Every summer thousands of passionate motorcycle enthusiasts flock to the vibrant city of New Liskeard (Temiskaming Shores) in celebration of Bikers Reunion, a family-friendly event like no other. It’s grown into the premiere two-wheel festival in Northern Ontario, drawing an average attendance of 25,000 spectators and 6,000 motorcycles over the Canada Day long weekend and, like many popular events, its origins are rooted in humbler beginnings.
It all started back in 1999 when a local business owner (founder of Bikers Reunion), Barry Phippen, was holding a 20th anniversary party for his company, Phippen Signs. Barry wanted to create both a fundraiser for cancer and a community event celebrating the thrill of riding motorcycles. It started out as a one-day event held on his business’ property, but the feedback from the public—and riders in attendance—was so positive that it clearly needed to evolve into a larger, more scalable event.
By 2004, Bikers Reunion had become an annual event and, due to the growing crowds, a decision was made to move it to the New Liskeard Fair Grounds. After morphing through several expansions, it’s become a staple event on the calendar, drawing bikers and non-bikers alike from North America, Europe and beyond. Charity is a big part of the event and, in 2015, $128,000 was raised to the community Cancer Care Program. Even more impressive is the total donation amount to date of $1,063,000! Having attended Bikers Reunion several times myself, I wanted to share my experiences and offer an insider’s look at this one-of-a kind event.
Over the years most of my trips to New Liskeard have involved covering Bikers Reunion as a journalist. The most memorable was in 2013, when our media crew rented a motor home and stayed on-site for the weekend so we could be in the heart of the action. Sure, it was a bit cramped, but waking up to the thunderous roars of Harleys cruising by was music to my ears. The other big advantage to having a motor home on site was it acted as a home base. A cold beverage with friends or a nap was only a few minutes walk away, all without leaving the venue. That being said, renting hotels in the area has its own advantages as well (more space, comfort, full washrooms and privacy). To get the lowdown on this, I turned to some local operators who have been welcoming riders and their families in the area for years.