Thunder in the Valley Motorcycle Rally

April 16, 2013

This summer, Memorial Day through July 4th, The Alleghenies offers everything from a motorcycle rally to canopy tours and plenty of festivals.

Start summer right with these events:

Laurel Ridgeline Canopy Tours (all summer) Seven Springs Mountain Resort. Constructed to fit into the natural landscape, Seven Springs' new canopy tours consist of 10 zip-lines ranging in length from 145-feet to the grand finale--1,500-feet of zip 150-feet in the air!

46th Annual Blair County Arts Festival (May 18-19)- Penn State Altoona Campus. This festival brings to life the Altoona campus through paintings, sculptures, costumes, photographs, drawings, music and more.

Memorial Day Fireworks Cruise (May 26) - Raystown Lake. Celebrate the Memorial Day weekend at the Seven Points Marina aboard the Princess Lake Cruiser while enjoying a fireworks display and dinner.

Polkafest (May 31-June 2)- Johnstown, PA. It's a Polka Party...and you're invited! The friendly city PolkaFest is a celebration of music, food and fun! The event includes live bands, ethnic foods, and free live entertainment. The Greater Johnstown Convention and Visitors Bureau cordially invites you to join us in the Friendly City of Johnstown, PA for our annual PolkaFest. You'll enjoy three fantastic days of dancing to the best Polka Music around. It's one big Polka Party - Johnstown style!

Outdoor Dancing FUN! Located in historic Cambria City, Johnstown's Ethnic Neighborhood. Come dance with your sweetheart on the wooden dance floor under the pavilion at Saint Mary's on Power Street. Experience the heritage of Johnstown at this FREE festival!

Come Early and Discover Johnstown's Heritage! Come early and plan to spend some extra time in Johnstown visiting our wonderful attractions that showcase the region's history and heritage. Discover the shocking story of the Great Johnstown Flood of 1889 at theJohnstown Flood Museum. There you'll see state-of-the-art exhibits and the Academy Award winning documentary film, "The Johnstown Flood."

Take a ride on Johnstown's famous Inclined Plane - the World's Steepest Vehicular Inclined plane! The observation platform at the top provides a sweeping view of the city below. You can pick up a souvenir at the gift shop and enjoy an ice cream cone!

Don't miss Johnstown's newest museum - the Johnstown Heritage Discovery Center - for a unique visitor experience. At the Discovery Center, the permanent exhibit "America: Through Immigrant Eyes" will allow visitors to immerse themselves in the different environments experienced by those who came to Johnstown from Eastern and Southern European countries from 1870-1914. You will travel with immigration characters as they disembark at the Johnstown Passenger Station, as they encounter the prejudice of the dominant class and as they seek work and a better home life. Bring the kids to tour the new Children's Museum and experience the Mystery of Steel.

From Johnstown you can travel throughout the scenic countryside and visit many of the other sites that tell the remarkable stories of tragedy and triumph. The national spotlight has shone on the region most recently with the crash of Flight 93 on September 11, 2001 and the miraculous rescue of the Quecreek Miners in July 2002. Both sites are located in Somerset County within a thirty-minute drive from Johnstown.

So, when you come to Johnstown for PolkaFest, stay for the history and take home memories that will last a lifetime!

Wine and Dine Getaway (May 31 and June 28)- Omni Bedford Springs. Escape for the weekend with this getaway held at the Omni Bedford Springs including accommodations, wine dinner for two and breakfast the next morning.

 23RD Annual Strawberry Festival (June 14-15)- Fulton County Courthouse. Visitors can submit their favorite strawberry recipe, run in the Strawberry Stampede 5K Run & Walk or indulge in various strawberry treats from shortcake to pies to waffles and ice cream.  

Thunder in the Valley Motorcycle Rally (June 20-23)- Johnstown, PA

Thunder has become one of the premier northeastern U.S. events bikers are adding to their summer event itinerary. The event hosts over 125 vendors and 200,000+ bikers with new featured entertainment and events.

Thunder in the Valley® General Information

Johnstown's annual Thunder in the Valley® motorcycle rally is held the fourth weekend in June. While the City of Johnstown serves as the hub of the rally, related events take place throughout the entire Johnstown Region. According to the Johnstown/Cambria County Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB), rally planners make every effort to provide a wide variety of events and activities so that Thunder is enjoyed by everyone, including area residents who help to roll out the welcome mat for visiting bikers.

"The strong appeal of Thunder," CVB Director Lisa Rager says, "is that everyone here goes out of their way to make the bikers feel welcome; the residents have a ball and it's a very relaxed but festive atmosphere." Rager points out that many of the main streets in the downtown are designated for motorcycle parking only.

Maps of scenic rides, the official program book, visitors guides and attraction brochures are available at the welcome tent which is staffed by friendly, knowledgeable volunteers. Visitors are encouraged to sign the guest book and place a stick a pin in the large U.S. map indicating their town of origin.

Vendors offering a variety of leather products, cleaning products, helmets, stickers, accessories, jewelry and other goods will be located in four downtown areas, including Central Park, lower Main Street,  Thunder MegaMall and parking lots adjacent to the train station. Central Park, Biker Mall and the Train Station will also have live musical entertainment with bands playing rock, oldies, blues, country and jazz.

The rally also attracts the participation of many motorcycle manufacturers including Yamaha, Can-Am, Harley-Davidson, Suzuki and Kymco. Many will also host their own events at their dealerships.

As Thunder in the Valley® grows, so does its popularity. The rally is taking the east coast "by storm." A Rider magazine writer recently said, "This rally has spirit...they make you feel welcome in every way!"

The Johnstown Convention & Visitors Bureau encourages bikers to come to Johnstown earlier in the week because there are many tourist attractions worth visiting and numerous scenic roads to ride. Regional motorcycle touring guides are available for download at The Alleghenies website and feature several great tours of the region.

"We have so much to offer that you can't possibly do everything just in the four days of Thunder," Rager says. "Johnstown and Thunder together add up to a great vacation opportunity, so we hope our biker friends will come and hang out with us a bit longer and explore our wonderful region."

Attractions in downtown Johnstown include the Johnstown Flood Museum, which tells the shocking story of the Great Johnstown Flood of 1889, in which 2,209 people were killed when a 40-foot high wall of water and debris traveled 14 miles through the valley into Johnstown, sweeping away everything in its path. The Academy Award winning documentary "The Johnstown Flood" is shown hourly.

The Johnstown Inclined Plane features cable-pulled cars that transport visitors along a track up the steep mountainside for a sweeping view of the city and valley below. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, this engineering marvel is the World's Steepest Vehicular Inclined Plane, which means that it can transport cars and motorcycles as well as people. At the top of the Inclined Plane, visitors will find a gift shop and visitor center with exhibits that provide a panoramic view of the city.

Just west of downtown Johnstown is the Heritage Discovery Center, Johnstown's newest museum. The Discovery Center tells the story of the immigrants who passed through Ellis Island and settled in Johnstown, where they labored in the mills and mines, built their nationality churches and a new life for themselves and their families.

The natural beauty of the Johnstown region is an attraction in and of itself, where its winding back roads lure bikers seeking great rides from spring through autumn or until the snow falls.

Creation Music Festival (June 26-29)- Agape Farm in Shirleysburg.

The Creation Festival, the nation's largest Christian music festival, offers days filled with the top musical artists, kids' activities, speakers, and more. 

 Juniata RiverFEST (June 29)- Victory Park in Lewistown, PA

Juniata RiverFEST is an all-day celebration featuring a Raft Regatta, community float, 5k River Rampage Run, Rockin' by the River Entertainment, vendors and fireworks.

Central PA 4th Fest (July 4)- Penn State University in State College

One of the largest 4th of July fireworks in the country features a 45-minute fireworks display, Heroes Parade, Firecracker 4K, live bands, and a festival.

America's Got Heroes Parade of Heroes

The Parade of Heroes is a new feature being added to the already well-established day of family-friendly-fun festivities celebrating our nation's birth. The Parade of Heroes is Thursday, July 4th, 2013 – in front of the State College Municipal Building. The parade route will travel through downtown State College, across the PSU campus and end at the PSU Law School Building. Please check back for updates on the parade start time.

The Parade of Heroes is the platform utilized to publicly thank and recognize the heroes of Central Pennsylvania. The heroes selected to participate in the parade will receive a commemorative plaque and be transported individually in vehicles through the parade route with their name's and town's highlighted on banners alongside the vehicle. Nominees not selected to be in the parade will receive honorable mentions and a certificate thanking them for their service to their community and country.