Scenes from the Texas Route 66 Festival

Hundreds of Route 66 enthusiasts from all over America and several foreign countries descended on Shamrock, Texas, over the weekend for the Texas Welcomes the World Route 66 Festival.

One longtime roadie said authors and artists stationed in the Shamrock Community Center were pleased with attendance, with several reporting strong sales.

A focal point at the festival was the historic U-Drop Inn (shown above), built in 1936. Not only did the former Art Deco gas station and restaurant attract crowds because the chamber of commerce and other tourism activities were stationed there, but it also drew photographers when its architectural neon lit up at night.

During the Route 66 Summit, several roadies talked on Facebook Live about the preserving the ruins of John’s Modern Cabins near Newburg, Missouri, the Painted Desert Trading Post in eastern Arizona and the closed Gasconade River Bridge near Hazelgreen, Missouri. The video is about 70 minutes.

Rhys Martin also give this presentation about upcoming actions by the city of Tulsa, Tulsa Route 66 Commission and the Route 66 Alliance.

Mariko Kusakabe posted a two-minute video from the festival’s car show:

Based on one photo posted during the event, The Road Crew of Nashville entertained hundreds of listeners Saturday night. Here’s a snippet from Bob “Crocodile” Lile of the band performing “Under the Neon,” a song at least partly inspired by the U-Drop Inn.

One of the most viral videos from the festival was someone repurposing a car wash as a cow wash. Only in Texas:

Finally, an attempt Sunday afternoon to create the world’s largest human three-leaf clover fell well short. Nearly 150 people created an outline over the clover; local officials had hoped for 1,200. The bid still raised $575 for the local Meals on Wheels chapter, and organizers said they’d try to break the record in the future.

The festival was organized by members of the Old Route 66 Association of Texas.

(Image of the U-Drop Inn in Shamrock, Texas, by Jerry Huddleston via Flickr)

One thought on “Scenes from the Texas Route 66 Festival

  1. Sorry I missed this! Love the old Conoco building in Shamrock. A true classic. Point in passing, I don’t believe the building has ‘neon’ any more. A vew years ago, a severe hail storm broke most of the neon strips. Pretty sure they were replaced with LED lights. Hate to see the old neon disappear, but the building is still gorgeous, day or night.

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