The European Route 66 Festival will resume late this summer in Prague, Czech Republic, after a six-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The festival will be from Aug. 30 to Sept. 1 on exhibition grounds in the Czech capital.
Zdenek Jurasek of the Czech Route 66 Association recently announced the resumption of the festival. He wrote:
We have agreed with the organizers of a traditional American-themed festival called “The Prague Harley Days” to work together on creating a big “All-American Festival” and the European Route 66 Festival will become a significant part of it.
The Prague Harley Days is attended by around 30,000 visitors from all over Europe every year and is extremely popular among the broad public. The main theme of this annual will be Route 66 and the entire style of the venue will receive the Route 66 face!!! And that is very cool!
I am sure that there is no better chance to promote Route 66 in Central Europe than this. I hope you join in and come to Prague to celebrate the legendary America’s Highway in the heart of Europe.
Jurasek said that more details about the festival would be announced later.
Oklahoma Lt. Gov. Matt Pinnell, a steadfast supporter of Route 66 tourism, made this video in response to the festival:
The last European Route 66 Festival was in 2018 in Ziln, Czech Republic. Organizers had sought to make it a semi-regular event, but the pandemic disrupted those plans.
(Poster image of the European Route 66 Festival courtesy of Zdenek Jurasek)
Well, if ye sailin’ down the Ocean Blue,
From New York to Frisco Bay,
Ye best be listenin’ to me, me crew,
‘Cause I got a tale to say.
Sailin’ down the maritime highway,
From the north to the south, don’t ye stray,
Ye’ll find adventure on the ocean tide,
Sailin’ on Route 66.
Ye’ll pass by ports and harbors wide,
With tales of sailors bold,
Through storms and calm, ye’ll safely guide,
On this journey manifold.
Sailin’ down the maritime highway,
From the north to the south, don’t ye stray,
Ye’ll find adventure on the ocean tide,
Sailin’ on Route 66.
Now, there’s lobsters in Maine and mermaids in Key West,
And treasures to be found,
With every wave, we’ll put to the test,
As we sail round and round.
Sailin’ down the maritime highway,
From the north to the south, don’t ye stray,
Ye’ll find adventure on the ocean tide,
Sailin’ on Route 66.
So hoist the sails and man the deck,
For our journey’s just begun,
On Route 66, we’ll sail the ocean’s beck,
Until our voyage is done.