(MIAMI, OK.) Nowhere else on historic Route 66 is the wonder and uniqueness of the highway more evident than in Miami. Built to inspire the magic of a road trip adventure, and connect the Nation, Route 66 has brought millions over the last 100 years to Miami on journeys of exploration. The Centennial year of Route 66 is time to celebrate big! Miami has great plans for the special year and invites locals and travelers to join the fun and unique festivities. There’s something for everyone!“The City of Miami has planned a year-long celebration of the Route 66 Centennial. We began the year with New Years Eve Ball drop, will celebrate our heritage and USA 250 during Heritage Fest in July and will have a big birthday party for citizens on Main Street in November, the month of the origin of Route 66,”’Miami’s CVB & Tourism  Director Trinda Crow said, “There’s so many family activities throughout the year that we are excited and honored to offer. We are looking forward to tourists traveling the route and visiting Miami.”Miami’s Main Street is part of the original Route 66 and Miami’s Gateway Arch; new banners and a big, bright, unique Centennial mural greet visitors and make a great place to stop for selfies that prove “you were here.”One of the best ways to learn more about the history of Route 66 is at the Dobson Museum & Home. Perfectly timed for the Centennial, the Dobson underwent a complete renovation with new exhibits and archives set to grand open with a Ribbon Cutting on April 9 at 10 a.m. and a “Decades of Dobson” event on April 11 to celebrate the history of Miami, Ottawa County and Route 66.A tour of the famous and spectacular Coleman Theatre Beautiful is a must-see stop. The local Miami Little Theater group will be performing a ‘Route 66 Musical Review’ April 23-26 and May 1-3 at the Coleman for an opportunity to experience a show in this magnificent sightseeing treasure.Downtown Miami’s Main Street/Rt.66 is an art lover’s dream with brilliant and beautiful murals displaying colorful creations. The Ottawa County Arts & Humanities Council’s Route 66 Arts Festival is set for April 25. Muralists will be painting new Rt. 66 designs throughout the event which also offers vendors, food trucks, musicians and more.Sports fans can catch 8 Man Football games with top high school players June 10-20 at NEO A&M College’s stadium that features a state-of-the-art scoreboard, fan and box seating, and concessions.Miami’s 4th of July event is packed with fun family activities, fireworks, flyovers, food and music out at Buffalo Run Casino & Resort. Join the community in celebrating the 250th year of our great NationThe biggest and best event of the year, the annual Miami Route 66 Heritage Fest draws thousands for the free downtown music concert, vendors, food trucks, Rt.66 Truck Show and more July 24 & 25 right on Miami’s Main Street/Route 66 celebrating the rich history and culture of our community. This year’s musical performers for Friday night are Trenton Tanner, Bobby DeGonia, and Jake Taylor. Saturday night’s big headliner is Country Music star Chris Lane. You won’t want to miss the action-packed, award-winning Rodeo Miami Aug. 28 and 29 where top cowboys and cowgirls saddle up, tie down and show their skill competing in some of best and wildest roping, riding and bull bucking competition events.A fantastic new event is scheduled for Sept 12, the ‘Route 66 Tri City Cruisin’ Car and Bike Show & Night,’ a combined effort of Miami, and neighboring towns Commerce and Quapaw for a fun cruise night. Each city will host a progressive car show starting in Quapaw from noon to 2pm, then on to Commerce from 2:30 pm to 4:30 pm, and winding up in Miami from 5pm to 7pm and then car and cruise enthusiasts can join in the cruise fun through all three cities starting at 5 pm to 10pm. Each city and town will each have fun family activities, food trucks music and more!Kicking off the holiday season the ever-popular family fun Halloween Sweet Street and Boo HaHa Parde will take place Oct. 30 this year. Thousands of locals and visitors dress in costume and parade Miami’s Main Street/Route66 for trick or treat fun.In the spirit of Centennial, Miami Public Schools students of all ages will participate in a Route 66 Art Show, and their Route 66 themed artwork will be on display at the Miami Civic Center Nov. 5, 6 & 7. To celebrate the 250th birthday of the United States of America Miami invites everyone to come take a photo and have a piece of Route 66’s Largest Birthday Cake on Nov. 10 at the Rt.66 Mian Venue.Christmas in Miami is a super special Hallmark style experience all season long. The Holiday Market gets things started Nov.13 &14 with live reindeer, holiday treats and shopping on Miami’s Main Street, and downtown turns into a winter wonderland. Then the Mayors Christmas Tree Lighting of the tallest live tree on Route 66/in Oklahoma on Dec. 4 at 6 pm is pure holiday magic with Santa, hot drinks, and caroling. The next night the Miami Regional Chamber of Commerce Christmas Parade brings the holiday spirit alive at 6 p.m. with floats, and bands galore.This very special year ends with our newest Miami event that went above and beyond expectations the inaugural year with the New Year’s Eve Ball Drop. Miami celebrates and remembers the year passing on Dec.31 and rings in the new year together as a community with a ball drop of one of the iconic Miami Christmas Balls reimagined for New Years, fireworks and festivities. ###

(MIAMI, OK.) The Miami Special Utility Authority (MSUA) Trustees set in motion an exciting new venture. The trustees have approved contracts for materials and construction of a new MSUA owned and operated high speed fiber optics system. Contracts were approved with Border States for $1,145,316 for the materials, and Benton Triage for $1,934,554 for construction to kick off the project. NueComm Solutions was awarded the bid at $569,399 to construct a new Fiber Node Shelter, a structure designed to house critical fiber optics network equipment. Altogether the project’s initial construction will cost in total around $3.6 million funded with MSUA loan financing. The entire project is expected to cost an estimated $11 million. “This project will bring faster, more reliable and affordable high-capacity fiber services to Miami, something we’ve long needed to better serve our community,” Miami City Manager Tyler Cline said, “High speed, high-capacity fiber optic services are a major driving force in economic vitality and keeping Miami competitive. Fiber will also benefit our customers who use fiber services for streaming, telehealth, remote work, online learning, and so many other uses. This is a very important new enterprise.”The MSUA and its contractors will build out, install, construct, and run the fiber network and services. The goal is to begin offering services to MSUA residential, commercial and industrial customers by the end of 2026.“Miami currently has limited options for fiber service and residents have been asking for years for us to find a way to offer faster, higher capacity and more reliable fiber, and we’ve worked hard to make this happen,” Cline said.The state-of-the-art network project’s goal is a locally sourced and serviced network with revenues that will be reinvested in Miami.MSUA Director Derric Lollar said these three contracts make up the majority of the construction phase of the contract and other expenses will be incurred as the project progresses and brought to the trustees as needed.“It’s been a great collaborative effort to bring this dream to reality. The MSUA fiber network will provide greater connectivity, and another revenue source to support city operations,” Cline said, “We’re very excited about what the future holds with this new fiber system.”  ###