Howdy, Holbrook. Happy Sunday.
There is a piece of Route 66 history hiding right under your feet, and this week's lore digs it up.
We also caught wind of some news around town. The kind neighbors will be talking about all week. You will want to read it here first.
Wild West Fest is featured this week, the $100 hunt rolls on with Clue No. 4, and the Roxy has a free movie on deck alongside its new main attraction.
⛈️ This Week's Weather
A stormy stretch is on the way for Holbrook this week. Highs will reach 88 degrees and lows will dip down to 62, so the temperatures are comfortable enough, but keep an eye on the sky.
If you are planning to catch the Free Youth Soccer Skills Camp on Saturday or browse the Motherload Market that same morning, it would be smart to watch the forecast. Storms have a way of showing up unannounced this time of year, so go prepared.
Around Town This Week
Colleen hosts line dancing every Monday and Friday out at the Holbrook Elks Lodge, and whether you have two left feet or have been dancing for years, all levels are welcome. Each class runs $10, or you can grab a 5-class pack for $40. To sign up or ask any questions, reach Colleen at 928-241-2601 or through Venmo at @Colleen-Dawes.
Join us at the Holbrook Public Library for Craft and Sip. This week: Sand Art. Layer colored sand to create a design to take home. Enjoy an Apple Cider Sangria mocktail while you craft. All ages welcome. Limited to 50. Adult supervision required for those under 8. Mess level is medium, smocks will be available.
Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday evening from 6:30 to 8:30pm, the Old Courthouse downtown becomes the place to be. The Holbrook Summer Dance Group, a group of local kids, performs traditional Native American dances there through July 24, and admission is free to watch. On some nights the group also sells Navajo tacos, frybread, and concessions to help support what they do.
Every Tuesday and Thursday this summer, the Holbrook High School wrestling room opens up for free pickleball instruction and games from 6:30 to 8:30pm. The sessions are open to all skill levels ages 13 and up, so whether your goal is to learn a new sport, make new friends, or just get active, there is a spot for you. Beginners are absolutely welcome, and lessons are available for anyone who wants them.
The eagle mural in downtown Holbrook.If you are a veteran in Navajo County, this one is for you. Fishers of Men for Veterans hosts a Veterans Outreach the fourth Friday of every month at the First Baptist Church of Holbrook.
The eagle mural in downtown Holbrook.Bubbles, bubbles, bubbles. Free bubble party for kids at the Holbrook Public Library.
Holbrook Youth Soccer League has put together a free skills camp open to kids ages 8 to 14, held at Hunt Park in Holbrook. The focus is on the fundamentals, dribbling, passing, and shooting, all covered through small groups and one-on-one coaching. No matter where your child stands with the game, all experience levels are welcome, whether they are picking up a soccer ball for the first time or already have some seasons under their belt.
Motherload Market brings its monthly market to downtown Holbrook on Route 66. Browse local vendors and handmade goods at 113 E Hopi Drive. A fun Saturday morning stop for locals and road trippers alike.
When the Arizona summer heat is at its worst, the Holbrook City Pool is a good place to remember. Open Swim is available every afternoon from 1 to 5pm, and on Monday through Wednesday evenings there is also a Night Swim for when the daytime heat finally breaks. Pricing has a refreshingly old-school feel: 4 dollars for adults, 3 dollars for kids 6 to 17 and seniors, and 2 dollars for little ones 5 and under.
For the Kids
The Holbrook Public Library holds Story Time on Tuesdays at 10:30am and Fridays at 1:30pm through the end of the month. Free and open to all ages, every session includes a craft. There is also a scavenger hunt in the library for the bigger kids too. Drop in and enjoy a good story.
Lego LeagueEvery Tuesday at the Holbrook Public Library, kids of all ages are welcome to come build and create at Lego League. Free for kids of all ages.
The Holbrook Public Library welcomes all ages to a free family movie. Come on in and enjoy the show.
Don't miss the free family movie at the Roxy this week, details below.
At The Bijou
The Bijou Teen Center on Hopi Drive runs free classes all summer for Holbrook kids and teens. No experience needed, nothing to bring. Click any class title to grab your spot.
Now Showing at the Roxy
Now Playing: Masters of the Universe
Playing this week at the Roxy on Route 66, Thursday through Sunday at 7pm, with 3pm matinees on the weekend.
Starting July 24: Scary Movie
Scary Movie takes over the Roxy's regular schedule, playing evenings at 7pm Thursday through Sunday, plus 3pm matinees Saturday and Sunday.
Free Summer Movie: How to Train Your Dragon
Catch it Wednesday, July 22 · 1pm to 3pm. Free, popcorn money optional.
Mark Your Calendar
Worth getting on the calendar early.
Wild West Fest brings a full day of food, live music, shopping, and fun for all ages to the grounds of the Historic Navajo County Courthouse in downtown Holbrook. Browse local vendors, catch live music, grab something good to eat, and celebrate Holbrook’s history and community spirit. Details
Talk of the Town
Word from around town: a Buffalo Wild Wings is going up in Joseph City. As the story goes it is headed for the Love's truck stop on I-40, which would put hot wings just a few exits down the road. No word yet on an opening date, but we will keep an ear out and let you know.
Holbrook Lore
One hundred years of Route 66, and it still turns right here
Stand at the corner of Navajo Boulevard and Hopi Drive and you are standing on Route 66. Not near it, not on some bypassed stretch of it, right on it. The Mother Road came into Holbrook down Navajo Boulevard, and at this corner it made a hard turn onto Hopi Drive and headed west toward the Painted Desert.
Here is the part locals love to share. As the City's old kiosk panel put it, this intersection was one of only two places on the entire route, Chicago to Santa Monica, where Route 66 made a true 90 degree turn. Everywhere else the road curved and eased its way across the country. In Holbrook it turned a square corner, right in the middle of town.
This year that corner means a little more. Route 66 was established in 1926, which makes 2026 the road's centennial, one hundred years of the Mother Road. Plenty of towns celebrate a highway that used to pass nearby. Ours still runs right through the middle of town, past the Wigwam, past the old storefronts, around that same square corner.
So next time you pull up to the light at Navajo and Hopi, take a beat before you turn. Drivers have been making that same turn for a hundred years, in Model Ts, in finned Chevys, and now in whatever you are driving. Some corners are just corners. This one is a landmark.
The Hidden Hundred
Each week this month we run a Holbrook clue, a photo, a landmark, a statue, or a piece of local history, with a few letters shaded in the answer. Figure out the answer, write down the shaded letters, and keep collecting.
At the end of July we hide the bill, and your collected letters unscramble to spell exactly where it is. First to find it keeps it, and subscribers always get the clues first.
Solve the spot, then keep the shaded letters to yourself. 1 more set coming this month, then the hunt goes live at the end of July.
What do you call a fish wearing a bowtie?
Sofishticated.
A joke that'll make us groan, a slice of Holbrook history, an event folks should know about, or a great photo you snapped?
Send it our way.
Share It With Us →That's all from us this week. Have a good one, Holbrook.
Pass It On
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