by Richard Stephens, Jr., staff writer
Stroud celebrated summer a week early on June 13 with its annual SummerFest, using Saturday afternoon and evening to enjoy wine and a car show set to music on four blocks of Main Street (Route 66). Adam Chace, the Lead Planner with the host Chamber of Commerce, estimated 4 ,500 people came.
Hundreds walked through the pavilion, tasting wine by the glass after paying a $20 entrance fee. Cooling afternoon temperatures encouraged many to sample – and resample – white and red wines with dry, sweet and fruity flavors served as is or as slushies from the wineries of Wildhorse Canyon Farms of Luther, Native Spirits of Norman, Tidewater of Drumright and four other booths. Rick Vollmer, the Native Spirits Winery owner, sold $17 bottles of wine. “We’ve done pretty well out here. There was a nice crowd earlier.”
Eighty-one highly polished and cleaned cars, pick-ups and motorcycles from four states – with some rough originals as well – parked on Main Street for viewing and judging. Admirers viewed 93 years of road history – everything from a 1929 Ford Model T to a 2026 Chevrolet Corvette.
Justin Lackney of Lawton’s wonderfully wacky purple “Dead Sled” custom car was a crowd stopper. Using a 1930 Model A Ford and Chevy chassis and displaying eight, five-foot-tall exhaust pipes, he added two caskets: one to sit and drive in and the other, a pulled wagon which displayed an orange-faced skeleton – unique!
Car owners earned first through third place trophies in 18 categories, along with awards for Best Engine and Interior and Best of Show. Brandon Wikel of Cushing won the Chamber of Commerce Choice and David McCutty earned Best of Show with a 2019 Ram Truck.
Co-Owner Halle Mash of The Old Stroud Trading Post and Pawn was pleased with sales. “This is our favorite day of the year. One of our best-selling days.”
On center stage, three types of live music entertained attendees. First, The Andrews Sisters, dressed in 1940s uniforms, sang songs from that period. Ashley Mandanus, Grace Martin, and Maggie Sherman work for Character Connections in Oklahoma City. They said, “We love singing in the ‘40s style. And we love playing homage to the original Andrews Sisters.”
The Highway 66 Band took care of business with popular songs from the 1950s – 1990s. Finally, Loose Gravel’s four-man rock and roll band entertained hundreds playing hits from Blue Oyster Cult, Santana, and The Outfield in advance of the fireworks at 10:00 p.m.
The fireworks capped a nice day’s celebration of Stroud. Plenty of wine, merchandise, showy cars and musical entertainment combined to make this a memorable festival on Route 66.
Chace was pleased. He said, “With 81 car show entries, people going up and down the street having fun, 78 pop-up (tent) vendors and with hundreds of entries of wine tasting, these made the festival a success.”
