A Motorcycle Enthusiasts Extravaganza

What can we say about Friday the 13^th that has not been already said? Back in 1981 when Chris Simons had a few friends drop over for the weekend in November, they had such a great time they decided to return. It just so happened that the weekend was Friday 13^th, and so the decision was made to return every Friday 13^th but each successive event had more and more participants and thus a hugely successful event was born. Today our community is visited by thousand of motorcycle enthusiasts of all ages, as well as many curiosity seekers.

This community of about 5000 (2007 article in a Buffalo paper) has seen crowds of a 100,000 and more, some Friday 13^ths. It's no secret that such huge crowds need to nourish themselves and require accommodations, with many coming thousands of miles to rub shoulders with other enthusiasts. Many come Thursday evening and camp in back yards, Kinsmen Park or our own Silver Lake Park (map above) and Misner Park, both of which cater to the quiet family groups. Many tourist spend a lot of money in not only Port Dover but for many miles around. We are pleased to welcome our visitors who have never caused any problems but have certainly helped our service clubs and many other organizations, catering to the needs of the huge crowds. In addition to the camping, we as other groups, provide beer tents to quench the thirst of our guests, with bands supplying entertainment.
The Lions have had great bands, the best in town, some with a huge following such as Dejavoodoo Band, along with some local bands like SummerField, some with a huge sound but no website.
Our Sound Man Capital M Productions, Jack and Morgan have been providing excellent professional support to all bands for may years. Needless to say the hard work on Friday the 13^th has helped our coffers, all in the cause of community service.

Such a huge event requires planning. In order to maximize the safety of our residents and visitors and minimise the inconvenience of such a huge extravaganza, PD13 was formed. PD13 did a great job as do all the participating groups. Generally by noon Saturday the entire town is cleaned up and only a few stragglers remain, showing little sign of the huge crowds of the preceding day. The group of community volunteers that formed PD13 was disbanded in 2010, with the Friday 13^ths beig organised by Norfolk County for future events. A huge thanks to the dedicated group, who did a great job for all those many years.

 

         e-mail:   pdlc@rocketmail.com

320 St. Patrick Street
Box 1328 Port Dover ON N0A 1N0