Lincoln lookalikes to flood Mississippi River city in April

ALTON -- Honest, Abe, Alton soon will be a land of Lincoln lookalikes.

Dozens of impersonators of the 16th president plan to converge on the Mississippi River city next month as part of the yearly Association of Abraham Lincoln Presenters conference.

Lincoln lookalikes will participate in several community events meant to promote a bigger celebration of the 150th anniversary of the Lincoln-Douglas Debates in October.

As president of the Alton Regional Convention and Visitors Bureau, Brett Stawar says he expects the events to draw thousands of visitors.

Alton was the site of the seventh and last of a series of historic debates between Lincoln and Stephen Douglas as they battled for a U.S. Senate seat in 1858. Lincoln lost that race.