FAQ

Overall hours for festival activities are as follows for each of the two days:

• Thursday, Aug. 8: 6 – 10 p.m.
• Friday, Aug. 9: 10 a.m. – 11 p.m.
• Saturday, Aug. 10: 7 a.m. – 11 p.m.

The car/motorcycle show hours, specifically, are:

• Friday, Aug. 9: 12 p.m. (noon) – 4 p.m., cars/trucks only
• Saturday, Aug. 10: 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., cars/trucks and motorcycles

Please visit the festival schedule page for complete details on when specific activities occur.  The live music page is where you can find the schedule for the four stages.

• Parking lot of Kentwood Hall, 700 E. St. Louis – access the lot from Walnut Street.
• College Station Car Park, 409 W. McDaniel
• Heer’s Parking Garage, 230 N. Campbell
• Public Parking Lot, 355 W. Olive
• Public Parking Lot, 405 W. Olive
• Public Parking Lot, 313 N Boonville
• Public Parking Lot at 304 & 310 N Boonville (This is the preferred lot for those with mobility concerns.)

Courtesy golf cart shuttles will run continuously throughout the Birthplace of Route 66 Festival. These shuttles will transport festivalgoers to and from the many parking areas around the footprint of the festival. Shuttle stops are located at:

• McDaniel near the Discovery Center
• McDaniel near Vendor Village south end
• McDaniel and South Avenue
• McDaniel and Campbell
• Public Parking Lot, 355 W Olive at Patton Avenue
• Robberson and Olive
• Jefferson and Olive
• Kimbrough and St. Louis
• Kimbrough and McDaniel
• Walnut and Jefferson

Download a printable PDF map of the shuttle stops.

Porta-potty Locations:

• Park Central West & Patton Alley
• Park Central North (Boonville) & Olive
• Vendor Alley, just east of Jefferson & Olive
• Across from the Old Glass Place on St. Louis
• At the Expo Lot

Indoor bathrooms available at the Old Glass Place, Public Library, Shrine Mosque OR at any downtown restaurant with your patronage.

The Birthplace of Route 66 Festival is a Rain or Shine Event

The Springfield-Greene County Office of Emergency Management will monitor the radar throughout the event and will let us know if the weather is expected to become severe. Otherwise, the show will go on!

What to expect if it rains:

Assume the car  show will continue as planned. Any last minute changes to the schedules will be posted to our social media pages. If you’re a participant and have questions, please contact Rusty Worley at 417-569-8866 or springfieldroute66carshow@gmail.com

The motorcycle event will likely be canceled if rain is imminent or a high probability on Saturday. Information will be posted to our social media pages as soon as we hear that a final decision has been made.

Any changes to the parade schedule or route will also be posted to social media.

Stage performances maybe canceled or delayed depending on conditions. Those decisions will be made by the respective stage managers. We’ll do our best to keep you updated as much as possible on our Facebook and Instagram pages. Note: the Aaron Sachs Stage concerts may move indoors to the Shrine Mosque. Again, we will let you know as soon as we know.

Vendors will be free to make their own decisions on when to open in the event of rain.

All indoor events will continue as planned.

You won’t want to miss the parade on Friday evening, Aug. 9! It starts at 6 p.m. at Grant Avenue and College Street (Route 66). The parade travels east on College Street through Park Central Square, continues east on St. Louis Street and ends at National Avenue.

See the parade page for full details and a route map.

• Old Glass Place, 501 E. St. Louis (east end of the car show): Experience the vibrant annual gathering of authors, artists, associations & collectors affiliated with Route 66. Offering creative displays of memorabilia, information about their products and services and items for sale, you’re sure to find something to interest you. Come visit with them about Route 66 and see what they have to offer. Admission is FREE.
• Shrine Mosque: Great Route 66 Talent Search finals (Saturday, 1 p.m.); Women’s World Expo (basement)
• EXPO Center: Chevy Evolution Showcase, Cornhole Classic (Saturday morning)
• History Museum on the Square: “Checking In: Iconic Hotels & Motels of Greene County”  COST: $16/Adult; $13/Seniors, Military and Students; $10/Child (Age 4-12); Free Age 3 and under
• Public Library: in the SW corner of the Square
• You can also visit the many businesses located in and around the festival footprint for a variety of food, beverages, goods and services.

Official Birthplace of Route 66 Festival merchandise can be purchased in the merchandise tent at the SE corner of St. Louis Street and Jefferson Ave. near Motorcycle Village.

ATM Locations:

• On South Street just south of the Square
• Great Southern Bank at South & Walnut
• U.S. Bank at St. Louis St. & Benton

Get information about the festival at the Info Tent in Park Central Square on the inner square, in front of the History Museum.

Basic First Aid Stations

• Minor first aid available at Info Tent – On Park Central Square on the inner square, in front of the History Museum (NW corner of square)
• First Aid Station is in the MSU Meyer Alumni Center – Southeast corner of Jefferson and McDaniel behind the Aaron Sachs Stage. Entrance on the EAST entrance off McDaniel.

Please take any lost and found items to the festival information tent in Park Central Square or the festival merchandise tent at the SE corner of St. Louis Street and Jefferson Ave.

If you have lost a child, or are helping a lost child try to find their parents, please call 911 so the Springfield Police Department can assist.

It’s not just cars! The show includes hundreds of vehicles, both cars, trucks and maybe even other vehicles. Every era will be on display in downtown Springfield, from the first cars ever manufactured to ratrods. Don’t miss it! For a look at last year’s show, check out the car show page.

Motorcycle Village is a bike lover’s dream! See lots of cool bikes in the charity bike show, participate in the Gypsy Tour Poker Run, shop for moto gear and see people doing awesome, death-defying bike tricks!

All musical acts are FREE!

• Enjoy the music of many of the area’s top performing acts on the Chevy Dealers of the Ozarks/KY3 Stage in Park Central Square.
• The Aaron Sachs stage, located at McDaniel St. and Jefferson Ave., will feature local and regional acts.
• The Shrine Mosque will be where you can catch the Great Route 66 Talent Search Finals, featuring Jesse Cowan & 417 Aerial.
• Several acts will perform on the Rotary Rendezvous stage Saturday only on the Expo grassy lot.

The Birthplace of Route 66 Festival and Parade will require several road closures and traffic delays in downtown Springfield starting the morning of Wednesday, Aug. 7, and continuing until the morning of Sunday, Aug. 11. All streets will reopen by 7 a.m., Sunday, Aug. 11.

Full details are on the “Road Closures” page.

Springfield is officially recognized as the birthplace of what became known as the iconic “Mother Road.” It was on April 30, 1926 at the Colonial Hotel, via telegram, that Springfield businessman John T. Woodruff and Oklahoma businessman Cy Avery first proposed U.S. 66 as the name of the new Chicago-to-Los Angeles highway. Route 66 meandered across the city from Kearney Street to Glenstone Avenue to St. Louis Street, through Park Central Square to Olive and College streets, then headed west along what is now Chestnut Expressway.

You can see an historic marker and new Birthplace Signage at the corner of Jefferson Avenue and Park Central East where the Colonial Hotel once stood.

This festival is a cooperative effort among the City of Springfield, KY3/KSPR, Aaron Sachs & Associates, and festival founders David Eslick, the West Central Neighborhood Alliance, Downtown Springfield Association and the Springfield Convention & Visitors Bureau.

In 2024, there will not be a 6.6k event associated with the festival.