Another fun and exciting weekend is coming up in Flagstaff with the Annual Route 66 Celebration of the “Mother Road.” The real kick-off of the event was the Flagstaff Symphony Orchestra performance, “Car Tunes” at the spectacular Pine Mountain Amphitheatre at Ft. Tuthill in south Flagstaff. The concert, last Monday night, was one of FSO’s free events of the summer and, was, I thought, simply superb. Even the thunderstorm cooperated with the music, providing distant lightening that seemed to coordinate with the percussion. This weekend, September 7-9, look for the focus of fun in downtown Flagstaff. The final outdoor movie of the summer will start at dusk at Heritage Square. The Disney/Pixar feature Cars. For those of you who don’t know this movie, think: Toy Story, The Incredibles, and Finding Nemo. (My personal reviewer says the message of Cars is a little heavy for the 4 and 6 year olds in our family, but still fun.) The movie is brought to you by the Flagstaff Downtown Business Alliance. Bring a jacket and blanket to sit comfortably at Heritage Square during the movie. You also have the opportunity to experience Flagstaff’s First Friday Artwalk. Art galleries throughout downtown Flagstaff will be open with munchies, appetizers and special displays, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. On Saturday, the featured event, of course, is the Route 66 Club Car Show. See antique, classic, and unique cars parked all over downtown Flagstaff. There is also an arts and crafts show on the lawn of Flagstaff City Hall (Humphrey’s and Route 66) and lots of live music, beer and food in the City Hall parking lot, all day. The Route 66 Celebration day tops off late in the afternoon with the car show awards ceremony. Just across the street on the lawn of the Flagstaff Public Library at Aspen and Sitgreves streets, you’ll find a literary event for kids on Saturday afternoon. From 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., Literacy Volunteers of Coconino County is sponsoring an ice cream social with word games (like Scrabble) for fun and to raise literacy awareness. September 8 is worldwide Literacy Awareness Day. If you’re feeling a bit more like a hike, take a ranger-guided tour at the top of the Agassiz ski lift in the San Francisco Peaks. The lift is open Friday-Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Cost is $10 for adults under 70 and is free to older adults and to kids under seven with reduced rates for juniors and seniors. Rangers will guide walking tours from the top of the lift. Sunday, the Route 66 Days Celebration continues with the arts and crafts show and car show from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and there will be more live music in the afternoon, including the Flagstaff Symphony Orchestra’s brass quintet from noon – 1 p.m. When the car celebration ends at 3 p.m., mosey on into downtown Flagstaff for Bluegrass music at Heritage Square starting at 4 p.m. Performance by Burnett Family Bluegrass, winners at the Telluride festival! | 
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