El Reno is throwing open Mother Road Plaza next Wednesday for a celebration marking Route 66's 100th anniversary, complete with live music, food, and the first-ever raising of nine flags behind the city's 66 Shield. City officials are preparing the event for November 11, 2026, running from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at 116 W. Wade Street, and city leaders have invited the public to join the festivities.
The celebration's centerpiece is a flag ceremony set for noon, when the American flag will go up alongside banners representing each of the eight states Route 66 passes through. As reported by KFOR, the new flagpoles were installed behind the El Reno 66 Shield as a joint project of the city's Lions, Kiwanis, and Rotary clubs. That kind of civic teamwork isn't new to the city's Route 66 efforts either — a similar alliance of three El Reno clubs previously joined forces to help create another attraction honoring the local Route 66 heritage, according to the El Reno Tribune.
A Lions Club Member's Idea Finally Comes Together
The flagpole project traces back to Curtis Blanc, a Lions Club member who proposed bringing the clubs together for the community's benefit. Blanc told KFOR that after earlier difficulties, the project's schedule lined up for an unveiling timed to Route 66's 100th anniversary. He can be reached at 816-863-1079 for anyone interested in donating or learning more about the flag project, per the same account.
Live entertainment will come from Jimmy Dale's Route 66 Road Show, which will perform music highlighting the highway's glory days in the 1950s and 1960s. Guests who stop by the Filling Station at 120 S. Choctaw Ave. on November 11, or who attend the celebration, will receive an exclusive El Reno Route 66 Centennial t-shirt, according to city officials cited by the outlet.
Mother Road Plaza's Role in El Reno's Tourism Push
The gathering unfolds around the Mother Road Plaza Route 66 monument, installed in 2018, which the station notes continues to welcome visitors from around the world. The plaza has been part of a broader buildout of Route 66 attractions downtown — in 2024, El Reno was under contract to buy a former gas station at Sunset Drive and Choctaw Avenue for $150,000, according to Route66News. The city also sought a $1.24 million grant for what became the Filling Station project, carrying a total estimated cost of $1.38 million, and pursued a separate $1.396 million grant for Mother Road and Petree Plaza improvements estimated at $1.55 million, the outlet reported.
The Filling Station grant request eventually paid off. The Oklahoma Route 66 Commission provided a $1.2 million grant to renovate the Filling Station, which opened in 2024, according to KOSU. More recently, in December 2025, El Reno landed a second grant from the commission — $725,000 toward a downtown Hub project with a total cost of $2 million, meant to house a Heritage Express Trolley replica, which appeared in the movie Twisters, and add more parking. KOSU reported the Hub was presented as part of the community's preparations for the Mother Road's centennial.
Part of a Statewide Centennial Push
El Reno's event is one piece of a much larger statewide effort. The Oklahoma Route 66 Centennial Commission, established in 2019 to plan and coordinate programs for the highway's 100th birthday with support from the Oklahoma Historical Society, is planning centennial programs, according to TravelOK. The Oklahoma Route 66 Association describes a yearlong celebration across the state and says the commission will oversee projects and events. A separate Oklahoma Route 66 Commission was established in 2022 specifically to fund development along the historic road. Elsewhere in the state, Oklahoma Route 66's event listings show Tulsa planning its own Birthday Bash and Veterans Day Parade for the same day, November 11, 2026, featuring live music and performances across downtown Tulsa.
Back in El Reno, residents say the Mother Road's pull on the local community has only grown. Larry Nance told News9 that Route 66 tourism in town has grown significantly, describing it as “off the chart” and crediting it with helping draw the community together, a sentiment the station captured in its reporting on the city's Route 66 history and food scene. With new flagpoles standing behind the 66 Shield and a trolley hub on the way, El Reno's November 11 gathering looks like one more step in a years-long buildout rather than a one-off event.
