Harleys to rumble for Hollywood Theater

By ELMER PLOETZ

News Southtowns Bureau

     The buzz has turned into a roar for this weekend's Harley Happening in Gowanda.

     In its third year as a fund-raiser for the restoration of the Hollywood Theater, the Harley Happening has turned into a major biker event in the region. Organizers say they drew between 15,000 and 25,000 people for the three-day festival last year and are hoping for as many as 35,000 this year - with a good many of them rolling in on iron horses.

     The event starts Friday and runs through Sunday.

     With its juxtaposition of biker leathers and tattoo contests with church services and choral concert honoring veterans, organizers say the event captures some of the contradictions of modern motorcycle culture.

     "Today's biker is not yesterday's biker," said Bryan Bradley, executive director of Friends of the Hollywood. "It's not the Hells Angels. It's not the 1960s anymore.

     "Some of the people might look very threatening in dress leathers, but then you find out the guy's a doctor, and the other's a lawyer. They're the most well-behaved, nicest people you'd want to meet. Today's biker tends to he in an upscale demographic."

     Bradley said there have been no problems with public behavior at the event in its first two years.

     Many of the events will take place on West Main street near the theater.

     "The only road blocked off is West Main," said Brian LeBarron of Gowanda Harley-Davidson which is the major sponsor of the event. "The only way to get on it is on a motorcycle, of course."

     New attractions this year include illusionist Don Rogers, the tattoo contest, a "Leather with an Attitude" fashion show and performances by "Rhett Rotten's Wall of Death" motorcycle stunt show, which will also be featured in Friday's "Harley Parade."

     The theater will also be open for tours.

     The Hollywood Theater, a 990-seat structure, is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year.

     The theater, a vaudeville showplace, has been closed since 1992.

     With its 3O-foot-by-70-foot stage, the theater is undergoing a $2.8 million renovation into a rural regional center for the performing arts.The new roofing has been completed , and the second stage of the project will include the restorations of the marquee and facade.

     The previous Harley happenings have raised approximately $40,000 toward the project.