Organizers Detail What To Expect From The AAA Route 66 Road Fest

Ken Busby with the Route 66 Alliance and Tim Chambers with Visit Tulsa joined News On 6 at 4 to talk about the upcoming AAA Route 66 Road Fest.

The festival will happen June 22-23 at the Tulsa Expo Square.

Cooper: Yeah. Ken, let's start with you. This has been a big preparation for a long time. What's kind of the preparation been like? And are you guys getting ready for it?

Busby: We're so ready. This is big as we're heading toward the centennial of Route 66 and 2026. This will be our third year for the road fest. AAA has been huge in making this happen for us. And we have all kinds of activities for the entire family. We can talk about that later if you want. Yes, but the preparation is a lot. This is a big deal. So we'll be at the stage and that's centered at Expo Square, all air-conditioned. But I mean, these are hundreds of 1000s of square feet of opportunity to celebrate the real history of the Mother Road, which is so important to Tulsa's history.

Cooper: Yeah Ken, I know a lot of people are watching right now that may have never been to this event. You've done it now for a couple of years. What can people expect? What are some of the big highlights, and it's great for families too?

Busby: Great for families who have art activities, a pinewood derby, virtual reality exhibits lots of cool stuff like that. We've got a really cool vintage RV park with about 20 RVs got over 100 classic cars. And the journey itself, which is a 75,000-square-foot exhibit of decade by decade, the history of Route 66. So really fun, a great way to learn all about it, and a great way to experience what it means for Tulsa.

Cooper: Yeah, Tim, let's talk to you you know, a lot of Europeans that seem like coming to the US because they want to go on Route 66. A lot of Americans take this trip, too. So how big is it for Tulsa to attract these people from all over? This event is a big driver of it probably.

Chambers: Oh, 100%. I can't state enough how important Route 66 is. It's like a beachfront property for Tulsa. We're the capital of the road. And I was just at the US travels trade show two weeks ago IPW, where you have international group travels, bus tour groups all coming in the number one topic at the event for all cities was Route 66. So it's a very important focal point for us to really hone in on as we go to the centennial. And to really have an event like this that takes place every single year leading up to it gives us an advantage to start telling that story.

Cooper: Yeah, I'm assuming you guys have been prepping as well. You guys are a big sponsor, right? What does it mean to be a sponsor?

Chambers: Yeah, absolutely. So we have been helping promote this event for the last two years. But in year three, we said hey, you know what, we're gonna double down we're gonna have a booth there, we're going to interact, Visit Tulsa is going to have a booth that kind of has a cool art activity where individuals may be able to enter a contest be part of our next marketing, sticker promotions. And I really want to make sure that we pass out vouchers, so I want to make sure that we kind of talked about that today. We will have vouchers that will be able to be turned into actual tickets at the event. They're going to be available at our visitor center. We're working with Metal Gold Max, and we're going to be working with quite a few other businesses along the route, and family attractions throughout town to really make sure that people have no reason not to come to such a cool event.

Cooper: Absolutely. And tickets are still available. Right? Can you order them now?

Busby: You can order them now. Route 66Roadfest.com and tickets are $10 for adults, children 12 and under are free. Discount price is seven bucks for seniors and for veterans. So no reason not to be there.