FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
After having to cancel the 2020 and 2021 Birthplace of Route 66 Festivals due to the pandemic, festival organizers the City of Springfield, Aaron Sachs & Associates, KY3/KSPR/CW, Downtown Springfield Association and West Central Neighborhood Alliance are thrilled to announce that the festival is on in 2022.
The festival will take place Aug. 11-13 and will kick off at 8 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 11 at the Aaron Sachs Stage in Motorcycle Village (Jefferson Avenue and McDaniel Street) with the free Rockin’ the Route 66 Kickoff Concert by the No. 1 cover band in America – the Emerald City Band. The Thursday night concert will provide a chance for community members and visitors alike to celebrate coming out of the pandemic and set the stage for future economic vitality and recovery efforts to be promoted during and following the festival.
Registration links for Friday and Saturday’s car show, the Charity Bike Show and the Gypsy Tour Poker Run to benefit the Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association are live at route66festivalsgf.com.
The Mother Roadster Foundation will raffle off a 1932 Ford Coupe custom built by Show Me Rod & Custom and Curry’s Hot Rods. The 2021 raffle raised more than $50,000 for Shriners Hospitals for Children.
A full lineup of free entertainment is planned, including the Friday parade starting at 6 p.m. at Grant Avenue and College Street traveling east through Park Central Square to St. Louis Street and dispersing at National Avenue. Join us for a pre-parade party at the Birthplace of Route 66 Roadside Park at 4:30 p.m.
The Women’s World Expo at the Shrine will be back this year, along with the Authors, Artists, Collectors & Associations expo at The Old Glass Place. Make sure to stop by History Museum on the Square for the “Memories of the Mother Road: Route 66 Through Springfield,” exhibit inside the Birthplace of Route 66 Gallery.
Musical acts on Friday evening at the Motorcycle Village Stage begin with Machine Gun Symphony and from Nashville 3-time performers at the Super Bowl headliners Sixwire.
On Saturday, the concerts kick off with Nathan Bryce and the Loaded Dice, Sequel Dose, the Rosy Hips, the Dirty Saints and headliners Sixwire with former guitarist and vocalist for Ted Nugent and Brad Whitford, Derek St. Holmes, former Kansas lead vocalist John Elefante and former Journey lead vocalist Steve Augeri.
The Park Central Stage will feature local performers with the lineup TBA.
The festival’s unforgettable Globe of Steel is back this year, along with the Extreme Trampoline Show and XPogo.
Food and merchandise vendors interested in having a presence at the festival should email [email protected].
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For more information, visit route66festivalsgf.com or contact Cora Scott at 417-380-3352 or [email protected].