For its 24th year in a row, street bike aficionados will gather together in Downtown Reno to enjoy five days of action-packed entertainment celebrating two-wheeled street legal vehicles.
From Wednesday through Sunday, the streets of Reno (and also Virginia City, Carson City, and South Lake Tahoe) will be all about the three M’s- metal, music, and motorcycles. Biking enthusiasts will be able to enjoy ride-in shows, stunt bike shows, participate in poker runs, and head bang to the country’s top metal tribute bands including Journey Revisited, Zepparella, and Hell’s Belles.
Incepted in 1994, Founder Randy Burke had been helping to produce Hot August Nights events for nine years until the Harley-Davidson headquarters in Wisconsin reached out. The company wanted to do a national Harley convention in Reno and bring in 5,000 motorcycles, hiring Burke to produce the show. The event soon became known as Street Vibrations and has grown to become one of the largest motorcycle gatherings on the West Coast, therefore Roadshows added on a spring rally about six years ago as well.
Burke’s favorite part of Street Vibrations is watching the headliner bands scheduled to play Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights at 8 p.m. Street Vibrations is also holding a custom bike show inside the Reno Ballroom Thursday-Saturday showcasing around 80 handmade motorcycles with 40 custom-made bikes on sale Friday night followed by the awards for the custom bike show on Saturday evening.
The International Bikini Team professional models will also be competing for more than $10,000 in cash and prizes in the Reno Ballroom Bikini Bar Thursday through Saturday.
Some other Street Vibrations favorite events will include Grand Marshal Erik Estrada (known fondly as “Ponch” in the hit 1980’s TV show CHiPs) who will be doing photo-ops with fans Wednesday until 7 p.m. Estrada will be leading a parade of 18 police officers on motorcycles through the streets of Downtown Reno on Thursday, September 27.
Another must-see Street Vibrations event includes the Monte Perlin Globe of Death street shows happening all weekend long at the Circus Circus. Monte Perlin, a former stunt double for Arnold Schwarzenegger in Terminator 3, will be travelling at breakneck speeds inside his 15-foot sphere in front of the Circus Circus. Perlin will be performing three shows daily throughout the event.
“Street Vibrations provides great free family entertainment with the Disney standard- meaning that whatever you see free on the streets has events that are appropriate for everyone from stunt shows to music, food, beverages- there’s lots of entertainment,” Burke says.
Between celebrities, rockin’ bands, stunt shows, beautiful women, and lots of metal, this weekend will be hog heaven in Reno-Sparks for motorcycle lovers. For a full list of 2018 Street Vibrations Fall Festival events, visit http://roadshowsreno.com/sv_fall.php.
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