▶ Swap Meet: Located inside Adams Park. The event runs from 8 a.m. until dark.
▶ Golf Outing: Played at Crimson Creek Golf Course. The event starts at 7 a.m.
The El Reno Police Department has one clear message to those wanting to burn rubber on city streets: “Pay 10 bucks and come to A Small Town Weekend,” said Lt. Brian Hickman.
That’s right, one of ASTW's biggest crowd draws will be laying down the rubber on the Mother Road as the Route 66 Burnout returns after a year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It’s good to be back and we think it’s going to be a good year. This (ASTW) will be the first event in the city opened up to full capacity and we are excited to be back.”
The 23rd Annual A Small Town Weekend will not only pay tribute to America’s love affair with classic cars and Route 66, it will also serve as a fundraiser for the Redlands Community College women’s golf program.
The El Reno Cruisers have put on the three-day salute to small-town America with the event since it first arrived on the scene in 1998. And for the second consecutive year, the colorful gathering will open with an 18-hole, four-player scramble golf tournament.
While it may not garner the kind of attention of a burnout or drag race, the swap meet at A Small Town Weekend is the place to be if you’re in the market for automotive items, a purse, metal wall décor or custom glitter tumblers.
Or just something good to eat.
While the youngsters won’t be hitting the gas or smoking the tires, the level of competition will be the same as the popular Hot Wheels races return to the 2021 A Small Town Weekend schedule.
The event will have a new venue this year as the parking lot of Trinity Lutheran Church will hold the multi-lane track. The church is located at 500 S. Country Club Road or in the southeast corner of Adams Park.
“Everything will be the same as in the past, we will just be at a new place,” said El Reno Fire Department Sgt. David Baker.
Canadian County commissioners were expected to purchase property near the new Expo Center to build a sewage lagoon.
The commissioners were to convene as the Public Facilities Authority Thursday afternoon to consider the purchase.
Commissioner David Anderson said the lagoon would be necessary because the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) declined to authorize the hauling of waste from the new Expo Center to a municipal sewage system.
Ice in October and cold in February combined to push back the completion of the Rock Island overpass. The multimillion-dollar project was expected to open at the end of July, but Mother Nature does not consult with the Oklahoma Department of Transportation.
Lisa Shearer-Salim with ODOT said the reconstruction of the overpass should be complete by “early fall.” She said progress is going well, but Oklahoma weather has a way of interrupting.
“It’s all about the weather,” she said. “If we don’t get the heavy rain, it should be complete by early fall, possibly late summer.”
Canadian County commissioners have not yet decided whether to formally request funding through a federal stimulus package.
The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 could provide Canadian County some $28 million to be spent on infrastructure and other projects.
“We’re looking at roughly $28 million to be distributed - $14 million now and the other $14 million one year from now,” Commission Chairman Jack Stewart said.
