The town of Strafford, Mo., is planning its annual Route 66 festival, according to the Springfield News-Leader. It's trying to round up volunteers and make Route 66 more prominent. This idea sounds intriguing: Keiser would like to produce a live show, with "Route 66 players" who will dramatize and detail the history. Keiser has volunteered … Continue reading Missouri town planning Route 66 festival
Author: Ron Warnick
I'm the editor and publisher of Route 66 News, a clearinghouse of events, information, and entertainment pertaining to historic U.S. 66, the Mother Road.
Interview with the “Cars” director
ComingSoon.net has an excellent interview with "Cars" director John Lasseter. Check it out. UPDATE: Here's another interview, this time with The Australian. It includes this excerpt about Route 66. Observation is important, says Lasseter, who refers to the small town on America's Route 66 that is integral to the story. Bypassed by the major highway, … Continue reading Interview with the “Cars” director
Do road-trip adventures still exist? You bet!
Michael Yessis of World Hum: Travel Dispatches from a Shrinking Planet asks this question amid a preview of the Independent Film Channel documentary "Wanderlust: On the Road with American Road Movies": “Does the road still promise us an open sense of freedom and liberation as it did in so many great films? Or, has the … Continue reading Do road-trip adventures still exist? You bet!
AutoWeek floors it on “Cars” movie
AutoWeek has a humongous special issue about Pixar's "Cars." In one of its stories, it says this: AS YOU READ THIS ISSUE please understand you will not learn the plot twists and turns of Cars, the movie. You will read about the undulating way in which the film came to the big screen, about some … Continue reading AutoWeek floors it on “Cars” movie
A firsthand report on the “Cars” premiere
Michael Howe was assigned by Jim Hill Media to attend the premiere of the "Cars" movie at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C. Here is Howe's extensive report, along with plenty of photos. Howe also interviewed many of the film's stars on the red carpet of the event, including this excerpt of a Q&A with … Continue reading A firsthand report on the “Cars” premiere
Happy days at Happy Wiener Festival
The Bloomington Pantagraph has coverage of the first-ever Happy Wiener Festival in the Route 66 town of Atlanta, Ill., this weekend. Ninety-year-old Paul Adams, a resident of the town, has made the same observation as I have about the town. "There is a lot of energy in this small town," Adams said. "It's a great … Continue reading Happy days at Happy Wiener Festival
So what’s the economic impact of Route 66?
Here's a story from the Bloomington Pantagraph about the allure of Route 66. Here's a side story about the number of foreign tourists the road draws. These two paragraphs jumped out at me: More than 300,000 tourists drive Route 66 through Illinois each year, according to the Illinois Route 66 Heritage Project, based in Springfield. … Continue reading So what’s the economic impact of Route 66?
Here’s one reason why “Cars” will succeed
The reason? Because "Cars" director John Lasseter "gets" Route 66 and its allure. Here's an excerpt from a New York Times story that illustrates this: As for the town of Radiator Springs, the quirky desert hamlet on Route 66, it provides a reminder of the less homogenized America Mr. Lasseter saw as a boy. "For … Continue reading Here’s one reason why “Cars” will succeed
Norwegians on Harleys visit Route 66 museum
The Pontiac (Ill.) Daily Leader reports: Ten Norwegians on their way to Los Angeles aboard seven Harley-Davidson motorcycles visited Pontiac's Route 66 museum Thursday afternoon, getting a look at some Illinois aspects of the highway they will travel on their 10-day journey. "Route 66 all the way," one of the members of the group - … Continue reading Norwegians on Harleys visit Route 66 museum
Memories of Red’s Giant Hamburg
Sarah Overstreet of the Springfield News-Leader shares her memories of the now-defunct Red's Giant Hamburg, which was along old Route 66 in Springfield, Mo. Her writing paints a vivid picture of what the place was like in its heyday. Julia Chaney, former co-owner fo the restaurant, died a little over a week ago. The other … Continue reading Memories of Red’s Giant Hamburg