Mr. Josh Noble presented a flowery, paid for by the city, slide presentation to the City Council last week. Thank you to the council members who spoke up in favor of Downtown Kingman. Mr. Noble’s presentation was very nice, very professionally done, but Mr. Noble failed to tell you all the truth about the other 66 Fests around the country and to provide the City Council members, the mayor and others who have great interest in bringing our Route 66 Fest to Downtown Kingman, as it is being done in virtually every other locale throughout the country, where Route 66 Fests are held.

I don’t have the city resources to present a nice slideshow, but here are some facts.

I have been in contact with every city listed on Mr. Noble’s slide show 

Route 66 type events are held every year throughout our country and in virtually every case, in every city, in every town, not one of these major events is held in a park 2+ miles away from the Downtown. No, they are held, they are being held, in all of these cities and towns throughout our country, right smack dab in the Downtown of these locales.

As I have been advocating for these past three years, where the event has been held in Dog/Lewis Park, instead of Downtown Kingman, why in the world would we not duplicate the massive, major successes of all of these other cities and towns where the Route 66 events are held and hold our event in Downtown Kingman? 

There is simply no rhyme, reason or sane rationale that makes any sense at all for the City of Kingman to hold the Route 66 Fest in a park, known locally, by most, and even depicted on Google Maps as Dog Park, along with Lewis Park, 2+ miles away, a 48-minute walk, from Downtown Kingman. Likewise, people are not going to go and visit the Route 66 Fest in that park, run back to their cars in the dirt lot, hop in and head for Downtown to enjoy what has turned out to be, these last three years, a ghost town on Fridays and Saturdays.

Even Council Member, Eric, referenced not going to Kingman Downtown because it was, as he said, “a hassle”. The shuttle service was also a waste of time and money – Mr. Noble claims that 100-200 shuttles were run the 2nd year the service was offered – which is highly questionable – we did not see any shuttles down our way. Seems an exact count of the shuttle rides should be and should have been made available.

The event, held in that park+ miles away from Downtown Kingman, that benefits no one, other than the vendors, who have brought their wares and goodies to sell to the visitors, leaving all of the 68 or so Downtown Merchants, Wine Bars, Breweries and Fabulous eating establishments, out in the lurch. The vendors, the majority of which will be from out of town, will pack up and leave, and probably will not pay all the taxes due to the city on the sales that they generate, thereby, leaving the city itself in the lurch.

The question is, why are we doing this? What on earth is the fascination for holding the Route 66 fest in a park 2+ miles away from Downtown Kingman where all of our businesses, bars, restaurants, wineries and breweries are located, when no other city is doing that anywhere in the country? Not one. Because it is on Route 66? Downtown Kingman is the Heart of Route 66. We, Downtown Kingman, represent not just the Heart of Route 66, but the beginning of the longest contiguous stretch of Route 66 in the country. Why would we hold it anywhere else other than in our beautiful $7 million Downtown?

Josh Noble made a statement in one of his emails he sent out last year, that “the event is being held in Lewis Park to benefit the businesses around the park”. We all know that that is not true. We all know that there are no restaurants bars, wineries, breweries or businesses of any sort, within reasonable walking distance, around that park.

This is our Downtown area with businesses, bars, wineries and restaurants on both sides of Beale St.:

This is Dog/Lewis Park and its environs, showing nothing – no businesses of any sort on either side of the park

Yes, Kingman offers a lot of events Downtown that, yes, benefit the merchants, the city, and the visitors and guests from out of town, i.e., the tourists, as do the other cities and towns around the country that hold Route 66 events. But do they, those other cities and towns around the country, then hold the most important event of the year at a park or a venue 2+ miles away from their Downtown area and our city’s very own Visitor Center? No, they hold it right smack dab in their Downtown, in the middle of Main Street, which is where Kingman should be holding its Route 66 Fest.

There is more than enough parking from 6th Street all the way up to Grandview, on all the side streets, in the various parking lots, along Beale, in the Powerhouse parking lot and other locations as documented by the information that has been provided during the past three years, showing and laying out the adequacy of available spaces equal to, if not greater, than parking in that dirt lot next to the park.

All of the events, games, zip lines, and other enjoyments for the visitors, the kids, etc. can be set up along the street, side streets, Locomotive Park, Metcalf Park and/or even possibly the Lee Williams fields, to satisfy the needs and wants of our visitors and guests and all this right Downtown smack dab in the middle of our beautiful, newly renovated $7 million Beale Street.

Mr. Noble even admitted that that option had not even been pursued, that the city would need permission from KUSD. Seems that was something that would have and should have been part and parcel of Mr. Noble’s presentation.

Additionally, as we have seen in years past, over the past three, with the closing of Andy Devine/Route 66 at the park, traffic is force-diverted onto our side streets, causing major traffic interference with our local residences, especially the 80,000 pound 18 wheelers rolling onto those side streets that were not built for 80,000 pound 18 wheelers.

And as to the attendance level at Lewis Park, which I sincerely question the veracity of, especially last year, and the year before, when stormy weather and rain virtually shut the place down, was pathetic. We get more traffic and more visitors at events held in our lot at Thunder-Rode, during the Fun Run and other events than the numbers being promoted by Mr.Noble as ‘great’ for the 66 Fest in Dog/Lewis Park. 

There is no question, that the holding of this event in Downtown Kingman would attract many hundreds if not thousands more visitors, guests, locals, and tourists to our Downtown, which, is also directly on Route 66 and portrays, better than any place else, in or around our city, our claim to fame, that Kingman is the Heart of Route 66. This is clearly obvious from the massive crowds in attendance in the Downtowns at virtually every other major Route 66 event in all of the cities listed above.

I urge the City of Kingman to immediately vacate any plans to hold any further Kingman Route 66 Events, including this, the upcoming 2024-year event, anywhere other than Downtown Kingman, for all the reasons laid out above.

Jack Alexander

Thunder-Rode Motorcycle Accessories