Route 66 Big Band Hangar Dance Set for Weatherford on April 25th
Entrance of the Stafford Air & Space Museum in Weatherford, Oklahoma.
The Oklahoma Route 66 Association’s first Centennial event, which celebrates the early years of the famous highway, is coming up on April 25th. Tickets are on sale now for the Route 66 Big Band Hangar Dance, which will take place at the Stafford Air and Space Museum with support from the City of Weatherford.
The Mother Road turns 100 this year, a milestone that the Association has been looking forward to for many years. “Over the last century, Route 66 has had many lives,” said Association President Rhys Martin. “Before it was a road of nostalgia and the subject of Bobby Troupe’s famous song, Highway 66 was an important part of the World War II mobilization effort. It helped with troop movements out west and provided a safe and reliable path for materials to get where they needed to be. This event is a way for us to honor that era while also showing people that Route 66 is about the past and the future.”
Weatherford has elevated the legacy of its most famous citizen, General Thomas Stafford, and branded itself as Space City with multiple landmarks. Not only is it the home of the Smithsonian-affiliated Stafford Air and Space Museum, but they recently built a giant spaceman downtown and have Route 66 markers placed around the city. It’s become a hub of economic development and local engagement. But it’s also a town that appreciates its history, of which Route 66 is a big part.
The April event will include big band music courtesy of Talk of the Town Orchestra and dance lessons from the Oklahoma Swing Syndicate as well as refreshments from Lucille’s Roadhouse, a photo booth, and the opportunity to see vintage aircraft up close! A C-47 and a C-45 are flying in as well as a 1942 Fairchild PT-19 from The Caldwell Collection in El Reno. The latter is the same model that was used at Mustang Field as a primary trainer for thousands of airmen.
Also scheduled for the event is a screening of a documentary series about Rosie the Riveters during World War II. “I am honored to be part of the Route 66 Big Band Hangar Dance, sharing three short films that celebrate extraordinary women of World War II,” said director Katrina Parks. “Mary L. Ruiz and Erlinda Avila stepped into roles long denied to women, while also breaking ground as Latinas during an era marked by segregation. The WAVES and WACs film offers a glimpse into the essential, high-level work women carried out behind the scenes of the War. As we approach the Route 66 Centennial, these stories remind us of the women that shaped communities along the Mother Road.”
Tickets are $45 for Oklahoma Route 66 Association members and $50 for the general public; each one comes with an exclusive Route 66 Centennial challenge coin. Tickets are on sale now at oklahomaroute66.com/bbhd.
