Wichita Toy Run returns to motorcycle parade tradition

Wichita Toy Run is returning to its roots with a motorcycle parade, brought back by popular demand.

This is the 35th year for the annual toy collection. Motorcyclists will leave Lawrence-Dumont Stadium at 1 p.m. Sunday and proceed to the Kansas Pavilions near Park City. Bikes will begin lining up at 10 a.m.

During the past two years, the run was converted from a parade to a rally in Delano, and the motorcycles were parked. But organizers of the popular toy run said in a news release this week that donations plummeted to only 2,000 toys in 2013.

In its heyday, from 2008 through 2011, more than 10,000 toys were collected annually and spectators would line the streets along the parade route to cheer and and see the motorcycles growl as they passed by. The bikers carry toys and donations for charities such as the Salvation Army, Toys for Tots and the Kansas Food Bank.

“The reason we are going back to the parade is that toy donations went down significantly,” said Terisa Olson, a committee member with the Wichita Toy Run Association. “It is a big thing for us to provide the community with the needs out there. We want to help our community.”

In 2011, discussions about the Toy Run format changed out of concern for some of the participants’ safety. That year, there were two accidents involving parade motorcycles.

And, in 2012, former Toy Run organizer Holly Potelle was killed while riding her motorcycle in an accident unrelated to the Toy Run.

In the news release, area residents were told to expect traffic delays along the route from Lawrence-Dumont along Maple and Waterman to Broadway north to 77th Street. The procession will be escorted by Wichita police, Sedgwick County sheriff’s deputies and the Park City police department.

“Riders are asked to represent the Wichita Toy Run appropriately and practice safe riding along the route,” the news release said. “Those who do not remember to ride respectfully, honoring the sanctity of the Toy Run Sunday, risk the future of this event.”

On the day of the run, Wichita police will secure the route, said Sgt. Jerry Quick, special events supervisor for the Patrol West police station. Cross streets will be barricaded along the entire route.

Instead of the motorcycle procession occupying just the northbound lanes of the parade route as in past years, the entire street will be blocked off to traffic from noon to 3 p.m.

“It will give people more room,” he said. “It will also allow us to maintain an appropriate speed while traveling the route.”

Olson said the barricades will also prevent additional traffic from moving alongside the route.

“We are expecting people to act appropriate,” she said. “There will be no alcohol on the run. That is a big factor with the safety notifications.”

This story was originally published October 28, 2014 at 2:00 PM with the headline "Wichita Toy Run returns to motorcycle parade tradition."