It’s an awesome spectacle when 17,000 motorcycles rumble down the road, most of them with a child’s toy strapped somewhere on the machine. Last year the Toy Run donated $230,000 worth of toys and cash to The Salvation Army’s Toy ’n Joy Shop, where needy parents collect Christmas gifts for their sons and daughters. Thousands of low-income kids would go without on Christmas morning were it not for the generosity of motorcycle riders and the success of the Olympia Toy Run.
“It’s all about the kids,” said Joe Sullivan, who organizes and leads the parade of bikes every year. “Santa Joe,” as he’s known in biker circles, said motorcyclists of all stripes, from club members flying their colors to weekend enthusiasts, find a common mission in the Toy Run.
“For this day, we are one sister/brotherhood of riders thinking of the smiles our toys will bring to the kids’ faces,” Sullivan said.
To be perfectly honest, there was some question whether the 34th annual Olympia Toy Run would go off as scheduled Saturday. That’s because there was a bit of a dust-up last year.
The fact is, it takes a long time to move 17,000 motorcycles from South Sound Shopping Center in Lacey to Marathon Park on the western shore of Capitol Lake. While thousands of spectators line the streets to wave and cheer the bikers, some motorists are definitely inconvenienced, unable to cross the street while bikers move past four abreast. Police were concerned about traffic flow and public safety, and fire officials questioned whether they would be able to respond to emergency calls – especially from the city’s new fire station on Lilly Road.
Sullivan says, “It took quite a bit of doing, but we have things settled. I think it will work out, but we’ll have to wait until it’s over to be sure.”
There has been a significant shift in the riders’ route. They will no longer travel west on Martin Way.
“That’s my biggest concern, that spectators will line Martin Way and we won’t be there,” Sullivan said. “We’ll be over on Pacific (Avenue).”
Bikers will assemble at the Sears end of South Sound Shopping Center beginning at 10 a.m. Every biker must bring a new, unwrapped toy, or pay $15 for per person or $20 per couple, with everything going to the Salvation Army.
Motorcycle drill teams will entertain from 11 a.m. until 12:30 p.m., with Sullivan leading the parade starting at 1 p.m. sharp. They will exit the shopping center, turn west onto Pacific Avenue, follow it to State Street, travel down the hill, left onto Capitol Way to Fifth Avenue then around Capitol Lake to Marathon Park. Deschutes Parkway will be closed, as will the southbound off-ramp from Interstate 5 to Pacific Avenue.
“We’re hoping everyone is in a holiday mood,” Sullivan said. “Sitting and waiting for us to pass can sometimes be a challenge, but we remind people it’s just a couple of hours out of a whole year and for sure we want to make sure we take care of the kids on Christmas.”
Police say they, too, are dedicated to making the event a success. “We are all on the same page,” said Sgt. Aaron Jelcick. “This is a great event. Our goal is to help make it go off without a hitch so it’s a successful event for the community.”
Sullivan said it costs about $6,000 to stage the Toy Run, with between $3,500 and $3,700 going to Olympia Police for officers to work the event. Sponsors have stepped up to cover the overhead costs, Sullivan said.
The Toy Run, which Sullivan said is the oldest in the United States and the largest in Washington, has mushroomed in recent years.
It began in 1977 with a couple of bikers sitting around the bar at the former Captain Coyotes’ tavern on the west side. Twenty-seven bikes rode that first year collecting 70 toys. By the mid 2000s, between 3,500 and 5,000 bikes were common. It snowed in 2007 and after publicity in a motorcycle magazine, the Toy Run broke the 10,000 motorcycle mark in 2008. There were 17,000 bikes and a quarter million dollars in donations last year.
“Bikers are extremely dedicated to making sure this run continues,” Sullivan said.
And that brings great joy to the heart of Salvation Army Major Bill Lum.
“Without the Toy Run we couldn’t help half the people we help,” Lum said. “We’ve become dependent on the success of the Toy Run each year.”
Because the Toy Run generates so many toys, and draws bikers from a wide area, the local Salvation Army office shares the surplus with chapters in Grays Harbor, Centralia, Puyallup and elsewhere.
Low-income families in Thurston County will be screened by The Salvation Army on Dec. 7-8, with distribution of toys set for Dec. 19-21.
This community is blessed to have the Olympia Toy Run and dedicated people like “Santa Joe” Sullivan and his volunteers and sponsors.
As Sullivan says, “It’s all about the kids.”
