Big B’s Leather and Wounded Heroes of Texas organized the motorcycle rally, concerts and vendor fair to raise money and awareness for disabled veterans and the veterans associations of Dallas-Fort Worth.
“This is basically the first family-oriented biker rally in North Texas. We didn’t expect it to be this big, but we will definitely do it again next year,” said Chuck Perry, Wounded Heroes of Texas founder. “We wanted this to be an event to honor our disabled vets and raise funds for our Galveston retreat. It’s really just a feel-good event and helps vets.”
Perry said the Wounded Heroes of Texas helps disabled veterans adjust to life after service and reintegrate into society. The nonprofit organization’s annual Galveston fishing and sailing retreat for veterans is one of the ways it helps.
The three-day event featured live music from Southern Heat, Curb Service and Janis Joplin tribute band Piece of My Heart, while several vendors sold “everything from mufflers to mints,” Perry said. Rally Round Our Heroes also featured raffles, displays and bike washes.
He said the Wounded Heroes of Texas serves veterans from the Oklahoma border to Temple, Texas, and he is hoping to start a chapter in Brownsville next year. The organization is part of the national Veteran Association’s reintegration program and aims to continue to serve more of Texas every year.
The Rally Round Our Heroes received support from the Maypearl city council and mayor, as well as local support from businesses. Bruce (the big ‘B’ of Big B’s Leather) and Cupcake Helsing helped host the event, organize the vendor fair and promote the event to their customers.
“We’re a traveling vendor and have the store here (in Maypearl), so we invited all of our contacts to come set up at the rally,” Cupcake said. “We’ve got vendors clear from Iowa to local vendors out here.”
The event attracted a lot of visitors and customers to downtown Maypearl.
“We set it up spread out like this so people would want to walk through town to see everything and spend time visiting the businesses and vendors,” she said. “We hit some logistical bumps in the road this year, but it is the first year we’ve hosted it.”
Cupcake said she worked with Perry to host the event in Maypearl, because she wanted to see the small town flourish. The Helsings opened their store four years ago in downtown and the Farm-to-Market Roads 66 and 157 have become favorite routes of bikers.
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Source: Waxahachie News (Schwaderer, 4/15)
