Q: How can you capitalize on the hundreds of thousands of veterans and bikers who come to the D.C. area for Rolling Thunder and Memorial Day weekend?
A: Throw them a four-day, patriotic-themed party.
(Dayna Smith/FOR THE WASHINGTON POST) - Tina Boyd of Cleveland enjoys the music at Stars & Stripes & Spokes, a Memorial Day weekend rally held on the grounds of RFK Stadium.
Such were the origins of Stars & Stripes & Spokes, a motorcycle rally that runs through Monday on the grounds of RFK Stadium. The four-day event — the first of what organizers hope will become an annual tradition — was the brainchild of three construction managers from Maryland who wanted to give motorcyclists, veterans and others a venue to let loose while they are in town.
“Rolling Thunder is not a rally ... It’s technically a demonstration and not a time for fun and games and partying,” said Bruce Bieber of Bethesda, a Stars & Stripes & Spokes founder. “This is a time and a place for some fun and games. It’s the party with a purpose.”
The rally, which does not charge admission and offers free parking for motorcycles, is half bike show, half traditional festival. Hundreds clad in bandanas and leather vests strolled around Saturday eating corn dogs and sipping giant cups of lemonade as they listened to live bands blast covers of classic rock songs.
Vendors sold everything from motorcycle flag displays to biker jewelry. Police motorcycle teams demonstrated their prowess on a maneuverability course — a tradition known as a police bike “rodeo.” Military vehicles were displayed.
Allen Futrelle, 58, rode up to the rally with his wife, Conni, 55, from Jacksonville, N.C. On Saturday, the couple bought a U.S. flag, an Army flag and a Marine flag, which together they hoped would honor their country and deceased fathers, who both served in the military. They saw the Stars & Stripes & Spokes rally as a sort of warm-up for Rolling Thunder.
“Tomorrow’s the real deal,” Allen Futrelle said. “You come in and people are everywhere waving flags, cheering you on. It’s the most unbelievable thing you’ve ever seen.”
Stars & Stripes & Spokes is not affiliated with Rolling Thunder, though organizers of both have talked, Bieber said.
Bieber said he and two colleagues at Mark G. Anderson Consultants began organizing the rally four years ago after seeing a similar rally in Laconia, N.H. Motorcycle riders themselves, the men said they felt D.C. could better capitalize on the bikers in town for Rolling Thunder, most of whom were probably sleeping and eating in suburban hotels and restaurants.
“We love riding and we love going to these things, and we knew D.C. wanted one,” Bieber said.
Stars & Stripes & Spokes is a for-profit event, though it has a charitable component. Organizers said they make money via vendor rental fees and concession sales. The first $25,000 in profit, they said, will be donated to the Walter Reed Society, which supports injured soldiers.
“Our goal at work is to have fun and make money, and same thing here,” said Columbia’s Walt Layton, another of the event’s founders.
Organizers also are raffling off a bike built for them by Sterling-based Hardcore Choppers, and will donate the profits from that to the Walter Reed Society. Retired Army Col. Fred Brand, the society’s vice president for development, said even if organizers don’t turn a profit, the society has been verbally promised a $5,000 donation.
Harold Bingham, of Bethesda, the third founder, said organizers had projected 120,000 people would come to the rally over the four-day weekend. The crowd numbered only a few hundred on Saturday afternoon — thinner, Bingham said, than organizers had expected.
Still, Bingham said, the founders hope the rally will become an annual tradition in D.C. They obviously have some confidence: Organizers are already advertising next year’s event in the magazine for Laconia’s rally.
The rally is open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday, and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday.
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