Edwardsville Route 66 Festival provides back again crowds downtown
EDWARDSVILLE — For a lot of, the return of the Route 66 Competition Saturday in downtown Edwardsville brought again a welcome feeling of ordinary.
The pageant was canceled final calendar year because of to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We determined to set it on this calendar year,” explained Parks & Recreation Director Nate Tingley. “With Phase 5 COVID limits in result, we assume it’s fantastic to get outdoors and have a great time with the local community.”
The city’s 23rd annual festival commenced with the Metro Milers 10k which led to choices this kind of as food items, vendors and tunes, along with a late afternoon basic car or truck demonstrate and cruise via downtown Edwardsville. Dozens of pristine classic autos participated.
The well known automobile show, sponsored by the Goshen Rotary Club, took position across the road from Metropolis Park, exactly where motor vehicle proprietors shared tales of their automobiles with guests.
“‘Tweedy’ has a good story,” said Dave Archer, Edwardsville resident and operator of a 1971 yellow Chevrolet Corvette.
Archer found the Corvette underneath a tarp in a campground in California, wherever the operator requested if he wished to go for a ride in it.
“We were on desert roadways and I have by no means absent so fast in my daily life. He went about 110 miles for each hour,” mentioned Archer.
A yr afterwards, he flew out to order the automobile and drove it again to Edwardsville, adhering to a path identical to the authentic Route 66.
“Right soon after I acquired it back, I place it in this automobile demonstrate in 2015,” said Archer.
Unique woodworking, photography, artwork, clothing and a lot more dotted the park for residents to love.
“We’ve been to farmers’ markets, but this is our initially large gathering,” explained Alyssa Loman of Edwardsville.
“The pageant is fantastic so far. It’s sizzling, but there’s a regular stream of men and women,” claimed vendor Libby Kelly, who sold creative creations with Marilyn Holmes, both of those of Edwardsville.
Together with the sellers, various corporations supplied data related to Route 66 and the historic significance of the Mother Street in Edwardsville. Signs were posted highlighting cafes, company stations and additional that could be viewed from Route 66 a long time in the past.
The authentic Route 66 ran south on Hillsboro Avenue and west on Vandalia Avenue, right until heading on Illinois State Route 157 toward East St. Louis.
Among the the corporations were the non-gain Friends of Leclaire, which raises consciousness of the heritage of the historic Leclaire neighborhood south of downtown Edwardsville.
“We are listed here for the enjoy of record in our city,” said Pals of Leclaire member Paula Homan, who had pamphlets furnishing anecdotes of Route 66 Americana in Edwardsville, as perfectly as data and newsletters about the Leclaire community.
The 2021 Mother Highway Sponsor of this year’s Route 66 Competition was Cork Tree Imaginative, Inc. Cork Tree Resourceful is an Edwardsville-based mostly complete-service advertising, community relations, and website advancement company. Other sponsors consist of The Gori Regulation Agency, Crawford, Murphy & Tilly, Southern Illinois Pediatric Dentistry, Dieterich Bank, Byron Carlson Petri & Kalb, Renewal by Andersen Window Substitution, Edwardsville Lender, Irwin Chapel, Busey Bank, Viviano Heating & Air Conditioning, Abstracts and Titles and Madison Mutual Coverage. A lot more than 100 volunteers helped make the celebration probable.