The Joplin Route 66 Fest, created shortly after Jim Conkle was removed as primary organizer of the International Route 66 Festival, has been postponed indefinitely after this week’s destructive tornado in Joplin, Mo.
This message was posted today on the Joplin festival’s website:
The Festival Committee has decided to re-schedule the Joplin Route 66 Festival for late Summer or early Fall due to the recent tornado in the city. The new date will be announced as soon as new plans may be made. Motels will need all available rooms for F.E.M.A. staff, insurance adjusters and recovery personnel. All attendee reservations will be transfered or refunded based on request. Special Route 66 Fund-raising activites may be scheduled in the near future thanks to the response of the “Roadie” community, so this website will continue to post new information as it becomes available, and thanks for your consideration.
The festival was originally scheduled for June 16-18, less than a week after the completion of the International Route 66 Festival in Amarillo. Conkle announced the creation of the Joplin festival just days after he was removed as organizer of the Amarillo festival and its awards night, due to declining attendance at previous festivals and organizational mistakes.
As recently as Tuesday, the Joplin festival website proclaimed the event was still on, except that all profits turned over to tornado relief. However, because nearly all first-year festivals lose money, a pledge of the proceeds seemed specious.
Despite the vaguely optimistic tone of the website message, I doubt the Joplin festival will be rescheduled. At last count, 125 people were killed and more than 8,000 structures were destroyed by the May 22 tornado. It will take weeks and months to grieve the dead, clear debris, repair infrastructure, and start rebuilding homes and businesses. Motels will be jammed with homeless residents, construction crews, and aid workers likely through the rest of 2011 and beyond. Joplin simply has too many more-important things to worry about than a festival.
It probably would be best for Conkle to cancel the Joplin festival and throw his energies into the town’s tornado relief (the Ozarks chapter of the American Red Cross would be a start). Or he could offer himself as a volunteer for the Amarillo festival, as a way to make peace.
He has to ask himself, “What is best for Route 66?” It’s doubtful that continuing a spiteful effort would be on the list.
I would have to agree. This is not time for a Route 66 Festival. Amarillo should cancel as well and do as the article suggest…”throw his energies into the town’s tornado relief”. Amarillo should send it’s festival goers to Joplin that weekend and volunteer in some capacity to help a fellow Route 66 town in a time a need. Maybe they could join-up with some of the Joplin festival people and form a united Route 66 front. Having these two festivals unite in Joplin would be a much needed boost for the Joplin economy. Thanks for the article, I think you are on the right path here.
On the surface your idea might seem to have merit but if all of the motel rooms in Joplin are going to be filled with FEMA officials, recovery staff, etc., then where would all of the people coming from Amarillo be expected to stay? In all of the instances I can recall regarding previous disasters of this type, untrained volunteers, as sincere as they might be, would be more in the way than anything else. The loss of revenue to Amarillo businesses would also not be a fair proposition, in my opinion, any more so than it would be to postpone the Illinois Motor Tour scheduled for that same weekend and I’m sure many other festivities scheduled along Route 66. I hope no one will consider me to be cold-hearted when I say, life has to go on, in the same way that the World Series was held in New York City shortly after 9/11.
I agree with Mike. Canceling the Amarillo festival isn’t fair to Amarillo, which has been planning this for many months. And, like I said, Joplin has much more important things to worry about than holding a faux-festival or guiding an influx of unskilled volunteers.
Good comment Mike, and you’re right! Not to mention those that want to volunteer, need to be aware of the conditions there and factor in your own health as well. It will be hot, humid, lots of places without power or water, hotels already full, raining and more. What we can all do, except for Joplin itself in light of recent circumstances, is make these other festivals HUGE, highly successful, and have some great donation drives at each one of them, and then contribute in a big way towards the Joplin tornado recovery effort! It would be nice if each festival could have an 18 wheeler trailer at their festivals, announce to everyone where the location would be, and let people drop off donations, supplies and whatever anyone can contribute? We’re already deep in the process here in Tucumcari of doing the very same, and will have more information out about it soon.
We will also have some volunteers to go and help out there, but most of us will be trained, have our own gear, and are prepared to be sleeping in tents we bring if necessary. There’s nothing wrong with going to help out for a day, serving meals and what not, but for those wanting to do so, be prepared for either camping out, or staying in a motel many miles away. It’s also a good idea to call ahead to any of the charitable organizations there, and make arrangements for volunteering in advance, so everyone can be used where they’re needed the most.
So go to the other festivals, keep Route 66 alive and well, but also go to each one of them and give towards helping Joplin in any way you can…
Everyone have a happy and safe Memorial Day Weekend, don’t forget the Veterans and Troops as well, and we’ll see you on the road!
One more thing – I definately nominate Joplin for the biggest festival possible NEXT year!
First of all, it wasn’t my idea, I was taking the lead from the article. As far as staying many miles away or in tents….Miami has several Hotels which are not booked-up and they are a Route 66 town only 28 miles from Joplin. And I know one organization on the ground that is asking for volunteers to just sort clothes, prepare food baskets, hand out water, and so on. So being trained to do those type of volunteer jobs is in no way required. A city the size of Amarillo would be economically affected little with or without a festival. For example last years Tri-State festival did very little for the local economy in the area. Remember you’re only talking hundreds go to these festivals(with maybe Clinton being exception) not thousands. My thought was Joplin needs the economic boost, even if it’s just a few hundred people eating at restuarants, buying from a wal-mart, far more than Amarillo does. But hey I’m not against anybody celebrating Route 66, so I wish Amarillo(which I will be there) the best in their festival and will keep the people of Joplin, MO in my prayers.
SHAWN I WAS JUST WONDERING HOW DO YOU KNOW WHAT THE TRI-STATE DID (SO LITTLE FOR THE LOCAL ECONOMY AREA.PLEASE)..ARE YOU OR HAVE YOU EVER ORGANIZED A FESTIVAL…AND THEN AFTER ALL THAT YOU ARE GOING TO BE AT THIS ONE
Well KS, I know that most of the towns in the Tri-state area saw very little tax revenue increase that week. It’s a matter of public record. Why does it matter if I organized a festival or not? Public record is what it is. It was a Galena and Downstream Casino festival. I was in Amarillo and thought that it was a very well organized festival. They should be congratulated by all of us.