Sapulpa’s Route 66 Christmas Chute has won yet another award in the arena of municipal recognition.
At the 2024 Annual Oklahoma Municipal League Conference, Sapulpa’s now-famous holiday destination took home the “Innovations Award” for a municipality with a population of over 5,000. City Manager Joan Riley was on hand to accept the award, along with several representatives from City Staff and Sapulpa organizations.
In a conversation with the Sapulpa Times, Riley called the recognition “an honor.”
“I am so proud of this city—all the idea generators and contributors to the Chute—but most importantly to the sheer number of volunteers who have made this a year-round commitment to ensure the quality that is evident at the Route 66 Christmas Chute,” she said.
The OML provides the “Innovations Award” category not only as an opportunity for officials and staff of member cities to receive recognition for their efforts, but also says the award “provides a means for sharing Oklahoma’s best public service ideas and demonstrates that those involved with local government are progressive, caring, and committed to their communities.”
Last holiday season, the Route 66 Christmas Chute—in only its second year of existence—brought more than 400,000 people to downtown Sapulpa and provided a generous boost to the city in terms of revenue and marketing. The OML Awards Committee asked Riley if such an event could be replicated at another city. She said it could, but that the success of the Route 66 Christmas Chute had to with more than just lights and decorations.
“It takes a long list of extremely creative individuals, a multitude of community support willing to donate time and money, individual business owners coming together; the Chamber; Main Street; The City of Sapulpa; the schools, and numerous churches, civic groups, and volunteers with a dedication that never gives up,” she said. “So yes, these are things that can be replicated for a similar program but the sense of community that Sapulpa demonstrates October through December is beyond anything any other city has ever seen or done!”
Sapulpa Mayor Craig Henderson was among those in attendance at the ceremony. He said that while he and Riley formally accepted the award, “there are probably 500 other people that needed to be up on that stage including all the volunteers, people from the Chamber, Main Street and obviously, anyone with last name of Berry or Dilley,” Henderson said, referring to sibling duo Will Berry and Jennifer Dilley, who came up with the idea in 2019 and saw it to fruition in 2022, and whose family has been a longtime supporter of the community.
Henderson touched on another thing that Sapulpa has gained thanks to the Christmas Chute: notoriety. Especially after being named one of America’s “Merriest Main Streets” by the nationally syndicated Today Show during its inaugural year, the name Sapulpa is getting a lot more recognition across the state. “We were high-fived by almost every city represented (at the conference) as everyone seemed to have seen or known about Sapulpa’s Christmas Chute,” he said.
The Route 66 Christmas Chute will open for the 2024 season on November 14th. Stay tuned to Sapulpa Times for more details as the date draws nearer.
