NEBRASKA IN THE EARLY SPRING...WITH MOTORCYCLES
Bigger isn’t always better, and sometimes smaller is more fun. Just ask anyone who went to the 11th annual Kearney, Nebraska, Motorcycle Show March 13 and 14, 2010.
“It went real well,” promoter Jeff Grubtill said of the show. “We had between two and three thousand people come out over the weekend. Normally we have a bigger crowd, but the weather this year has been pretty weird and I think some people who would have normally come stayed home because of not knowing what the weather was going to do.“
As it was, Grubtill said the show drew vendors, bikes and visitors from surrounding states—Iowa, North and South Dakota, Colorado Kansas, and even Texas and Oklahoma—in addition to a strong showing by Nebraska motorcycle enthusiasts. And it seems everyone was happy with how the weekend went.
“We do things a little differently here,” Grubtill explained. “Compared to something like the Denver show we’re really tiny. We were in a small building that got whacked by a tornado, so we were lucky to even have somewhere to hold the show. Our crowd is small, which makes for an intimate friendly show. You don’t get lost in the crowd and it’s easy to see everything. A lot of people meet up here after having not seen each other for a while and it just creates a fun party atmosphere that everyone enjoys. We’re pretty happy with the way everything went.”
Grubtill and his partner, Bruce from Big B’s, took over the show three years ago and have been growing it ever since.
“We do a little more and things get a little better every year,” Grubtill said. “We had a wide variety of bikes this year—more than in the past. We really had a little of everything from antiques to radical choppers. It was great to see that kind of turnout.”
The most unique bikes had to be a 1910 Indian…and topping that was a 1905 Indian bicycle.
“I’ve never seen anything like tht 1905 Indian,” Grubtill said. “That was pretty cool. And then we had a great red-flamed chopper that won best of show. Talk about both ends of the spectrum!”
The people’s choice award might be the best illustration of the feeling and personality of this show. Empty coffee cans were placed in front of each bike. If you liked the bike and thought it should be considered for the people’s choice award, you could toss in a few bucks. The winner was the bike with the most money at the end of the weekend. Just about everyone got into the spirit of the people’s choice, some giving more than others, and everyone being very deliberate with their decision. One little boy, determined to cast a vote, couldn’t decide between two motorcycles. So, he thought it only fair to toss a quarter into each can. It’s that kind of show.
There was even a special judging of all the women’s bikes.
“We judged all the bikes together by class just like any other show,” Grubtill explained. “But then we had a special award for the best ladies bike sponsored by the Nebraska beef Council. It was called the PMS award. A woman came up with the name and nobody objected, so we went with it. The winner went home with a nice basket of goodies—gift certificates and a bunch of cool stuff. It was just for the girls. It was pretty fun.”
According to Grubtill, the show enjoys very broad support from the community.
“The city supports us,” he said. “This is a real community event. They really support us and everybody has a good time.”
Perhaps because of that, the show tries to involve and assist as many community groups as possible, from the Mid-Nebraska Food Bank to the local VFW.
“We try to help out as many charities as we can,” Grubtill explained. “That’s one way for us to help out our community and say thanks for supporting the show. We were able to collect a couple barrels of food for the Mid-Nebraska Food Bank, and do a few other things as well. This really is a community event.”
The show went so far as to schedule an after-show party at the local VFW—Post 759.
“It was a great party, everyone had fun, we had great hosts, and the VFW made a little money,” Grubtill said. “That was the plan and it turned out great.”
Though things went smoothly, and a good time was had by all, the Kearney Bike Show wasn’t completely trouble free. They had a little trouble telling time.
“Daylight Savings Time got us,” laughed Grubtill. “So that meant we had church twice. All the Christian groups and a bunch of people were there ready for the service, so they started. Well, about halfway through the service, more people started showing up, ready for church. So, they stopped the service and started all over again. I guess it’d help if we could tell time. The daylight savings spring forward thing kinda sneaked up on us. It was early this year. Well maybe going to church twice is good for a bunch of bikers. That was the only real screw-up though.”
With it all said and done, Grubtill and his partner Bruce are pleased.
“We only had one vendor that didn’t make it, and we all had a good time,” Grubtill said. “We had a good party Saturday night, and we all went to church twice on Sunday. That’s a success in our opinion. We’ve managed to keep this show going and getting better every year without missing a beat. That’s just fine with us.”
