Vinita Historic Route 66 Festival Celebrates Town’s Place on the ‘Mother Road’

Family-Friendly Event Kicks Off with Block Party, Friday, June 16; Fun Continues Saturday, June 17

Get hip to this timely tip and plan to get your kicks on Route 66 Friday and Saturday, June 16 and 17, as the Vinita Chamber of Commerce hosts the third annual Vinita Historic Route 66 Festival.

A celebration of Vinita’s place on the “Mother Road”, the family-friendly festival features a car show, Big Truck and Tractor Show, an Incredible Inflatable Park, live music, shopping and much more.

Block Party

The fun gets started on Friday evening with a Route 66 Block Party from 6 to 10 p.m.

Located in downtown Vinita in front of the historic Vinita Hotel and in the Oklahoma State Bank parking lot, the block party will be an evening of food, music and fun with plenty to offer the entire family.

The Roadhouse Smokers band will perform live on the festival stage, while food trucks will be on-hand selling a variety of tasty treats. According to organizers, there will be tables and chairs available where festival-goers can sit and eat while listening to the music.

During the block party, children can try their hand at a variety of kids’ carnival games in the free Kids Zone or play in the Incredible Inflatable Park.

A popular attraction of past festivals, the Incredible Inflatable Park will be set up for both the block party and Saturday’s festival. The park will have four different inflatables for children of all ages to enjoy. The inflatables will include 70-foot obstacle course, a giant slide, a bounce house and a fourth bouncer for toddlers.

Festival Activities

Historic Route 66 becomes part of the fun on Saturday as three blocks of the “Mother Road” are shut down to accommodate the festival’s many activities and vendors.

Open from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., the Vinita Historic Route 66 Festival’s Saturday fun expands to include a car show, Big Truck and Tractor Show, a free movie, a museum open house and much more.

Automobile and motorcycle enthusiasts are invited to join the Craig County Cruisers as they kick off the summer season with a car show that will include classics, antiques, muscle cars, motorcycles and trucks.

Organizers invite festival-goers to come and look or bring one of their own vehicles to enter and show off. Registration for the car show is free. The show will feature several different categories.

In addition, local Vinita dealerships will have a number of new models on display during the festival.

Vinita’s own First National Bank is celebrating its 125th anniversary by giving away a Dodge Charger during the festival. Registration for the 125 Scratch & Drive Sweepstakes is from 8 to 11 a.m. at 102 W. Illinois Ave., in Vinita. The grand prize will be given away at 11 a.m. or until a winner is found because the winner must be present.

The Vinita Historic Route 66 Festival Big Truck and Tractor Show is a unique, hands-on event where children of all ages can climb, touch and explore all types of big trucks, vehicles and tractors.

Organizers expect a wide variety of vehicles to be part of the show, including a firetruck, police car, the GRDA search and rescue boat, a trash truck and more.

For added fun, the firetruck will have a sprinkler hose spraying for children to cool off under.

PSO’s customer education exhibit trailer will also be at the festival. Festival-goers can tour the mobile exhibit and learn about electricity, power consumption, conservation and how energy usage in different areas of the house affects their electric bills.

The center stage at the Vinita Historic Route 66 Festival will showcase a variety of local and regional performers, such as Bow Bailey. The live entertainment will cover a diverse mix of musical styles, ranging from classic rock and country to gospel and bluegrass.

The bands and performers will perform throughout the day Saturday on the center stage in the 100 block of West Canadian Avenue.

Once again this year, free train rides will be available during the festival. Children and adults alike can catch the train and ride around the festival area. The train will make several stops along its circuit, including a stop at the food trucks.

In addition to the free Kids Zone carnival games and the Incredible Inflatable Park, there will be a bungee jump station and a mechanical bull for children and adults alike to enjoy.

The Route 66 Marketplace, which includes Vinita’s own local merchants as well as festival vendors, will offer a wide selection of merchandise, as well as special savings and promotions. Whether you’re shopping for a Father’s Day gift for dad or are just browsing for something unique for yourself, the marketplace is sure to have something you can’t live without.

A variety of food trucks will also be on hand during the festival with plenty of special treats and fun festival food. Fresh off its very successful debut at the 38th annual World’s Largest Calf Fry Festival & Cook-Off, organizers say, the Vinita FFA’s new food truck will be open for business, selling its popular macaroni and cheese, ribeye steak sandwiches and much more.

The local Farmers’ Market will also be open during the festival.

Fun Continues Beyond the Festival

At 10 a.m. Saturday morning, the Center Theater of Vinita will be showing a free, family-friendly morning matinee. Popcorn will be available for 66 cents during the matinee, which will feature an animated movie.

The Eastern Trails Museum will host an open house during the festival. There will be both guided and self-guided tours. Visitors will be able to explore the history of northeastern Oklahoma, Indian Territory and the Cherokee influence, as well as military history of the Civil War Battle of Cabin Creek and much more.

Writer, lecturer and radio host John Wooley will be a guest speaker at the museum at 1 p.m. Wooley has written, co-written or edited more than 30 books, including “Ed Galloway’s Totem Pole Park” and “The Man and His Nightmares” about moviemaker Wes Craven. He specializes in the movies, literature and music of the 1930s and ’40s, as well as other pop-culture history.

Organizers describe Wooley as “a fantastic speaker who is fun to listen to.” At 10 a.m., Wooley will be autographing his books downtown at the festival.

The Eastern Trails Museum is located at 215 W. Illinois Ave., behind the library in Vinita.

The second annual Professional Bull Riders’ Hometown Dodge Challenger event will close out the day’s activities with edge-of-your-seat excitement. The event starts at 7:30 p.m. at the American Legion Arena in Vinita.

After PBR stars compete against each other to be crowned champion of the most thrilling eight seconds in sports, two-time PBR World Champion J.B. Mauney and 2016 World Champion Cooper Davis will face off in head-to-head competition. This is the only time these two champions will compete against each other one-on-one this season, so fans won’t want to miss this event.

Several bull riders will also make an appearance at the Hometown Dodge booth during the festival. They will be signing autographs and visiting with fans. Organizers say there may also be a bull there too.

For more information on the Professional Bull Riders’ Hometown Dodge Challenger event, visit the Touring Pro Division on pbr.com.

The Vinita Historic Route 66 Festival is free and open to the public. A $5 wristband is required to enter the Incredible Inflatable Park on both Friday and Saturday. Available at the park, the wristband is good for unlimited play during the day of purchase.

For more information on the Vinita Historic Route 66 Festival, visit vinitaroute66festival.com.