Motorcycles thunder to Sarasota for benefit event
Posted: Wed Jan 03, 2007 4:47 am
Motorcycles thunder to Sarasota for benefit event
Wednesday, January 3, 2006 - By STACEY EIDSON - Bradenton Herald Staff Writer - bradenton.com/mld/bradenton
SARASOTA - Hundreds of hogs will invade the streets of downtown Sarasota this weekend.
Only these hogs will have rumbling motors, shiny chrome accents and smooth leather seats.
Motorcycle enthusiasts from all over the state are expected to travel to Sarasota for the ninth annual Thunder By the Bay festival.
The three-day event, which benefits The Florida Center for Child and Family Development of Sarasota, will feature a bike show, live music, celebrity bike builders as special guests and professional riders performing freestyle motocross stunts.
"The festival begins on Friday with a kickoff party at Michael's on East in downtown Sarasota," said Lucy Nicandri, the chair of the festival. "For $35 at the door, people can eat great food, enjoy live music and we will have a live auction on items such as a leather jacket signed by all of the guest bike builders, a guitar signed by country singer Trace Adkins and NASCAR memorabilia."
Guests will also get the opportunity to bid on an original 1963 Harley-Davidson Sprint H and a Detroit Brothers Custom Rolling Chassis, which includes a drop seat frame, custom wheels and all of the bike's stems, valued at more than $5,000, Nicandri said.
On Saturday afternoon, the festival will continue with the "BBQ, Bands and Blue Jeans Party" at the Sarasota-Bradenton International Convention Center at 8005 15th Street E. from 3 to 10 p.m.
"We will have more than 80 vendors coming this year and some of the best barbecue you'll find," said Nicandri. "It's only $10 per person."
Robin Rossiter, owner of the Manatee River Harley-Davidson in Bradenton, which is a title sponsor of the event, said getting a chance to meet the celebrity bike builders at the convention center Saturday is worth the price of admission by itself.
"Eddie Trotta, a custom bike builder who was the Discovery Channel's Biker Build-Off winner in 2004 and 2005, will be there," Rossiter said. "The Detroit Brothers, who have also been featured on the Discovery Channel and Spike TV, will be available and Shorty Inc., known as the world's first female bike builder, will also be there on Saturday. So there are some great guests for people to meet."
The festival will conclude Sunday with a 9 a.m. motorcycle poker run, which is a 75-mile ride through Lake Manatee State Park and Myakka River State Park, and a downtown festival and bike show on Main Street in Sarasota from noon until 5 p.m., Rossiter said.
"Downtown on Main Street is incredible because the city blocks off the street, and there are two stages with live music and tons of vendors and food," Rossiter said.
Sarasota can expect to see about 10,000 bike enthusiasts in town during the three-day festival, Nicandri said.
"By attracting these nationally known builders, I think we have really brought this festival up to the next level," Nicandri said. "And it's all for a good cause."
Since the festival began nine years ago, more than $400,000 has been raised to help The Florida Center, which provides screening and therapy services for children to promote healthy families, Nicandri said.
For more information about the festival, call (941) 371-8820 at extension 1800 or visit www.thunderbythebay.org.
Wednesday, January 3, 2006 - By STACEY EIDSON - Bradenton Herald Staff Writer - bradenton.com/mld/bradenton
SARASOTA - Hundreds of hogs will invade the streets of downtown Sarasota this weekend.
Only these hogs will have rumbling motors, shiny chrome accents and smooth leather seats.
Motorcycle enthusiasts from all over the state are expected to travel to Sarasota for the ninth annual Thunder By the Bay festival.
The three-day event, which benefits The Florida Center for Child and Family Development of Sarasota, will feature a bike show, live music, celebrity bike builders as special guests and professional riders performing freestyle motocross stunts.
"The festival begins on Friday with a kickoff party at Michael's on East in downtown Sarasota," said Lucy Nicandri, the chair of the festival. "For $35 at the door, people can eat great food, enjoy live music and we will have a live auction on items such as a leather jacket signed by all of the guest bike builders, a guitar signed by country singer Trace Adkins and NASCAR memorabilia."
Guests will also get the opportunity to bid on an original 1963 Harley-Davidson Sprint H and a Detroit Brothers Custom Rolling Chassis, which includes a drop seat frame, custom wheels and all of the bike's stems, valued at more than $5,000, Nicandri said.
On Saturday afternoon, the festival will continue with the "BBQ, Bands and Blue Jeans Party" at the Sarasota-Bradenton International Convention Center at 8005 15th Street E. from 3 to 10 p.m.
"We will have more than 80 vendors coming this year and some of the best barbecue you'll find," said Nicandri. "It's only $10 per person."
Robin Rossiter, owner of the Manatee River Harley-Davidson in Bradenton, which is a title sponsor of the event, said getting a chance to meet the celebrity bike builders at the convention center Saturday is worth the price of admission by itself.
"Eddie Trotta, a custom bike builder who was the Discovery Channel's Biker Build-Off winner in 2004 and 2005, will be there," Rossiter said. "The Detroit Brothers, who have also been featured on the Discovery Channel and Spike TV, will be available and Shorty Inc., known as the world's first female bike builder, will also be there on Saturday. So there are some great guests for people to meet."
The festival will conclude Sunday with a 9 a.m. motorcycle poker run, which is a 75-mile ride through Lake Manatee State Park and Myakka River State Park, and a downtown festival and bike show on Main Street in Sarasota from noon until 5 p.m., Rossiter said.
"Downtown on Main Street is incredible because the city blocks off the street, and there are two stages with live music and tons of vendors and food," Rossiter said.
Sarasota can expect to see about 10,000 bike enthusiasts in town during the three-day festival, Nicandri said.
"By attracting these nationally known builders, I think we have really brought this festival up to the next level," Nicandri said. "And it's all for a good cause."
Since the festival began nine years ago, more than $400,000 has been raised to help The Florida Center, which provides screening and therapy services for children to promote healthy families, Nicandri said.
For more information about the festival, call (941) 371-8820 at extension 1800 or visit www.thunderbythebay.org.