It begins as a distant rumble, but soon becomes a raucous roar. And suddenly there they are – motorcycles as far as the eye can see.
You take another look and that's when you see the improbable. Most bikes are carrying bags of toys. Some of them even have toys perched on their handlebars. And as they cruise by, the riders give you a friendly wave.
All of the above will unfold again this Sunday during the 32nd annual edition of the South Okanagan Toy Run.
Roy Colmer is the director of the run and the organization behind it, the Okanagan Motorcycle Riders Association. And he says there's no advanced logic to the concept.
"We do it because we love doing it. When you can volunteer and give back to the community, there's something special about that. Especially when kids are involved. We try to get as many toys and donations as possible."
The 2019 edition of the run begins Sunday morning at Penticton's Rotary Park, where, says Colmer, 75 to 100 bikes will assemble. At precisely 10 a.m., it's kickstands up and the pack rolls out of Penticton toward Summerland.
At 10:15 a.m., they'll hit Summerland High School. At 11:30 a.m., they'll be down south at the Oliver A&W. And at 12:15 p.m., they'll make a quick stop outside the now-closed Okanagan Falls IGA, before motoring back to Rotary Park for 1:30 p.m.
At each of those stops, they'll pick up donated toys and donated cash. And then they'll hand over the proceeds to the St. Vincent De Paul Society, which will in turn use them to fill Christmas hamper baskets.
But there's more. The guys and gals riding the bikes will take part in a Rotary Park raffle once the ride has ended. And even more money will flood into the coffers.
"Myself and my partner," said Colmer, "go around the community a couple of months before the Toy Run to get door prizes that we then raffle off. Some prizes are just amazing. This year, we have a Schwinn racing bike, a Joe Rocket jacket and pants, and a lot more. It amazes me how generous the business community is."
The bikers are no less amazing. According to Colmer, "Last year we got $2,250 in cash just from the motorcycle guys who showed up for the ride."
"They come with pocketfulls of cash and they don't mind leaving it," he laughed.
And even though it's just a couple of days to the 2019 Toy Run launch, Colmer advises that the general public can still join in on the fun and pitch in to the cause.
"If people want to contribute now, they can come down to Rotary Park Sunday afternoon at 1:30, right after the group returns from its ride, and buy tickets for our raffles and draws or bring along a toy and place it under our tree."
"Or they can bring toys or cash to any of the stops along the Run."
As a bonus, anyone who shows up gets to experience the sight and sound of a squadron of pretty cool bikes. Additionally, there'll be music and burgers, the latter courtesy of the Penticton Lions Club, at Rotary Park.
"You know," says Colmer, "we get a bad reputation because of the outlaw bike groups. But there are bike enthusiasts from every walk of life who ride motorcycles and get together to volunteer for things."
"This is almost like a family get together. We don't see each other very often, then bam, we're all together. It's a great time for a good cause."
