Three cruise-ins, a parade, live music scheduled for the Route 66 Festival

Schedules are being finalized for the Lebanon-Laclede County Route 66 Society’s annual Route 66 Festival presented by Heritage Bank. Festival goers will enjoy three classic-car cruise-ins, a parade and lots of live music over the two-day event June 18 and 19. The kick-off event is a cruise-in on Friday evening from 5 to 10 p.m. in downtown Lebanon. Day two of the festival begins at 8:30 a.m. Saturday at Boswell Park with a bike parade and decorated-bike contest for kids at the murals. At 9 a.m. cars will line up at Wyota Drive across from Laclede Electric for the annual parade. According to Leland Townsend, one of the parade organizers, more than 150 vehicles are expected this year. “During the last few years, it was decided to have a parade to commence the festival so that the vehicles could actually travel the Mother Road,” he said.  Townsend said the parade starts at 10 a.m. and travels to Utah Street to enter Boswell Park, where the festival is held, for a cruise-in until 3 p.m. For more on this story see Wednesday's LCR.