St. Paul's 16th annual spring civic dinner — now called the Great River Gathering — will be held May 13 at RiverCentre in downtown St. Paul.

More than 1,200 people are expected for the feel-good celebration of the Mississippi River as it wends through St. Paul.

For years, the event was called the Millard Fillmore Dinner, in honor of the former president who led an excursion from the East Coast to St. Paul in 1854. The annual dinners helped prepare for a re-enactment of that Grand Excursion in 1998. The dinners have continued, but the name has changed.

The event is organized by the St. Paul Riverfront Corp., and this year's schedule is:

• Networking Reception & RiverWork Exhibit opens at 5 p.m.
• Dinner at 6:30 p.m.
• Program at 7:30 p.m. features St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman, Minnesota's Season 8 American Idol semifinalist Casey Carlson and WCCO's Don Shelby.

Tickets are $65 per person.