Annual Wichita toy run gains strength in riders (+video)

For nearly an hour Sunday afternoon, there was a constant rumble outside Hartman Arena as, one by one, thousands of motorcycles pulled into its parking lot.

The motorcycles’ riders were there to deliver new toys as part of the Wichita Toy Run, an annual event in its 36th year.

There were stuffed animals, “Star Wars” toys, Barbie dolls, toy tractors and board games such as Chutes and Ladders.

There also was chili for a $5 donation, and camaraderie among motorcyclists.

“It’s for all the needy kids that wouldn’t have Christmas if we didn’t do stuff like this,” said Bob Winegarner, a Wichita Toy Run Association committee member and participant for three decades. “And to show the community that we’re here to help the community.”

Winegarner said that at first count, there were 2,000 motorcycles that started on the nearly 11-mile run that began at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium in downtown Wichita and made its way north on Broadway.

“There’s probably more that pulled in at the end of the line,” he said. “I haven’t got the final count as to how many pulled into this parking lot (at Hartman).”

He said this year’s participation was up by 200 or 300 from last year.

It was in 2014 when the toy run resumed its trek from Wichita to Park City. Before then, the toy run had become a rally in the Delano area west of downtown. Two accidents involving motorcycles in the 2011 toy run forced organizers to give up riding their motorcycles in a “parade” route in 2012 and 2013.

“We tried the rally for two years, and our counts just fell (in 2012 and 2013),” Winegarner said. “Nobody wanted to participate. They all wanted to do the parade.”

Winegarner said the toy run association has “really pushed safety, just worked really hard at it” and was able to resume riding from a staging point to a collection point.

“The years before we had over 3,000 bikes,” he said. “This year is better than last year.”

Winegarner said the association expects to have a final tally later on the number of riders in this year’s parade as well as monetary donations and the number of toys collected. The toy run benefits the Salvation Army, the Marine Corps Toys for Tots and the Kansas Food Bank.

This year was the first that Hartman Arena served as the location for the toy drop. In previous years, it had been the Kansas Coliseum and the nearby Kansas Pavilions. But ownership changes of those facilities prompted organizers to seek a new drop-off point.

“They called us, and it seemed like an easy fit,” said Abby Marr, Hartman’s director of sales and marketing. “We love having them.”

This story was originally published November 1, 2015 at 7:13 PM with the headline "Annual Wichita toy run gains strength in riders (+video)."