Baxter Springs ? Thousands of Route 66 fans are expected to gather this summer along a stretch of the fabled road that passes through Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma for a convention.

The Kansas Historic Route 66 Association is sponsoring the June 17-20 event, the Tri-State International Route 66 Adventure 2010.

Most of the activities will take place at the pavilion at the Downstream Casino Resort in Quapaw, Okla., a few miles from the Kansas and Missouri borders.

Side trips also are planned in surrounding communities, including a visit to a Route 66 preservation project at the viaduct in Galena, Kan.

Carolyn Pendleton, director of the Baxter Springs Route 66 Visitors’ Center, and Renee Charles with Four Women on the Route in Galena announced the plans Friday.

“This is the national Route 66 community getting together,” Pendleton said of the annual event.

The Kansas organizers said past annual conventions have taken place in Flagstaff, Ariz., and Litchfield, Ill. They said groups in Belgium and Japan have said they will participate.

The event will include vendors, authors, artists, historians and other enthusiasts. A classic car and motorcycle show also is scheduled.

Vince Lindstrom, director of the Joplin, Mo., Convention and Visitors Bureau, said his organization will promote the event in California, New Mexico and Arizona.