Raw States
International Route 66 Mother Road Festival
Springfield, IL · Festival
- When
- September 25–27, 2026
- Where
- Historic Downtown Springfield, Old State Capitol Plaza · Springfield · IL
- Cost
- Not confirmed
- Status
- Confirmed from the organizer's published schedule
Springfield's Mother Road Festival is Illinois's flagship Route 66 celebration, drawing more than a thousand vintage vehicles downtown each September. The weekend includes a Friday night cruise through the historic district, a burnout competition, and live entertainment. It has run since 2001, and 2026 marks its 25th year alongside Route 66's centennial.
The history within reach
Springfield's Mother Road Festival is Illinois's flagship Route 66 celebration, drawing more than a thousand vintage vehicles downtown each September.
- The House Divided speech0.1 mi
Accepting the Republican nomination for the Senate, Lincoln opened with a house divided against itself cannot stand, and his friends told him the line would cost him the election.
- The horseshoe sandwich0.3 mi
Texas toast, a slab of meat, a heap of chips and a ladle of cheese sauce over all of it, invented at the Leland Hotel and named for the shape of the ham cut.
He bought it for fifteen hundred dollars and a lot, raised it to two storeys when the family outgrew it, and sold the furniture before leaving for Washington.
Susan Lawrence Dana gave Frank Lloyd Wright an open budget and he spent it: thirty-five rooms, a barrel-vaulted gallery, and the largest collection of Wright art glass and furniture still in the building it was made for.