Thunder in Old Forge returning June 1 & 2: Local motorcycle event switches to Wounded Warrior focus

Ed Booton (left) and Chip Kiefer (right), co-chairman of this year's Thunder in Old Forge Motorcycle Event with Town of Webb Publicity Director Mike Farmer. Photo by Carol Hansen

Thunder in Old Forge, an annual motorcycle gathering, is set for Friday and Saturday, June 1 and 2 at the George T. Hiltebrant Recreation Center on North Street.

This year’s event will benefit the Wounded Warrior Project and will be a cooperative effort of the Central Adirondack Association (CAA), the Town of Webb, and the motorcycle community, according to co-chairmen Ed Booton and Chip Kiefer.

“We’re really looking forward to giving back. The 10th Mountain Division in Watertown, which is basically our home base, is doing a large portion of the fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq and we want to recognize those guys and girls who have been out there fighting a war for us these last 11 years,” Booton said.Free admission to the event will be offered to anyone who comes in uniform or with a current military ID, including their families, he added.

Among the military-themed events that will take place over the weekend will be a 10 a.m. Flag Dedication on Saturday at the pavilion led by Bill Ransom of Old Forge American Legion Post 893.

The flag had once flown over the White House, Ransom said.

A signboard will be available on site for anyone who would like to sign up and make a donation to the Wounded Warriors Project.

“We have a Wounded Warriors program here in Old Forge. We bring four or five families down from Fort Drum for a weekend and that’s what we raise the money for,” Ransom said.

Booton added that the flag and the signboard will be sent to Afghanistan with the 10th Mountain Division as a sign of local support.

Another fund raising effort for the Wounded Warriors will be a raffle of an overnight stay package, said Town of Webb Publicity Director Mike Farmer, who frequently visits Fort Drum and extends invitations to the area to military personnel and their families.

According to Booton, many of the restaurants, bars and motels have signed on as partners in the event and through their donations a Fund Bus will be provided to pick up and drop off people at bars and restaurants and other stops along the Route 28 corridor.

The weekend will also feature motorcycle stunt ride shows by Reality Racing Ronnie, motorcycle ride-outs to Long Lake and Indian Lake, and short rides to Big Moose and McCauley Mountain.

There will be vendors at the Pavilion selling motorcycle-related gear and clothing, and also a barbecue and beverage concession. Instructional videos will be shown throughout the course of the event.

Anyone who would like to reserve vendor space can call Laurie Barkauskus or Mike Farmer at the Town of Webb Visitor Information Center at (315) 369-6983.

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