National Tom Sawyer Days (NTSD), an early July fixture in Hannibal for the past 54 years, has not had a fixed location in recent years. That apparently is changing, thanks to the owners of the Hannibal Cavemen. They have agreed to allow the Hannibal Jaycees use of property southwest of the ballpark to stage the annual celebration.
“We’ve got a long-term agreement with them to use that property,” said Kevin Knickerbocker, who is co-chairman of this year’s event with Chris Harsell. “They’ve guaranteed we can have that property for National Tom Sawyer Days for as long as we want it as long as they are in ownership of it (ballpark property).”
According to Larry Owens, one of the Cavemen co-owners, the decision to support the event wasn’t hard.
“With the theater coming Tom Sawyer Days, a nationally recognized event, was having to take a gypsy attitude about moving around to this spot and that spot,” he said. “I said that place could probably use a solid home, then you can build on it. If you don’t know how much space you have every year it’s hard to build your festivals. With 50 years under your belt you want to make sure you can continue to refreshen and build your festival. Being for such a good cause, Bob (Hemond, co-owner) and I talked and decided to get the property next to the ballpark and offer it to them.”
“The Hannibal Jaycees appreciate Larry and Bob, and what they’ve done in order to get a place for us to have National Tom Sawyer Days. I’m not exactly sure what we would have done without it,” said Knickerbocker.
With the construction of the new B&B Theatres cinema at Broadway and South Main, potential downtown locations for the event were limited.
“To a certain extent it was difficult leaving the downtown area because we liked that proximity to the river, but we had just run out of area. We’re not completely away from the downtown area. We still have a connection,” said Knickerbocker, referring to a portion of the carnival that will be located on Fourth Street.
Why is that connection important?
“We want people to be able to see the carnival from the Kiwanis crafts fair in Central Park. That line of sight is very important when you’re setting up an event. If they can see something they’ll walk to it. But if it’s out of sight it’s out of mind, so we wanted to maintain that line of sight,” said Knickerbocker.
In addition to Fourth Street, another portion of the carnival will be on Warren Barrett Drive, along Clemens Field’s north wall. The remainder of NTSD’s activities - Tanyard Gardens, food vendors and Jaycees-sponsored events - will take place on the lot, which Knickerbocker believes will provide all the space NTSD will need.
“We used to use a lot that was 240 feet square. This lot is about 150 feet wide and about 500 feet long so the length makes up for the width and we end up with a nice-sized lot. The size of it works out very nicely because it’s a different shape, but it’s a shape that works,” he said.
The space will not be exclusively available to the Jaycees.
“The property is basically going to be available for almost anybody that has a good cause that doesn’t have a home for it.
If it’s a good cause, I’m going to let them use it,” said Owens.
While the site meets the Jaycees’ NTSD needs - flat terrain with electricity and water available - Knickerbocker believes more events might occur there if additional development occurs.
“I would like to see it developed to the point where anybody with any event throughout the year could walk in and find infrastructure - fences, pavilions, stages, lights, maybe walkways and additional parking - and be able to have an event without having to put in the significant amount of manpower we go through to set up for Tom Sawyer Days,” he said. “I think if we made it easier other organizations would be willing to come in and run downtown events on a more regular basis. Being a city councilman that appeals to me because I want people to come to town, come to our events, eat at our restaurants, stay at our hotels, shop at our shops and contribute to the tax base of our city.”
The Jaycees will not pay a fee to the Cavemen for use of the property. Team owners, however, will recoup some of their investment to develop the property.
“I had to buy the property, tear down a building, do environmental work and leveling. We also ran power all over it and water,” said Owens. “It allows us to recapture the money we spent that way through (receiving a percentage of) the sales tax that is generated there (by for-profit vendors during NTSD).”
This year’s NTSD celebration begins Thursday, July 2, and runs through Saturday, July 4.
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National Tom Sawyer Days (NTSD), an early July fixture in Hannibal for the past 54 years, has not had a fixed location in recent years. That apparently is changing, thanks to the owners of the Hannibal Cavemen. They have agreed to allow the Hannibal Jaycees use of property southwest of the ballpark to stage the annual celebration.
“We’ve got a long-term agreement with them to use that property,” said Kevin Knickerbocker, who is co-chairman of this year’s event with Chris Harsell. “They’ve guaranteed we can have that property for National Tom Sawyer Days for as long as we want it as long as they are in ownership of it (ballpark property).”
According to Larry Owens, one of the Cavemen co-owners, the decision to support the event wasn’t hard.
“With the theater coming Tom Sawyer Days, a nationally recognized event, was having to take a gypsy attitude about moving around to this spot and that spot,” he said. “I said that place could probably use a solid home, then you can build on it. If you don’t know how much space you have every year it’s hard to build your festivals. With 50 years under your belt you want to make sure you can continue to refreshen and build your festival. Being for such a good cause, Bob (Hemond, co-owner) and I talked and decided to get the property next to the ballpark and offer it to them.”
“The Hannibal Jaycees appreciate Larry and Bob, and what they’ve done in order to get a place for us to have National Tom Sawyer Days. I’m not exactly sure what we would have done without it,” said Knickerbocker.
With the construction of the new B&B Theatres cinema at Broadway and South Main, potential downtown locations for the event were limited.
“To a certain extent it was difficult leaving the downtown area because we liked that proximity to the river, but we had just run out of area. We’re not completely away from the downtown area. We still have a connection,” said Knickerbocker, referring to a portion of the carnival that will be located on Fourth Street.
Why is that connection important?
“We want people to be able to see the carnival from the Kiwanis crafts fair in Central Park. That line of sight is very important when you’re setting up an event. If they can see something they’ll walk to it. But if it’s out of sight it’s out of mind, so we wanted to maintain that line of sight,” said Knickerbocker.
In addition to Fourth Street, another portion of the carnival will be on Warren Barrett Drive, along Clemens Field’s north wall. The remainder of NTSD’s activities - Tanyard Gardens, food vendors and Jaycees-sponsored events - will take place on the lot, which Knickerbocker believes will provide all the space NTSD will need.
“We used to use a lot that was 240 feet square. This lot is about 150 feet wide and about 500 feet long so the length makes up for the width and we end up with a nice-sized lot. The size of it works out very nicely because it’s a different shape, but it’s a shape that works,” he said.
The space will not be exclusively available to the Jaycees.
“The property is basically going to be available for almost anybody that has a good cause that doesn’t have a home for it.
If it’s a good cause, I’m going to let them use it,” said Owens.
While the site meets the Jaycees’ NTSD needs - flat terrain with electricity and water available - Knickerbocker believes more events might occur there if additional development occurs.
“I would like to see it developed to the point where anybody with any event throughout the year could walk in and find infrastructure - fences, pavilions, stages, lights, maybe walkways and additional parking - and be able to have an event without having to put in the significant amount of manpower we go through to set up for Tom Sawyer Days,” he said. “I think if we made it easier other organizations would be willing to come in and run downtown events on a more regular basis. Being a city councilman that appeals to me because I want people to come to town, come to our events, eat at our restaurants, stay at our hotels, shop at our shops and contribute to the tax base of our city.”
The Jaycees will not pay a fee to the Cavemen for use of the property. Team owners, however, will recoup some of their investment to develop the property.
“I had to buy the property, tear down a building, do environmental work and leveling. We also ran power all over it and water,” said Owens. “It allows us to recapture the money we spent that way through (receiving a percentage of) the sales tax that is generated there (by for-profit vendors during NTSD).”
This year’s NTSD celebration begins Thursday, July 2, and runs through Saturday, July 4.
