Annual Route 66 Festival

Edwardsville City Park
Edwardsville, Illinois

June 13 - June 14, 2008
Friday: 4 pm - 12 pm
Saturday: 11 am - 12 pm

Family Entertainment Food and Refreshments Games and Contests
Car Show Car Cruise

Route 66, also known as "The Mother Road," was created by an act of Congress in 1926, and since then thousands of travelers have rolled down U.S. Highway 66 in search of insight and adventure. Contrasted with the Lincoln, the Dixie, and other highways of its day, Route 66 did not follow the traditional linear course. Instead planners intended Route 66 to connect the main streets of rural and urban communities along its course to provide access to a major national byway. What resulted was a 2,448 mile long road beginning in Chicago and ending in Los Angeles that has become part of the nation’s consciousness because of the role it played in a variety of periods in America’s history. Route 66 has disappeared officially from the nation’s road maps but efforts have been made to keep its spirit alive. In 1993, a push from The Route 66 Association of Illinois spurred the Illinois Department of Transportation to conduct a study which ultimately placed portions of Route 66 in Illinois on the National Register of Historic Places.

To commemorate the significance that Route 66 played for its communities, the Edwardsville-Glen Carbon Chamber of Commerce will host its 11th annual Route 66 in the Edwardsville City Park in the downtown area. This event includes food booths, entertainment, live bands, a classic car show and car cruise, an artisan's village, children's tent, beer tent, bike ramble and contests. Several thousand attend the festival every year..

Also featured is the Fine Arts Fair, which gives visitors the opportunity to view traditional and contemporary art from more than a dozen area artists. Artwork will include homemade baskets, glassworks,  and textiles. Photography, watercolor, acrylics, handmade jewelry, pottery, and more will be on display and available for purchase on both Friday and Saturday. Entries in the Fine Arts Fair will be judged on the basis of design, craftsmanship, and creativity and cash prizes will be awarded.

Free trolley tours honoring Edwardsville, the third oldest city in Illinois, will be traveling to the Edwardsville Downtown Historic District, St. Louis St. and Historic Leclaire.  Tour guides will talk about historical happenings and celebrated buildings along the route and the trolley will be making stops at the Madison County Historical Museum, Children’s Museum, and the Col. Benjamin Stephenson House. Admission to the museums is free during the festival having been subsidized by area businesses. Trolley tours will run on Saturday, June 9th from 11 am – 5 pm.  Interested participants will need to catch the trolley at the Edwardsville Public Library at the corner of IL 159 and W. Park Street.

The famous Car Cruise starts at Lincoln Middle School and travels on old Route 66 to Edwardsville City Park. The Cruise starts off at 6:30 pm sharp. Don’t have a classic car to cruise in?  Festival patrons can line up around the park as the Cruisers roll by. After the cruisers pass the park, they will make their way around Edwardsville via Troy Road/IL-159, Center Grove Road, Plum Street/Relocated IL 159, Vandalia and head back to the park. In an effort to escape the June heat, a Car Show will once again take place following the Cruise. Cruisers will end at Cassens parking lot located on N. Kansas Street across from the Edwardsville Post Office. Keep your eyes peeled for the cruisers to make it back to the park by 7 pm.

Be sure to come hungry. The “Taste of the Road” Food Court, an outdoor market area featuring the specialty food of approximately 12 vendors, will be serving up smoked turkey legs, sirloin steak kabobs, chicken tenders, BBQ and Italian beef for dinner, and sweet treats such as frozen custard and funnel cakes for dessert. 

A variety of volunteers are needed to work with the Route 66 Festival for a variety of efforts. Service groups are urged to get involved. For information on volunteering or for information on the festival in general call the Edwardsville/Glen Carbon Chamber of Commerce office at 618-656-7600.

Learn more about the Edwardsville area.

For more information on this and related topics
the following links have been provided:

edglenchamber.com
Comprehensive site of the Edwardsville/Glen Carbon area provided by the Edwardsville/Glen Carbon Chamber of Commerce.

edglenalliance.com
Comprehensive site of the Edwardsville/Glen Carbon area provided by edglenalliance, an organization of business and civic leaders.

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