Holbrook is gearing up for an exciting event on Saturday, June 11, the return of Holbrook’s Route 66 Festival. Although just in its third year, the event is already getting a lot of attention and will be expanding from Gillespie Park to cover several blocks of Hopi Drive.
While other communities may focus on one aspect of Route 66, Holbrook has a unique history that creates a different type of celebration.
“Holbrook’s Route 66 Festival’s mission is to celebrate Holbrook’s eclectic history. We don’t want it to be all about the 50s-style diner, as that’s not what the original motorist experienced. They experienced a little bit of our wild west history, our Native American and Mexican cultures, our history with the railroad and the Hashknife, that is who we are and who we have always been, and we want to highlight that throughout this festival,” explained Kathleen Smith, the city’s community events director.
Plans for the event have been underway since last year, and will feature classic movies at the Roxy Theater, an Americana photo exhibit at the old train depot, a full service gas station at the Farr’s Shell Station at the intersection of Navajo Blvd. and Hopi Drive, and a great deal more.
“Visitors to our festival will get to experience everything from classic cars to potato cars, the Hashknife Pony Express and Elvis, we will have Native American and Mexican folkloric dancers, along with Elvis, Buddy Holly and Ricky Nelson, and for a variety, Cowhouse band is coming back for its second year,” Smith said.
As with most local events, volunteer support makes all the difference in ensuring success. To help with promoting the event, the Route 66 Dolls was formed, including Cassandra Ferniza and Ashley Smith of Holbrook, and Shannon Mosier and Talaina Fisher of Joseph City.
This group of ladies will be making the rounds throughout the county to promote the upcoming event and recently took part in a photo shoot at Keith Portenier’s classic car museum in Holbrook. Betty Peck of Holbrook and Sonia Brinkerhoff both dedicated their time and energy to the project, with Peck creating the era-perfect dresses for the ladies and Brinkerhoff making certain that hair and makeup were on point. Pulling it all together was Mich Lundgren, a professional photographer who operates Ramble & Revel Photography out of Winslow.
With the event just a month away, there are still opportunities to volunteer or become a vendor during the festival. For more information, call Smith at (928) 524-6225 or visit her at Holbrook City Hall, located at 465 First Ave.
