Notes from the Route 66 festival

A lot is going on this weekend at the International Route 66 Festival in Amarillo. But Friday, most of the newsworthy stuff Friday could be found at the artists and authors exposition, housed in the San Jacinto Christian Academy cafeteria.

The inside of the cafeteria provides a good indication why it was used. Check out all the road signs:

Photographer Shannon Richardson was selling his new book, “Route 66 American Icon.” He’d received his very first copies just the day before. We’ll have a review about this volume in the coming days.

Carolyn Hasenfratz showed the QR codes (explanation can be found here) on flyers that will help promote her new website, Sell66Stuff.com. Her site has been live for several weeks, but she’s planning a full rollout soon.

I also saw QR codes being used on promotional materials used by 66 The Mother Road magazine.

Author Michael Wallis also attended the festival, promoting his new books about Davy Crockett and The Wild West. Here he is, chatting with Emily Priddy (aka Redforkhippie).

Also, he announced he would launch a Michael Wallis app for iPhones, iPod Touch, iPads and Androids for $3.99. The app will contain new stories, videos and photos posted weekly. The app is expected to arrive in the iTunes and Android stores within two weeks.

Wallis also is launching an online fan club at MichaelWallis.com for $9.99 a month, which also will contain original stories, photos and videos each week, along with a chance to win prizes and memorabilia monthly.

On a related note, Lynn Miller of the California Historic Route 66 Association said Wallis would be leading a Route 66 caravan from Chicago to Los Angeles in summer 2012 to commemorate the opening of the Cars Land amusement park in Disneyland Resort.

Organizers hope to schedule the 2012 International Route 66 festival, likely in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., during the same week Cars Land opens.

(The festival had originally been set in Santa Monica, but organizers found it difficult to secure affordable lodging.)

A firm date on the Cars Land opening hasn’t been announced, but it will probably be known within six weeks. Cars Land is inspired by the original 2006 Disney-Pixar movie “Cars” and the upcoming “Cars 2,” which opens June 24.

A collection jar for donations was set out by co-founder Rick Freeland of the Route 66 Alliance to help Harley and Annabelle Russell (aka the Mediocre Music Makers of Erick, Okla.) defray their medical expenses. Annabelle is undergoing an experimental treatment for ovarian cancer, and Freeland said she was progressing.

While roaming the exhibition hall, we spied artist Pete Morris at his booth, painting a watercolor of the Dolly’s Diner on Route 66 and Portraits by Tracy building across the street:

We also saw these cool-looking drinking glasses at the New Mexico booth:

Much of the festival area is along Amarillo’s Sixth Street corridor (aka Route 66), which contains a variety of antique stores, art shops, and restaurants in historic buildings. Here’s a couple of examples of old gas stations being converted into restaurants:

Traffic was fairly light Friday, but the crowds should increase dramatically when the city will close about 10 blocks of Sixth for a street fair.

Friday also turned into a scheduled work day at the Triangle Motel in Amarillo, where about a dozen volunteers dug out half-buried gutters and painted windows.

The Triangle Motel, after many years of neglect, is the subject of a long-term restoration project by owner Alan McNeil. Restoration should quicken in pace after a new roof was installed several weeks ago.

The day began with the annual Route 66 e-group breakfast, hosted by the Ambassador Hotel in Amarillo (which also serves as the official festival host hotel). Here, Mike Ward gives away dozens of door prizes:

And at the breakfast, longtime roadie George Game shows a poster from the very first national Route 66 gathering in 1996, which occurred in a tent in the near-ghost town of Landegrin, Texas.

Needless to say, the festival has come a long way since then.