Edwardsville Route 66 Conference update

-
My new favorite quote - "Sometimes the wheel turns slowly, but it turns." - Lorne Michaels. For those of you waiting for Edwardsville Route 66 Conference news, it must seem like a very slow wheel. But take my word for it, we are making progress. Here are my updates:

 1.  We are working out a few final details to be able to announce a partnership between the City of Edwardsville and a sponsoring organization. As soon as this is done we will have a webpage and a phone number. We are also waiting on the Edwardsville - Glen Carbon Chamber of Commerce to finish hammering out their "complimentary-themed" 2015 Halloween Parade theme and title.

 2.  The current go-to place for information on Edwardsville and updates on the conference itself is our new Route 66 Edwardsville Facebook page! Please "like" our page at http://www.facebook.com/Route66Edwardsville, please share it liberally, and do visit it often for conference updates, local Route 66 history, and information on Edwardsville attractions and hospitality. I'll continue to use my blog as well for updates.

 3.  Here is the TENTATIVE Edwardsville Route 66 Conference schedule! Please keep in mind that we have a couple other event components under discussion that may be added. Also, we are tentatively adding another day to the conference - Wednesday, October 28! Plans for that day will be revealed along with the reveal of the sponsoring organization. It will all make sense soon. This is a brief schedule. The detailed schedule along with list of presenters should make its appearance after the first of January, along with conference registration opening up.

 WED., OCT. 28
Daytime:  An all-day field trip with meal stops - we'll announce this soon
Evening:  Sock hop and Route 66 trivia with a celebrity DJ - location TBD

 THURS., OCT. 29
Daytime:  Historic tours - Edwardsville
Evening:  Route 66 pub crawl - FIVE legendary stops, food available at 2-3

 FRI., OCT. 30
Daytime:  Conference sessions - Wildey Theatre
Daytime:  Author Book Store/Artist and Collector Expo - Wildey Theatre
Evening:  Catered buffet dinner - Wildey Theatre
Evening:  Live entertainment on the Wildey Theatre stage

 SAT., OCT 31
Daytime:  Conference sessions - Wildey Theatre
Daytime:  Author Book Store/Artist and Collector Expo - Wildey Theatre
Evening:  90th Annual Edwardsville Halloween Parade - downtown Edwardsville
Evening:  End-of-event party - location TBD

 4.  Keep in mind that we have THREE floors at the Wildey Theatre to accommodate our event. Also, downtown Edwardsville will welcome visitors to several blocks of fine restaurants and shops adjacent to the theater.

 Oh yes, the wheel is turning. Stay tuned. More good stuff to come.
Wildey Theatre photo by Cindy Reinhardt.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

June 2017 Route 66 events and adventures with the new van

-
Image
With the 2017 Route 66 event season in full swing, my pertussis quarantine over, and an itch to go places in the new van, June proved to be a busy month. Between St. Louis and Chicago, I gave a program, attended a program, went to the Route 66 exhibit at Missouri History Museum twice, drove across the Chain of Rocks Bridge, sold and signed books, and, with my BCC colleagues, produced the third annual Blue Carpet Corridor festival weekend. Here's a brief rundown of my June: June 1 - At Jubelt's  in Litchfield, I met up with Bill Kelly, Executive Director of Illinois Route 66 Scenic Byway, and Dave Tucker, Vice-President of Blue Carpet Corridor, for hand-off of materials for Blue Carpet Corridor weekend. Lunch was terrific as always at this long-standing cafe-bakery. June 4 - I drove to Greenville to record a podcast for Creekside with Don and Jan at Owl Creek  with the lively and fun Don and Jan Stover. We talked Route 66, the upcoming Blue Carpet Corridor event, and my ne
Read more

Sixth Annual Miles of Possibility Route 66 Conference is planned for October 2021

-
Image
The Miles of Possibility Route 66 Conference is back this year with its sixth annual event, to be held virtually Thursday – Sunday, October 21 – 24, 2021. This year's theme is “A Worldwide Celebration of Route 66,” emphasizing the love of Route 66 and its collegiality that is truly an international phenomenon. To that end, this year's slate of speakers and presenters comes to you from across all eight Route 66 states and from locations around the world. Embracing the virtual format, the organizers have created a truly “worldwide” event!  The by-now familiar conference format plus social activities will be followed again this year with a few new twists. The event kicks off with a Thursday evening virtual Happy Hour to meet and greet old and new friends and colleagues from around the globe. Friday and Saturday feature daytime conference sessions, with no need this year to choose from multiple breakout sessions. ROUTE Magazine editor Brennen Matthews will present the keynote speec
Read more

Edwardsville's A&W Drive In - Edwardsville's Route 66 History #7

-
Image
As promised, here we are back to Edwardsville's Route 66 history with the story of the A&W Root Beer Drive-In. This was published in the November 2012 issue of The Prairie Land Buzz and also in an issue of Show Me Route 66. Give an eatery half a century in the same location and it's bound to generate a lot of memories. And when the restaurant is owned by the same family all those years, their story becomes part of the community's story. Mel and Vonney Kaufmann lived in Wisconsin when they started hearing glowing reports of Vonney's sister's successful A & W Root Beer Drive-In franchise in Springfield, Illinois. Inspired to search for a city that needed an A & W, Mel and Vonney decided on Edwardsville. They arrived in 1954 and purchased a lot on St. Louis Street/Route 66 on which to build their A & W. The Kauffmanns' chosen property had once been the location of the grand two-story A. O. French residence, but the now-empty lot had more re
Read more