Route 66 Festival or Event

City

Illinois

Grand Opening of the America Giants Museum

The weekend will kick off on Friday, May 24th, with the setup of the Texaco Big Friend fully restored for display at the AGM. This event is open to the public, and you are welcome to come watch how these giants are set up. Meet the Re-Giant Restoration crew who have done many restorations over the years and watch them in action. Bring your lawn chair and enjoy the show from across the street in Atlanta's Xenia Park. Work will begin at approximately 8:30AM Friday, and we will set up rain or shine, so be prepared in case it's wet.

More Info: Website

Dates: May 24-26, 2024

Berwyn Route 66 Car Show

The show is located on the pavement of Historic Route 66. It is now called Ogden Avenue, between Oak Park Ave and Ridgeland Avenue.

Join us for a stroll down the Mother Road among hundreds of vintage and custom cars, trucks and motorcycles. The event also features live entertainment and a variety of hometown eats.

Every year for 29 years, over 20,000 residents and visitors take to the streets of Berwyn's Route 66 to be wowed by the best auto enthusiasts!

More Info: Website and Facebook

Dates: August 24, 2024

Edwardsville 25th Annual Route 66 Festival

Between the food, drinks, music, shopping and family zone, you will not want to miss it! The City of Edwardsville is excited to welcome the community back to the park to enjoy great food, live music, the classic car cruise through town, mainstreet marketplace (shopping!) and more.

Dates: June 8, 2024 and June 7, 2025

9th Annual Miles of Possibility Route 66 Conference

The Conference will be presented by City of Edwardsville and Great Rivers & Routes Tourism Bureau, at the historic Wildey Theatre on Main Street in Edwardsville. Expect a weekend of great speakers, an unforgettable band concert, and intriguing tours. The event rotates along Illinois Route 66 to showcase different communities, each supported by the area convention and visitors bureau.

The first speaker for the Conference has been confirmed. Author, humorist, and historian Jim Hinckley of Jim Hinckley’s America will make a presentation about the marketing and promotion that transformed Route 66 from a highway into an American icon.

More Info: Website

Dates: October 31 - November 3, 2024

Kicks on Route 66 Ultra Car Show and Cruise

In 2020, a small group of car enthusiasts and local business owners came together to plan the first annual Kicks on 66 event. The car show was a wild success that exceeded our expectations and validated our vision to bring people together for their love of cars. In addition to the hundreds of cars on display and thousands of attendees, we have designed our event to make a major economic impact for local restaurants and hotels.

The annual Kicks on 66 Car Show and Cruise is coming to Glen Carbon displaying the brightest, boldest, and best vintage and modern cars around! See cars, trucks, and motorcycles of all types and from all eras on display and meet the thriving clubs and car motorheads showing off their prized vehicles! Vehicle types include: antiques, classics, pre-war, post war, American muscle, sports cars, exotics, hot rods, resto mods, race cars and more.

The car cruise begins immediately following the show- the designated route includes portions of Edwardsville, Glen Carbon, and Route 66.

More Info: Website

Dates: September 7, 2024

Route 66 Red Carpet Corridor Festival

Celebrate the 16th Annual Illinois Route 66 Red Carpet Corridor Festival, a two-day event which emphasizes family fun on one of the most famous highways in America - Route 66. This annual festival invites everyone to experience the good life in the slow lane.

Communities from Joliet to Bloomington have events and activities planned, including festivals, art & antique sales, live entertainment, motorcycle & car shows, food & drinks, and more! From historic sites to mom & pop shops to unique musuems, there's something for everyone.

More Info: Website

Dates: May 4-5, 2024

Annual International Route 66 Mother Road Festival

The cars, the music, the fun and nostalgia that Route 66 has brought to generations will return this year to downtown Springfield. Celebrate the 22nd anniversary of the International Route 66 Mother Road Festival! Hundreds of cool cars and thousands of spectators will roll into the heart of Springfield’s historic downtown for a weekend of family fun in the sun and non-stop live music and entertainment! Come celebrate the golden age of Route 66…the cars, the music, the food, the friends ... all brought together along Illinois’ Route 66.

More Info: Website and Facebook

Dates: September 27-29, 2024

Missouri

Route 66 Crossroads Festival

More Info: Website

Dates: May 3, 2025

Route 66 Association of Missouri Motor Tour

More Info: Website

Dates: September 20 to September 22, 2024

Route 66 Cars and Guitars Festival

The City of Kirkwood will host its Route 66 Cars and Guitars Festival on June 10, 2023, in downtown. The festival's theme of "Cars and Guitars" speaks to the rich transportation and music history of the region. Live music and vintage vehicles will anchor this outdoor event. Most of downtown Kirkwood’s numerous stores, locally owned boutiques, and restaurants will be open during the event. Festival activities will be located on North Kirkwood Road and on the two blocks of Jefferson that intersect Kirkwood Road.

More Info: Website

Dates: June 8, 2024 and June 7, 2025

Lebanon Route 66 Festival

The Lebanon Route 66 Festival features a parade of cars, live music, food and more.

More Info: Website

Dates: June 1, 2024

Maplewood Route 66 Celebration

Enjoy live music, classic car show and cruise, food & drink, shopping, and more! From 12 PM - 4 PM in Historic Downtown Maplewood.

More Info: Website

Dates: September 14, 2024

Rolla Route 66 Summerfest Car Show

Dates: June 1, 2024

2025 Kickin' It Route 66 BBQ Challenge

Teams will be arriving in St. Robert from all over the country to show their skills in the art of smoking meat. In past years many of the top teams in the world have participated in the Challenge. St. Robert looks forward to this event each year and hopes you can join the city this year.

The Challenge will be held at the St. Robert Community Center located at 114 J.H. Williamson Jr. Drive,

More Info: Website and Facebook

Dates: March 28-30, 2025

Birthplace of Route 66 Festival

Activities include concerts, live performances, a car show, classic car parade, giveaways, an award ceremony, vendor showcases and more.

More Info: Website and Facebook

Dates: August 8-10, 2024 and August 7-9, 2025

Route 66 Hogs & Frogs Festival

A fun three day event with a motorcycle contest, cooking competition, kids play area, and much more!

More Info: Facebook

Dates: September 20-22, 2024

Kansas

Big A Dedication

Dedication celebration of the newest giant along Route 66 - "Big A", the Texaco Giant. Located at 520 South Main Street in Galena.

More Info: Facebook

Dates: September 8, 2024, 1pm

4th Annual Gearhead Curios Pin Ups on 66 Photo Shoot

Pin Ups and Greasers, classic cars and photographers ... come have a drama-free, no winners or losers good time of taking amazing pictures on Route 66. Located at 520 South Main Street in Galena.

More Info: Facebook

Dates: September 28, 2024, 3-9pm

Oklahoma

Route 66 Balloon Festival 2024

During the Route 66 Balloon Festival, event grounds will be packed with live music, vendors, activities for all ages, and 15 hot air balloons.

More Info: Website

Dates: September 20-22, 2024

Arcadia Route 66 Neonfest

Route 66 enthusiasts gather every year for the festive Arcadia Route 66 Neonfest. During this three-day event, guests will bond over their mutual love of Route 66 and neon displays. Friday and Saturday night, gather around the neon campfire. Saturday afternoon, grab made-to-order burgers and fries from the POPS food truck before the Film Festival begins. Sunday morning, join the group for homemade breakfast served at Stables in Guthrie before exploring more of the Mother Road at your own pace.

More Info: Website and Facebook

Dates: October 18-20, 2024

Route 66 Cruisers Annual Car Show

Enjoy a great day at Claremore Lake with more than 400 entries, and vehicles from just about every decade. Brought to you by Route 66 Cruisers, the show will feature cars and motorcycles from Oklahoma, and several entries from outside the state. This car show is complete with arts, crafts and food.

More Info: Website

Dates: September 27-28, 2024

Annual Route 66 Pecan & Music Festival

Join us for a fun filled weekend and support our local Diabled Amercian Veterans and Veterans of Foreign Wars! The festival will be located between The Nut House and Route 66 RVs, 5 miles North of I-44 on Route 66.

More Info: Website

Dates: October 26-27, 2024

Cycle 66

Cycle 66 is an urban/rural bicycling tour along historic Route 66 and beyond. Beginning and ending in downtown Edmond, Cycle 66 offers four distinct routes for all experience levels and raises funds for worthy causes in our community, including the Oklahoma Route 66 Association and Autumn Life Behavioral Health Center.

A true collaboration, Cycle 66 was officially formed as a combination urban/rural bicycling tour that highlighted communities and businesses along the Mother Road, beginning and ending in downtown Edmond.

Cycle 66 honors the nostalgia and legacy of this iconic highway, its deep connection to the culture of Edmond and central Oklahoma, and supports efforts to reimagine this national treasure for a new generation.

More Info: Website

Dates: November 3, 2024

Miami Oklahoma Route 66 Heritage Fest

Food trucks, marketplace vendors, kids activities, corn hole tourney, KCBS BBQ competition, car & bike show, free concerts and live music, and a beer garden is set for visitors and event attendees to enjoy over the weekend.

More Info: Website

Dates: July 26-27, 2024

35th Anniversary Route 66 Blowout Car Show & Festival

Sapulpa's downtown offers a great variety of activities for the entire family. The streets are lined with vintage and modern cars for its Route 66 Car Show, food vendors offering a varitey of delightful snacks in our Food Court, and a Children's Zone filled with entertainment for the children. There is something for the entire family!

More Info: Website and Facebook

Dates: September 14, 2024

Route 66 Road Fest
SageNet Center at Expo Square

The Road Fest is a one-of-a-kind celebration giving you the chance to take your own journey through the history, attractions, characters, and fun of one of America’s most enduring treasures. It’s also a great opportunity to experience the Route itself. Make a weekend of it, and hit the road to explore some of the 400-plus miles of Route 66 that run through Oklahoma.

More Info: Website

Dates: June 22-23, 2024 ... and June 21-22, 2025

Annual Vinita Route 66 Festival

Join us in downtown Vinita, Oklahoma for a fun family event this summer! The 9th Annual Vinita Route 66 Festival begins June 16th with live music, food trucks and the popular Kids Zone Inflatable Park at the Friday night block party from 6-10 pm.

On Saturday, June 17th the fun will start back up at 8:00 am with a car show, live entertainment, a sidewalk chalk contest and power wheels car park and parade for the kids, and more. A wide variety of vendors are also expected along with our downtown merchants for shopping.

In the afternoon, take time to "Explore Vinita" at open houses at local attractions, including the new Cherokee Cultural and Welcome Center and Eastern Trails Museum, to help beat the heat.

More Info: Website

Dates: June 14-15, 2024 and June 13-14, 2025

Route 66 Triple Tour

Gearing up for the Centennial of Route 66 in 2026, three central Oklahoma towns join forces to present a celebration like no other! The Route 66 Triple Tour rides into town on Saturday, June 10, with a day full of FREE festivities right on the Mother Road!

The Triple Tour starts in Warr Acres at 9 a.m. with a Car Show on 39th and Ann Arbor from 9 a.m. to noon. Enjoy antiques, hotrods and classics, as well as free face painting, bouncy houses for kids, and the Native American Color Guard.

Continue your cruise down Route 66 at Bethany from noon until 4 p.m. Downtown shops host sidewalk sales and antiques, while Bethany neighbors host a City-wide yard sale all weekend. Feeling lucky? Participate in the Poker Run! Or for younger Mother Road enthusiasts, enjoy the City of Bethany firetruck on display. Stop by the Broadhurst Building at SNU for a Vinyl Record Sale. The Route 66 Cruisers show off classic cars as they start in Bethany and move to Yukon to continue the festivities.

The Tour concludes in Yukon with “Get Your Flix on Route 66” at 7p.m. At dusk, enjoy a special outdoor movie screening off Route 66 and 4th Street. In addition, face painters and movie concessions will be on site with a variety of eats and treats!

More Info: Website

Dates: June 15, 2024

Texas

Texas Route 66 Festival

The ten days will packed with events along the Texas route, including classic car shows, Texas Route 66 bus tours, cattle drives, parades, music festivals, and a grand finale festival on Amarillo’s Route 66 Historic District.

More Info: Website

Dates: June 6-15, 2024 and June 5-14, 2025

3rd Annual Texas Route 66 Motor Tour

Vega Texas will be the host city the night before, on October 3, 2024. The motor tour will then cruise east this time from Adrian to Shamrock.

More Info: Website

Dates: October 4-5, 2024

New Mexico

Route 66 Summerfest

This free event includes multiple stages full of local bands, food trucks, and more! This edition of the concert series takes over a mile-long stretch on Central Avenue from Girard Boulevard to Washington Street.

Bring the family, enjoy the fun and celebrate Route 66.

More Info: Website

Dates: July 20, 2024

Gallup Route 66 Freedom Festival Car, Truck & Street Rod Show

Join fellow vintage, classic, muscle, and street rod automotive fanatics for multiple cruises and a spectacular car show. This is the car event of Northwest New Mexico that you won’t want to miss. All proceeds from this show will be donated to Veterans Helping Veterans. Live music, motorcycle rides, mass balloon ascension and more!

More Info: Website

Dates: July 27, 2024

Arizona

Route 66 Car Show: the Mother Road Classic

The show will be located at the Flagstaff City Hall and Wheeler Park parking areas and Aspen Street. This show celebrates the historic role of the automobile in Route 66 and the city of Flagstaff. In addition to offering our participants a quality show in which to display they cars, we promote the past, present and future of transportation in our community. Classes encompass a wide variety of vehicles, ranging from restored vintage classics, to modern performance enhanced pocket rockets.

Music, food trucks, and amazing cars will enhance the experience for participants and spectators alike.

More Info: Website

Dates: August 17, 2024

Kingman Route 66 Fest

The Kingman Route 66 Fest celebrates all things Route 66, especially the history and culture surrounding it, and is hosted in beautiful Lewis Kingman Park, a historic park that was one of Arizona's few shady rest stops along the Mother Road.

This event will feature live bands, a beer garden serving regional craft beers, food and craft vendors, a motorcycle show, a classic car show, a vintage trailer show, a pin up contest, Route 66 displays, fun activity zones, zipline, a fun photobooth, children's activities and more!

The Route 66 Fest is free for spectators and free public parking is in the adjacent lot at the corner of Andy Devine Ave (Route 66) and Fairgrounds Ave.

More Info: Website

Dates: October 11-12, 2024 and October 10-11, 2025

Kingman Route 66 Street Drags

Route 66 / Andy Devine in the middle of Kingman will be closed down for over a week! There will be a 1/8 mile drag race right down the middle of Ol’ 66! The organizers will build the track and event between Airfield Avenue and Fairgrounds (between Kingman Police Department past the DPS Station where the pits are located.

There will be a full timing system, 5/10ths Pro Tree. This is as real of a “street race” as you can have! The difference is there will be all the safety equipment in place that you would find at a “purpose built” track. Plus, it’s legal!! But don’t kid yourself, it is still a street race! And if you want to win this race, you're going to have to be the person who can get down this street the fastest!

There will be three days of drag racing starting on Friday at noon and run until 9pm. Friday will be your chance to tune your ride to best handle the street.

On Saturday the racing schedule is from 9am to 10pm with all runs counting as time trials. First two runs count as time trials, we will determine the “Quick 16” in each class. The “Quick 16” will run first round of eliminations Saturday evening. In between rounds of competition, we will run the “Grudge Class” or as time permits. ​

Finals for all classes will be run on Sunday with racing starting at 9am to 4pm.

Winners will hold the Title of “National Street Champion” in each class (except Grudge-bragging rights only), and will take home a cash prize and a custom-built trophy to culminate a historic weekend at the biggest legal street drags in the world on the most historic road on Earth!

More Info: Website and Facebook and Instagram

Dates: May 17-19, 2024

Route 66 Fun Run

More than 800 vehicles carrying thousands of friends will be joining the Historic Route 66 Association of Arizona for a weekend of adventure!

Historic Route 66 Fun Run participants from across the globe will meet in Seligman to travel a 140 mile stretch of Route 66 with events planned in nearly every community along the way.

The procession will conclude in Topock/Golden Shores with an awesome award ceremony to cap off the weekend.

More Info: Website

Dates: May 3-5, 2024

Historic Route 66 Car show

The Historic Route 66 Car Show is an annual event held in the charming town of Williams, Arizona. This two-day extravaganza showcases classic cars, trucks, and motorcycles, bringing together automobile enthusiasts from all over the country. Scheduled for June 9th and 10th, 2023, the event promises a weekend full of excitement, nostalgia, and family-friendly fun.

The car show takes place in downtown Williams, right on the iconic Route 66. The event typically kicks off with a Friday night “Cruise the Loop”, where participants can show off their prized vehicles while driving down the historic highway. On Saturday, the main event begins with the car show featuring hundreds of vintage and custom vehicles on display.

Attendees can expect live music, food vendors, and various activities throughout the weekend.

More Info: Website

Dates: June 7-8, 2024 and June 6-7, 2025

25th Annual "Standin' on the Corner" Festival

Food trucks, vendors, beer garden, auction, live music and more!

Eagle Pavilion, 523 W 2nd Street

More Info: Website

Dates: September 27-28, 2024

California

Annual Main Street USA Festival

Vintage cars, live music, great company, kid activities, awesome vendors, beer garden, cool shopping and more … what a great way to spend the day! Vendors, food trucks, classic cars, hot rods, sports cars, trucks, motorcycles and more will be lining the historic streets of Downtown Barstow.

The event is co-hosted by the Saturday Night Cruisers, the Barstow Chamber of Commerce Tourism Committee, Main Street Murals, Inc., the City of Barstow, and the Miss Route 66 Pageant.

More Info: Facebook

Dates: October 12, 2024

Route 66 Bike Week

Riders from all over the world unite for good times and great riding all along the longest uninterrupted stretch of 66 that still exists today. From Needles, CA to Seligman, AZ, with “Rally Central’ being between the Saddle Sore Ranch on Route 66, Cool Springs and Oatman. From there, you can ride the Mother Road east and west, with awesome stops all along the way.

More Info: Website

Dates: April 25-28, 2024

Route 66 Cruisin' Reunion

Route 66 Cruisin’ Reunion® is a Southern California ultimate weekend celebration of America’s love affair with the automobile and its world-famous highway, Route 66. Two days of cruisin’, contests, live entertainment, fabulous food, and revelry make it one of the best events of its kind.

Held annually each September along historic, tree-shaded Euclid Avenue in Ontario, California, Route 66 Cruisin’ Reunion is where classic cruisers, convertibles, hot rods, and wicked Woodies fuel a jam-packed jamboree.

More Info: Website

Dates: September 20-21, 2024

Rendevous Back to Route 66

Join us as we celebrate The Mother Road, at The Rendezvous back to Route 66 - a legendary cruisin' car show celebrating San Bernardino's storied Route 66. With a rich 33-year history, this family-friendly event is set to feature over a thousand classic and custom vehicles cruising the streets of Downtown San Bernardino. Get ready to feast your eyes on themed cruises, live entertainment, scrumptious food, tempting vendors, relaxing beer gardens, and a fun play area for the kids! ​ Plan to stick around until evening, when the vibrant neon lights will illuminate the way along the cruise route.

More Info: Facebook

Dates: October 5, 2024