WILLIAMS—Tow Mater took time to stop in downtown Williams Friday as he traveled route 66 with a host of classic cars. The cars were part of a rally on their way to a car show in Bull Head City.
While route 66 was mentioned in the film Cars—of which Mr. Mater was a star—Williams has another connection to the film. An artist for the production traveled route 66 making sketches of old cars for the film. One of the sketches was drawn from a Model-T owned by Eddie—formerly of Eddie’s Tires. The sketch was used to create the “Lizzie” character in the movie. The Model-T was purportedly owned by Pancho Villa at one time.
WILLIAMS—At the City Council meeting March 28th, Mike Brown of Western Destinations proposed the instillation of a ride called Zip Line perhaps in the area of Cureton Park. The proposed cost of rides would be approximately $39 with a re-ride costing half of that. Williams residents would get a discounted price.
The ride, Mr. Brown indicated, could provide as many as forty jobs in Williams. Local residents would be trained to conduct the ride safely and the ride would be insured for $5 million.
Councilman Don Dent considered what affect such a ride would have on the Route 66 image that Williams has built up. Joplin Missouri and Branson Missouri have theme parks along, or in the area of, Route 66 both trading off on the Route 66 name. Knight’s Action Park operates in Springfield, Illinois along the Mother Road.
Blog BatesLine by Michael Bates of Tulsa Okalahoma asked: Wouldn’t it be cool to restore Crystal City on Historic Route 66 as an amusement park, right next to a restored Red Fork Main Street?
Dwayne the canoe guy commented:
This is great news. There is a small amusement ‘park’ on Route 66 in Joplin but it would be great to have a good sized park like Bell’s rockin & rollin on the Mother Road. Especially with a minigolf with 66 icons (wigwam motel, round barn, gemini giant, cadillac ranch)
Right here in Williams, Napolitano approved a special taxing district for a theme park in Williams that never developed. That action even caused the County Board of Supervisors to raise property taxes for a short time. So you now know what a “special taxing district” is.
Flagstaff operates a smaller version of the Zip Line ride at their Extreme Adventure Course near the fairgrounds as seen in the following video.
There are currently Zip Line rides in Indianapolis, Las Vegas and Hawaii. For the longest and fastest Zip Line in the world, you will need a ticket to South Africa.
Mr. Brown indicated that the ride would be “low impact” meaning that it could be easily removed leaving no marks if it did not do well. However, the engineering in the videos presented does not appear to bear that out. It appears that Williams would have to build a large tower to make the ride. It is also unclear how the project would impact softball and little league games at the park.
While the project does not seem appropriate in the indicated area, it could be an interesting compliment to the Bearizona drive through wildlife park. Another area of possible interest might be the Williams snow play area.
Last Advent concert at St John’s Episcopal-Luthern Church
The last of the Advent musical presentations ended last Sunday at the St John’s Episcopal-Lutheran Church. Of course they invite visitors and new members to the 100-year old Church anytime.
The predicted snow of last night was less than spectacular leaving less than one-inch to add to the snow of the previous storms. Still there is plenty of snow left to construct that snowman as visitors to the Polar Express will attest to.
Light snow and rain is forecast for Wednesday during the day raising to a 50% chance on Thursday to deliver up to two-inches of fresh powder. Friday follows with a slight chance of light snow before 11 a.m. clearing to give us a sunny Saturday with a chance of snow the following two days.
Visitors to the Polar Express are reminded that they should stop at one of the local stores to purchase gloves for their kids.
This is, also, the last week in which you can visit Bearizona Drive-Thru animal park during the weekdays. During January and February they will only be open on Saturday and Sunday during their normal hours of 8 a.m. with the last car being admitted at 4 p.m. They have a GPS system which gives you a personalized tour of the park. After driving through the main attraction you can relax and take a stroll among the animals and take in the Raptor Show in the walk-through area.
We experienced hunters don’t need the GPS, but it might be useful for you tourists
WILLIAMS—Santa will be busy in Williams on the 15th and 16th with Santa’s World of Wonders on Saturday and the Kiwanis annual dinner on Sunday. In addition the Save-Meant to Rescue organization will host a wine and beer tasting event to benefit the Williams animal rescue effort.
On the 15th, Santa will visit the Williams Recreation Center from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. where there will be games, prizes, treats and family fun.
At 6 p.m. the animal rescue group Save-Meant To Rescue will host a wine and craft beer tasting event with hors d’oeuvres and live music at the historic “Yellow House” near Safeway. Tickets are $30 and are available thru MTR members or call 928-635-1571
The annual Kiwanis Dinner will be held December 16th at Doc Holiday’s in the Holiday Inn. The event will run from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. The Kiwanis holds the annual event with a visit from Santa and prizes for the kids. Everyone is invited.
WILLIAMS—The Grand Canyon Renaissance Experience is presenting a fundraiser on December 1. The fundraiser will be held from 7-10 p.m. at the Sultana Theater on Route 66 in downtown Williams.
Tickets for the fundraiser are $25 for couples or $12.95 per person, which includes dinner and the show. Tickets are limited and are available at the City of Williams Forest Service Visitor Center. Attendees can come dressed in renaissance, Christmas or western costume or come as you are.
Mark Worden, Managing Director of the group, said in a recent Williams News interview, “We hope to make ‘A Knight to Remember’ an annual event for our town.”
Working with Bearizona, the Grand Canyon Renaissance Experience is working on a project that would include a castle on 12-acres south of I-40 near Garland Prairie Road. The event includes a brief about the project. Local artists will present drawings and color renderings of the proposed project.
The “faire” for the event includes a Beef bread bowl, salad, baked potato and desert. Entertainment includes various styles of dance and music.
