Thunder in the Valley ready to rumble in downtown Johnstown

Jun. 22—JOHNSTOWN, Pa. — The thunder is roaring back into Johnstown.

The Thunder in the Valley motorcycle rally will be held Thursday through Sunday in downtown Johnstown.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the rally, which is presented by Visit Johnstown.

"It really is incredible and hard to believe," said Lisa Rager, Visit Johnstown's executive director. "Sustaining an event of this magnitude is not easy, and it takes money, time and resources, so I'm very proud of what the organization has done and the fact that we've been able to maintain it despite a lot of ups and downs throughout the industry."

She said that Thunder in the Valley has become a tradition for many people.

"There are folks who live here in the community and it's their vacation week," Rager said.

"We have folks who have been here if not every year, almost every year, and a lot of folks who are from Johnstown and the area who come back for it, so it's kind of a family and friends reunion time."

Venue sites include Central Park, the Suppes Ford Biker Mall off Union and Washington streets, and Peoples Natural Gas Park.

Admission to Peoples Natural Gas Park for headlining entertainment is $40 for a weekend pass, $5 for Thursday, $20 for Friday and Saturday, and free Sunday.

The rally will feature local and regional musical acts along with six headliners, ranging from rock to country to blues to pop to oldies.

"I look for acts that I think our Thunder audience would like," said Jayne Korenoski, Visit Johnstown's director of advertising and sales. "I look to have a wide variety and mix of all genres of music."

Headlining acts include glam metal band Warrant; rock band Buckcherry; rock 'n' roll and country band the Kentucky Headhunters; rock artist Jasmine Cain; country rap artist Colt Ford; and AC/DC tribute band Hells/Bells.

"I believe for the 25th anniversary we're going to have the biggest crowds we've ever had," Korenoski said. "We're doing preticket sales, and that's an indication of what's to come."

Additional acts include Krazy Kat Daddies, The Frick Brothers, Moore Brothers Band, Felix and the Hurricanes, Jaded Lips, Take Two, Jukehouse Bombers, YUM, Full Kilt, Freedom Rocks, Three of Hearts, Octane, The Stone Bridge Blues Band, The Cash Out Show, Dany Vavrek, Midnight Acoustic, Cajun Norm and the Jam Session Band, Gene the Werewolf, Michael Christopher Band, The Rusty Shackles, Tom Katz, 7 Mile Run, Giants of Science, Desperadoes, Hot Wax, The Pastimes, Trevolta and The Boomers.

The parades are a highlight of Thunder in the Valley. The Hot Nights, Cool Lights Parade will be held Thursday starting at The Fifth Local Eatery & Alehouse, 1424 Scalp Ave., Richland Township.

The lineup will start at 7 p.m., with the parade beginning at 9:30 p.m. and proceeding into downtown Johnstown for a lighted bike show and afterparty at Peoples Natural Gas Park.

"There are a lot of folks who come out, and people like to show off what they have, especially if they've had new LED installations on their bikes," Rager said. "The community really enjoys watching them come down Scalp Avenue to Bedford Street to town, so it's something where we have the opportunity to pull the community in."

On Saturday, the Grand Thunder Parade lineup will begin at 11 a.m. at the Commerce Center on Broad Street.

Bikes will arrive at noon at Sargent's Stadium at the Point.

The parade will then proceed up Main Street.

"The Grand Thunder Parade is the high-water mark of Thunder," Rager said. "Everybody likes to come downtown and be along the route, and we have good participation from the motorcycles."

The rally will feature more than 90 food, motorcycle gear and merchandise sellers.

Vendors will offer leather products, helmets, boots, gloves, chaps, stickers, patches, accessories, jewelry and cleaning products.

Coming back will be Speeds Performance Plus, which will do dyno tuning, along with a vendor that will hand-paint art on motorcycles.

Returning favorites include MonsterBrite LEDs and Ultimate LED, offering LED installation and accessory options, along with newcomer Diamond Motorcycle, which will provide motorcycle seats, seat covers and backrests.

Five Star Powersports will be on site selling equipment.

Roundhouse Harley-Davidson will offer demonstration rides on Friday.

"The demo rides are popular, and people can test ride Harley-Davidson motorcycles on a predetermined route, and it gives you the opportunity to ride before you buy," said Nicole Waligora, Visit Johnstown's sports tourism program coordinator.

There will be plenty of food vendors to satisfy rallygoers.

"We are going to have such a wide variety of options from local and regional food vendors," Waligora said. "There's going to be food at every venue."

New featured food vendors include V&M Concessions, serving steak burgers, ribeye steaks and Italian sausage; Tiny's Tacos, offering pork, beef, chicken and fish tacos, loaded nachos and loaded French fries; and R & G's Smoke Shack, serving smoked brisket, ribs, and macaroni and cheese.

Some local food vendors will be The Phoenix Tavern, Pitt EATS, Ace's, Layton's Concessions, TNT Concessions, The Pie Shoppe, Ultimate Stromboli and Jackson Concessions.

"We have a lot of vendors who come back year after year, and they're national vendors who go all over the country to major rallies like Sturgis and Laconia and they're also coming here, so I think that's a compliment to us that we're on the same stage, to a degree, as some of these other rallies," Waligora said.

Official Thunder in the Valley merchandise, including T-shirts, hats, mugs and patches, will be sold on Main Street, the Suppes Ford Biker Mall and Peoples Natural Gas Park.

Thunderbolt Saloons will be set up at Central Park, Peoples Natural Gas Park and the Suppes Ford Biker Mall.

An integral part of the four-day rally is the volunteers.

"Volunteers are an essential core piece of this event," said Stacey Wyandt, Visit Johnstown's office and volunteer coordinator. "It takes at least 250 volunteers to run this event efficiently."

She said organizers still need volunteers to staff identification verification stations at the Thunderbolt Saloons during evening hours, predominantly from 8:30 to 11:30 p.m.

Those who volunteer will receive a 25th anniversary Thunder in the Valley volunteer T-shirt and free admission to Peoples Natural Gas Park on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

"Volunteers will be accepted until the day before the event," Wyandt said.

Those interested in volunteering, can call Wyandt at 814-536-7993, ext. 105, or email staceyw@visitjohnstownpa.com.

Rager said Thunder in the Valley attracts between 80,000 and 100,000 people yearly.

"You don't have to be a biker to enjoy everything that's going on because we have the parades, the entertainment, the activities and the retail and food vendors," Rager said.

"I encourage people from the community, if they've not been to Thunder in the Valley, to come down because it's a great positive atmosphere, and it's wonderful to see so many people filling the streets of downtown Johnstown."

For a complete schedule of events, visit www.visitjohnstownpa.com.