The giveaway for May 7’s Route 66 Red Carpet Corridor Festival is 12 stickers from towns, which will have posters featuring the late Bob Waldmire’s recreational van, on display at the Route 66 Association of Illinois Hall of Fame and Museum in Pontiac. (Route 66 Red Carpet Corridor Fest)

A daylong chance to experience Route 66 awaits on the historic roadway in Joliet, Elwood, Wilmington, Braidwood, Godley, Braceville, Gardner, Dwight, Odell, Pontiac, Chenoa and Lexington.

These towns are showcased in the 15th annual Route 66 Red Carpet Corridor Festival on May 7.

“This event is a good way to get out and explore 80 miles of Route 66. You get a taste of each community,” said Liz Vincent, a member of the Route 66 Red Carpet Corridor Festival committee.

“Then hopefully they’ll come back to the towns and maybe they’ll explore them more. Maybe they’ll actually want to travel the whole route.

“There’s going to be a lot of interest surrounding Route 66 in the coming years. The centennial is coming up in 2026.”

The annual commemorative giveaway is a sticker in each of Route 66 Red Carpet Corridor Festival’s 12 communities, which will have 11-by-17-inch posters featuring the late Bob Waldmire’s recreational van that is on display at the Route 66 Association of Illinois Hall of Fame and Museum in Pontiac.

“As people go along in each community, there’s a giveaway in each community. We’ve done buttons, wooden nickels, postcards, magnets and all different sorts of things,” said Vincent, who is also tourism director for Pontiac.

“This is the one I’m most excited about. I think a lot of people are really going to like this one. This year you get the board that has the beat-up bus on it. That’s pretty well-known. He lived in that bus for a while. He traveled in that bus on Route 66.”

The self-guided tour is making a comeback after not taking place in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and returning in an altered fashion in 2021.

“The highlight of this year is we’re actually going to be doing it in person. Two years ago we canceled it. Last year we still held the festival and each town did their own thing but to keep with social distancing and everything we did a virtual check-in and at the end people got a giveaway,” Vincent said.

“A lot of people love to do this drive so that they can get their giveaway from each town. Just the fact that people are going to get to stop in each town, talk to people in each town and get their giveaway, I think that’s the most exciting part about it.”

Joliet includes free admission at the Joliet Area Historical Museum and discounted self-guided tours at the Old Joliet Prison while Elwood includes an antique tractor exhibit, the Douglas Street Wayside Exhibit featuring Rosie the Riveter, and Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery.

Wilmington includes the Route 66 Band, Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie and photos with Smokey Bear while Braidwood includes the “zoo” featuring metal folk art by the late Jack Barker and photo opportunities with Elvis Presley, Superman and others at the Polk-a-Dot Drive In.

Godley includes the Illinois Route 66 Mining Museum while Braceville includes a historical display by Alice Creech.

“One of my favorite things about this is the generations of families out on the road exploring together,” said Vincent of Pontiac.

“I know everybody is itching to get out and do things after the last couple of years and this is a great opportunity to really just explore what’s in your backyard.”

Gardner includes a meet and greet with the mayor at Two-Cell Jail, the Scapegoats Car Show and Elvis tribute artist Hugo, while Dwight includes the Route 66 Smoke Out barbecue competition.

Odell includes the historic 1932 Standard Oil gasoline station on Route 66, while Pontiac includes the annual Swinging Bridges Fine Arts Festival and live music.

Chenoa includes an original Texaco Star gas station location and the Matthew T. Scott House listed on the National Register of Historic Places, while Lexington includes Patton Cabin, the oldest extant building in McLean County, and the nationally recognized David Hyatt Van Dolah house (aka The Castle).

“Illinois Route 66 Scenic Byway is doing a giveaway for the first time. It’s going to be a gift package of $250 worth of Route 66-themed merchandise,” Vincent said.

“All you have to do is download their app. Then you just do a mobile check-in at each location. At the end of it, they’re going to do a drawing. That’s really cool.”

Route 66 Red Carpet Corridor Festival

When: 8 a.m.-5 p.m. May 7

Where: Joliet, Elwood, Wilmington, Braidwood, Godley, Braceville, Gardner, Dwight, Odell, Pontiac, Chenoa and Lexington

Tickets: prices vary in each community

Information: 815-844-5847; ilroute66redcarpetcorridor.com

Jessi Virtusio is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.