2021 Festival Schedule:

Join us as we celebrate 90 miles of Route 66 through Illinois on Saturday, May 1, 2021 for the 14th Annual Red Carpet Corridor Festival! Each community will have their own events; here's what's happening in Pontiac:

Swinging Bridges Art Festival: Saturday, May 1 from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM and Sunday, May 2 from 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM in the 200 block of West Madison Street. Our check-in code will be located here!

Museums Open: All four of our museums will be open 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM.

Touch a Truck: Get an up close and personal look at a variety of large equipment from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM on Block 59 (the lot south of the historic courthouse). 

Historic Homes Open: All three of our Historic Homes will be open to the public from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM: The Yost House (298 W Water St), The Jones House (314 E Madison St), and The Strevell House (401 W Livingston St). 

While you're visiting the museums, check out this new feature in the Life on the Titanic exhibit: The Adventures of Axelina

On Saturday, May 1, 2021 a new display is opening in The Life on the Titanic exhibit. This exhibit shares the two-month personal voyage in 1928 of Axelina Constanzia Ergo aboard the White Star Line ship, the S.S. Doric. Just as the Titanic had done eleven years earlier, Doric was making a transatlantic crossing from Europe to North America.  Although Doric was one-third the size of Titanic, it exhibited the same stately lines; the same red, black and white colors; and the same lavish interior as Titanic.

Along the way Axie kept a daily diary of her adventures and destinations along the Mediterranean Sea. The original diary serves as the basis for the exhibit and can be seen along with her hand colored portrait on display. The exhibit can be seen at the Pontiac Museum Complex located at 110 W. Howard Street.

Contactless Giveaway Information

2021 Commemorative Postcard Passcodes can be found in each of our 12 participating communities typically where the previous giveaways were handed out. Here's how to participate in our no contact commemorative giveaway program. Download the Illinois Route 66 Scenic Byway app and check into each of the 12 participating lcoations with a specific code from that location. Your commemorative 95th anniversary postcard will be mailed to you. No smartphone? No problem! Submit all 12 codes along with your name and mailing address on a piece of paper, we will mail the commemorative 95th anniversary postcard to you. Submit your entry to City of Pontiac, RCC, 115 W Howard St., Pontiac, IL 61764.