won't stop the 53rd annual National Tom Sawyer Days from taking place next month.

This year's event organizers with the Hannibal Jaycees are developing a contingency plan in case floodwaters keep Hannibal's riverfront closed during the event, which runs from July 2-5.

Floodgates were installed in Hannibal earlier this week to keep Hannibal's historic Main Street and downtown areas dry. The rising Mississippi River is expected to crest at 27.7 feet in Hannibal on Tuesday.

Two key locations originally planned for this year's event -- Nipper Park and Kiwanis Park -- are on the river side of the floodwall that protects Hannibal. They may not be usable if the river doesn't recede in time for the event.

"We're giving ourselves a deadline of (June) 20th. If the floodgates are still in on the 20th, which I'm sure they're going to be, then we'll go to plan B. That gives us a week to prepare as far as our setup," said Jennifer Foster, co-chairman of National Tom Sawyer Days this year. "This is our only option, to come up with a backup plan."

Foster said setup begins on June 27, and the carnival rides arrive June 29.

Foster and co-chairman Rhonda Stevenson met Wednesday with city staff to work on contingency plan details, which will be presented for approval at Tuesday's City Council meeting.

The Jaycees propose moving Tanyard Gardens and the vendors from Nipper Park to an empty lot at the corner of Main Street and Broadway. The lot is slated to become the site of B & amp;B Theater's new movie complex, but it is currently still in the hands of Hannibal Community Betterment Association. Closing on the sale of the lot is expected to take place soon.

Foster said both entities are willing to work with the Jaycees for use of the site.

"If it's in B & amp;B's hands or Community Betterment hands, they both have agreed to allow us to use that lot," she said.

Downtown Development Director Wesley Knapp confirmed Wednesday that a letter had been sent to B & amp;B asking for use of the lot by the Jaycees through July 6 if the sale is completed before then. He said he had not yet heard back from the theater representatives, but he was optimistic a solution could be worked out.

Other contingency proposals are:

* Moving events, like the fence painting contest, to the first block of South Main Street.

* The carnival will operate from the floodgates, up Broadway to Fourth Street. The intersection of Third and Broadway will remain open to traffic, because it is a state highway.

* Moving the carnival means changing the parade route. On July 4, the parade will run from 10th Street down Broadway to Fourth Street, where participants will turn right to Church Street.

On the Web: www.hannibaljaycees.org

--apierceall@whig.com/

(573) 221-5879