Motorcycle Festival,
Ride to Honor Veterans
This 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks will see the first ever Head for the Hills Festival Thursday-Saturday, September 9-11, 2021.
Motorcycle riders will gather to honor veterans, remember the 9/11 attacks and celebrate life at the Legendary Pennsboro Speedway, in Ritchie County, WV.
West Virginia Chapter 37-1 of the Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association (CVMA) and Ritchie County Tourism & Visitors Bureau (RCTVB) announce the festival is gathering national attention in the motorcycle world.
The Festival features the CVMA Memorial Ride & Parade from the Legendary Pennsboro Speedway to the Cairo Veterans Memorial.
This historic ride will mark the first event the CVMA and RCTVB have teamed up to honor those who served in the United States Military or first responder capacity and remember those lives lost in the 9/11 tragedies.
The Head for the Hills Festival will become an annual event, selecting each year, a veteran charity for which to raise community awareness and financial donations.
Proceeds of this year’s ride will go toward rebuilding the Cairo Veterans Memorial, which suffered a near collapse, following heavy rain this past Spring.
The 19-mile Memorial Ride & Parade will coincide with the Cairo Alumni Weekend, seeing many alumni and motorcycle riders alike.
Preparation and lineup for the Memorial Ride will be Saturday, September 11, 2021, at 10 a.m. at the Ritchie County High School Parking Lot, off U.S. Route 50 at Ellenboro, WV.
The Memorial Ride route will travel WV Route 16 South from Ellenboro to the Cairo Veterans Memorial, beginning at 11 a.m.
“We plan to have an honor guard or scout troop standing there in Cairo to salute the bikes as they ride through the area,” said Rick Eve, WV 37-1 Chapter Commander.
“With the Cairo Alumni Weekend in full swing and the many Cairo High School alumni returning for the celebration, there is sure to be a huge crowd showing support for this ride,” he added.
CVMA members Ron Eagle, Eve, Bart Ives and Earlene Lovern have been working with Connie Frederick-Williams, president of the RCTVB for several months to plan the festival and all the many events taking place.
“The RCTVB has been working to create a festival designed to not only promote tourism opportunities in Ritchie County, but that could also be used to raise awareness to veteran organizations,” said Frederick-Williams.
While the RCTVB’s purpose is promoting tourism, they also wanted to do so while helping a large population of the country, the United States Military Veterans, who often find themselves overlooked by society.
“Working with the CVMA, allows us to accomplish all of our goals and makes perfect sense. Veteran motorcycle riders and riders of all sorts are welcome to take advantage of the tourist opportunities our county offers, all while joining with us to honor U.S. Military Veterans and those lives lost and families affected by 9/11,” she added.
The mission of the Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association is to support and defend those who have defended the United States and the country’s freedoms.
“We, as a nonprofit, nationwide organization, participate in many motorcycle-related charitable events each year, which donate to various veteran-care facilities and veteran charities,” said Ron Eagle, Public Affairs Officer for Chapter 37-1 of the CVMA.
“The attacks on 9/11 changed our lives as we knew them and there were a lot of veterans willing to sacrifice their lives to defend against that hostile action upon the United States. We owe them and their families a debt of gratitude,” he added.
After returning from Iraq, Eagle said he always wanted to be a part of something for those who were less fortunate after the war.
“Supporting an organization such as CVMA has provided me the opportunity to help veterans in all capacities of their lives,” Eagle said.
Eagle shared his experience of riding in his first “Operation God Bless America” in Martinsburg, WV.
“When I rode under the first overpass and saw all the people lined on the bridge above waving, I gave into my emotions and my eyes filled with tears. I realized that ride was not just a charity event but also an opportunity for the public to show their respect to our country’s veterans,” he explained.
“This is my hope for the CVMA Memorial Ride & Parade to Cairo. That the public comes out and shares their patriotism and gives thanks to all those who have fought to maintain their freedom,” he shared.
Eve, a veteran of Operation Desert Storm and Operation Restore Hope (Somalia), believes reminding the community wherever there are veteran events, their participation is paramount in continuing to honor veterans throughout the U.S.
“Veterans truly thrive off of any community’s effort to provide a compassionate and meaningful response to events such as the CMVA Memorial Ride & Parade taking place during the Head for the Hills Festival,” he explained.
“While there is true passion between veterans who participate in these events, there is a greater connection with an appreciative community,” he continued.
“When I see a child along the parade route being helped by an adult to display the American Flag it reassures me the long legacy of the bonds between veterans and their communities will continue,” he added.
“I’ve seen it countless times and those children and their simple display of patriotism truly warms the heart and soul of this veteran,” Eve shared.
The objective of this parade is to bring the residents of Cairo and Ritchie County out in support present and future efforts to provide services to struggling veterans and to show their love for their nation, veterans and
their community.
“If any local resident can make it out somewhere along the parade route or in Cairo, it would be greatly appreciated by myself and my fellow veterans,” Eve added.
“The Head for the Hills Festival will also host a tribute to all U.S. Military Veterans and First Responders, who have served honorably, paid his or her debt to society and deserves the right to be recognized for their ultimate sacrifice,” said Eve.
When coming through the admission’s gate at the Festival, veterans and their families are encouraged to add the names of veterans to a list, which will be recognized and read aloud throughout the Festival.
“Almost every person in America has either had a family member or members, who have served in the United States military. They may have worked with them, attended school or church with them, lived alongside them or befriended someone on social media, who has served in the U.S. Military or as a first responder,” explained Eagle.
“Our military men and women spend months, if not years, away from their friends and family, fighting terrorism and making sure we can all go on about our daily lives, oblivious to the danger, which lurks just beyond our borders,” he added.
The Head for the Hills Festival will also feature a $10,000 poker tour pot, a motorcycle rodeo with games and contests, three nights of music, 50/50 drawings, lots of food and sales vendors and much more.
For a complete schedule of events, visit www.HeadForTheHillsWV.com.
The Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association is an association of combat veterans from all branches of the United States Military, who ride motorcycles as a hobby.
To join the Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association, visit www.CombatVet.us
The CVMA and RCTVB wish to recognize S&P Harley Davidson, Williamstown; Sleep Inn & Suites, Ellenboro; Bridgeport Equipment, Pennsboro; Armstrong Telephone, Harrisville; Huntington Bank, Harrisville; Ritchie Tobacco, Pennsboro; Walgreens, Harrisville; The Pizza Box, Pennsboro; and EpicEar Productions, Marietta, for their donations to the Head for the Hills Festival.