Local officials say that the first Illinois Route 66 Red Carpet Corridor weekend, scattered 90 miles over a dozen towns, was a success, reported the Pontiac Daily Leader.
“I think it was a very successful run,” said Pontiac Mayor Scott McCoy, who drove the entire corridor, with his son on Saturday and his wife on Sunday. McCoy said he was “thoroughly amazed” at the scope of the endeavor and at the cooperation that developed among people in towns participating.
“I definitely see it growing,” he said of the multitown event, which is patterned in part after the successful Spoon River Drive, now in its 40th year. […]
McCoy credited Ellie Alexander, Pontiac’s tourism director, as “the right person” to have become the coordinator for the organizers and planners of the corridor.
“I think it was a success,” Alexander said this morning, noting that the people she talked with in Dwight, Gardner and Towanda were happy with the inaugural effort.
Almost 500 people on Saturday attended the flea market that was held at the Community Recreation Center, based on sign-in sheets. The total was far lower on Sunday, however.
Next year’s event probably will be more centralized in Pontiac, which has several prominent Route 66 attractions.
Mayor Jim Arteman of Towanda, IL. was very happy with the two day attendence of the Red Carpet Corridor. Between 500 and 600 people attended the event.