EXCITING ROUTE 66 INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL UPDATES
Okay, lets get right down to business as there is a great to deal to share with you resultant of last evenings meeting with the organizers of the Route 66 International Festival in Kingman scheduled for August 14 to August 17.
The Thursday schedule is going to be loose to allow for folks to mingle, to explore, and to share stories of their adventures on the road to Kingman. A formal reception is in the works but this is still in development.
The Film Festival will begin on Wednesday with select films being shown between 1:00 and 5:00. On Thursday, theater doors open at 9:00 AM
The tentative schedule is:
Kingman’s Aviation History with presentation at 9:30 –
Roy’s Route 66 Project at 11:30 –
Bones of the Road (Jim Ross and Jerry McClanahan) at 1:30 –
Spirit of 66 at 3:30 –
Autumn of Route 66 (Ester Brym)at 5:00 PM –
Roadhouse 66 (a special 30th anniversary of release presentation) at 7:00 –
Unfortunately a suitable venue in the historic district was not available. So, the films will be shown at Brendan Theater located at 4055 Stockton Hill Road, about a five mile drive.
Kingman is an easy town to navigate. The intersection of Andy Devine Avenue (Route 66) and Stockton Hill Road is marked by Big O Tire on the west corner, Dambar on the east corner, Walgreens on the northwest corner, and 66 Auto Sales on the northeast corner. Drive north past the cemetery, the I-40 interchange, hospital, Walmart, Cracker Barrel, and bowling alley. The theater will be on the left side of the road.
Friday morning the Cross Roads of the Past and Future commences with a coffee and mingle half hour at 8:00. This will be held at the Mohave County Board of Supervisors auditorium located at 700 West Beale Street, about three blocks from the Mohave Museum of History and Arts and Locomotive Park.
It should be noted that regulations prohibit the use of the facility for commercial purposes. So, presentations will focus on Route 66 developments, and the roads future including the role of electric vehicles as well as ways that businesses along the road can tap into the burgeoning electric vehicle community.
This is the rough schedule at this time:
Michael Wallis opening at 8:30 –
Ron Hart, Route 66 Chamber of Commerce at 9:00 –
Dave Knudson, National Historic Route 66 Federation at 9:30 (I need to confirm as this appearance is listed as tentative) –
Kaisa Barthuli, National Park Service Route 66 Corridor Program Director, 10:00 –
Ed Klein, Route 66 World, 10:30 –
John Holod, Exploring Route 66 by RV (his film is included in the film festival), 11:00 –
Dries Bessels, Dutch Route 66 Association, 1:00 –
Brad Nickson, Oklahoma Route 66 Association, 1:30 –
Tommy Pike, Missouri Route 66 Association, 2:00 –
Larry Clounts, Texas Route 66 Association, 2:30 –
Glen Duncan, California Route 66 Association, 3:00 –
A representative from the New Mexico Route 66 Association at 3:30 –
Renee Charles, Kansas Route 66 Association, 4:00 –
A representative from the Arizona Route 66 Association, 4:30 –
Friday evening there will be a performance by the Road Crew at 7:00 in Locomotive Park. Please note, there may still be some adjustment to this schedule.
The authors, artists, Route 66 association, and collectors exhibition will open about 10:00 and run to 5:00 on Friday. This will take place in the Beale Celebrations Event Center located at 201 North 4th Street (corner of 4th Street and Beale Street one block north of Andy Devine Avenue, Route 66). Additional activities for Friday and Saturday include exhibits at the Mohave Museum of History and Arts, events at Stetson Winery and the award winning Desert Diamond Distillery, the historic electric vehicle exhibition in the Powerhouse Visitor Center, the Route 66 museum at that location, which is where Bob Boze Bell will be signing copies of his latest book, and the Whistle Stop Railroad Museum in the historic depot, open until 8:00 PM on Saturday.
Plans are in the works for a hosted reception for the Reunion at the Ramada (formerly the Magnuson Motel), 3100 East Andy Devine Avenue for Friday evening but his has not been confirmed.
The film festival resumes at 10:00 AM with a showing of the award winning Route 66 – Mainstreet USA (in English) by Zdnek Jurasek of the Czech Route 66 Association. This is the tentative schedule.
Built for Speed by Shellee Graham, 12:00 –
Pipes and Sticks, John McDonalsd, 2:00 –
John Craft’s Project, 6:30 –
Route 66 Arizona, an award winning film by Diamond Valley Productions, 10:30 –
Saturday morning the conference continues with an 8:00 AM reception. The presentations commence at 8:30.
First, Roderick Wilde with the Historic Electric Vehicle Foundation.
Tudor Melville, Tesla Owners Group, 9:00 –
Jerry Asher, Plug Share, 9:30. I will discuss the importance of Plug Share to the Route 66 community in a moment.
Rudy Garcia, EV Station Solutions, 10:00 –
Historian and author Jim Ross will talk on the endangered Route 66 bridges and how to save them at 10:30 –
Kathleen Smith, Holbrook Chamber of Commerce, 11:00. It should be noted that this city is hosting an event the weekend before the festival and that includes a rare opportunity to explore Route 66 through the Painted desert/Petrified Forest Park to the Painted Desert Trading Post. More on that in a minute as well.
Kumar Patel, Wigwam Motel, 1:00 –
Professor Nick Gerlich on bicycle tourism, 1:30 –
Bob Boze Bell, 2:00 –
Zdnek Jurasek, Czech Route 66 Association, 2:30 –
Wolfgang Werz, German Route 66 Association, 3:00 –
I will need to check on the Illinois Route 66 association, and make sure they received an invitation, and, if they will be attending and making a presentation.
The authors, artists, collectors, and Route 66 association exhibition will be running from 10:00 to 6:00. Joe Sonderman will be in attendance with a portion of his wonderful collection that served as a basis for his new book. Signed copies will be available.
TNT Auto Center, 535 East Andy Devine Avenue is hosting a “Bugfest” until 3:00 on Saturday afternoon. There will also be vendors and music. At the same location, beginning at 4:00 PM, its Chillin on Beale. As more than three hundred vehicles for both events are already confirmed, the street closure is being extended to 1st Street in front of Mr. D’z. This is also the tentative location for the NASCAR simulator being brought in by Napa auto parts, a festival sponsor.
I should note that TNT is also the location for the Bob Waldmire exhibition. It should also be noted that Andy Devine Avenue will be closed most of Saturday and into the evening. Beale Street runs parallel and as 4th Street will remain open, you may also consider crossing under the railroad at 8th Street and entering downtown along Topeka Street, the earliest alignment of the National Old Trails Highway. 
There will be an Annie Mouse Party in Metcalf Park at 10:00 (across from Locomotive Park) designed by award winning author Anne Slanina in conjunction with Betsy Parker. Both parks will also have vendors as well as music throughout the day including another performance by the Road Crew and Sounds of Kingman.
Details are not available at this time but organizers are working with Jess McEntire to secure additional entertainment.
The tentative schedule for the film festival on Saturday looks like this.
First, Arizona Route 66, Kirk Slack, 9:30 AM –
Aliens in Kingman, Joe and Greta, 10:30 –
Brian Brown Projects, 11:30
Reluctant Groom, Chris Commiso, 1:30 –
66 Days on Route 66, 3:30 –
Kingman UFO Crash documentary, Harry Drew –
(there are plans for the creation of a special, reservation only tour to Grand Canyon West Resort to accompany the showing of these two films)US Guano Corporation, professional commercial documentary about the opening of the mining operation that included a cable car across the Grand Canyon in the early 1950’s at the site of Grand Canyon West, 7:00 –
Edge of Eternity, a 1959 CinemaScope feature film featuring an all star cast that was filmed at the mining cable car, in Kingman, and along Route 66, 8:30 –
Go West, a Buster Keaton film shot in 1925. This silent feature includes scenes filmed at a ranch near Kingman and a climatic closing sequence filmed at Seventh and Broadway in Los Angles, the original western terminus for Route 66, 10:30 –
On Saturday evening there is a performance by the Reunion. Tickets are $20.00. For more information and details here is a link.
I noted that more detail would be provided about Plug Share and planned events in Holbrook. Lets start with Plug Share.
This website that allows businesses to list availability of facilities for the charging of electric vehicles (simple outlets, 220 volt outlets, etc.), for free, is an incredible promotional opportunity.
As this site is fast becoming the go to site for electric vehicle owners, and as there will be a large contingent of electric vehicle owners driving to Kingman for this festival here is an opportunity to put your business on the map, literally. However, the possibilities extend far beyond this event as this website represents an opportunity to pave the way for the future of Route 66.
Next, Holbrook. In addition to the tour through the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest previously mentioned (reservations are highly recommended as seating will be limited), a wide array of activities are being developed for the weekend. This will allow for folks to spend an entire week on Route 66 in Arizona. The chamber of commerce would be the primary contact.Lets close this out. This posting about the list activities scheduled for the festival is far from complete. As an example, I did not have time to mention the dedication of the walk of fame, activities at Grand Canyon Caverns, or historic district walking tours.
I am also rather confident that something has been forgotten, like noting that KART, the local city bus service, will be offering special rates and schedules from key parking areas in the city to alleviate congestion. Additionally, some of this schedule is tentative.
With that said, for more information about the festival, or updates, contact the Kingman Area Chamber of Commerce. The phone number is (928)753-6253.
You may also send me a note with questions you may have. If I don’t have answers, an honest effort will be made to find someone who does.
So, who is coming to Kingman in August?