With summer coming to a slow end, Space Coast Harley held a Reggae Fest on August 20 that lasted from noon to 1:00 a.m. to capture the mood under the Sturgeon Moon. Food and activities took on an island flair as well, with jerk-flavored offerings and ginger beer for the sampling. Five bands performed throughout the long day—Trees of Life, 506 Crew, Coastal Breed, Lights Out Project and Reggae Juice. The theme of the event was “One Love.”… The following weekend, a friend and I took the two-hour jaunt to the west to High Octane Saloon in Crystal River to catch the performances of the popular band Big Engine. The day’s events were the culmination of a week-long celebration of High Octane’s sixth anniversary. Good thing we rode out that weekend because the following week the whole area was under water thanks to tropical storm Hermine that dumped water on the state of Florida for three days… On September 3, Pug’s Pub in Eustis hosted a chili cook-off to benefit St. Jude’s Hospital for Children. This was the first of several events leading up to the main event on November 19 with two big rides ending at Gator Harley in Leesburg… On September 10, the popular and very well-attended annual Jason Burnett Memorial USO Ride took place. This is the 12th year for this event which supplies care packages to deployed military troops. The $25 registration fee included a commemorative shirt, breakfast and lunch, and admission to the after party with entertainment by Big Dawg & Paul… That same day, back at Pug’s Pub in Eustis, Debbie Fox hosted her monthly customer appreciation day with discounted drink prices, food dished up by Rattlesnake from the sizzling grill and entertainment by a band called Maiden Voyage who played a wide array of music and did it very well… The next day on September 11, Station 10 of Fire and Iron hosted the 8th annual 9/11 Memorial Service and Benefit. Seminole Harley was the location for the day with all proceeds going to the Children’s Burn Foundation of Florida. The showroom inside was full of new Harleys and the parking lot was full of riders and vendors as well as the Seminole County Sheriff’s special operation vehicles—the parade car and a Humvee. And at 11:45 a.m. the sheriff’s helicopter did a flyover as well. The Big Red Bus was also on hand to accept blood donations and the entertainer of the day was Joe Santana… I recently met a new group of riders here in OTown, the Aftermath Riders who were hosting a two-day event supporting breast cancer awareness. They held their 5th annual Breast Cancer Ball on September 17 at the Orlando Firefighters Hall. Prior to that they hosted a meet and greet session on Friday night, the 16th, at Frank’s Place in Ocoee and the morning of the 17th a ride that started at the Holiday Inn on Kirkman Road… The weekend of the 17th, the Combat Veterans MC hosted a poker run that started at the American Legion in Mt. Dora and ended at The Barn in Sanford. Stops in between were made at JJ’s in Sorrento, the VFW in Debary and the Foxhead Lounge in Osteen… Until next time, ride safe and God bless.
