^{Article used by permission from author, Tricia Szulewski.}

What do you get when you take a sexy Star motorcycle; adorn it with a well-traveled, happy do-gooder; and direct him to the steamy-hot Southern state of Arkansas? By my count, you get a STAR Touring And Riding Association member heading to the club’s largest gathering of the year, the 2008 STAR Days in Rogers, Arkansas. I was lucky enough to be invited to the 10th annual event this year, held from July 21-25 at the Embassy Suites in Rogers.

Outside, the muggy, 100-degree weather didn’t seem to dampen the spirits of the group of about 3,000 attendees. Smiles abounded; everyone I spoke with was having a great time despite the sweat dripping from their brows. Many riders were repeat attendees, pointing out that they continue to plan vacations around STAR Days partly because of the STAR family camaraderie, but also because it’s always held in a new area of the country. These riders are all about riding, so it’s only natural for the event organizers to seek out great new riding locations to hold the rally each year. According to the skunk-capped fellow riding around on his Starbasco Royal Star, president and founder Alan Cease calls the rally a “family picnic.” And indeed, it was a whole-family event. There were no beer tents, bikini washes, or keg-tosses. These guys like to ride motorcycles and practice real family values.

Free Star Motorcycle demo rides were filled and running at each hour interval, and vendor tents were well visited, but not so much that you couldn’t personally chat with guys like John “Baron” Vaughan-Chaldy, at the Baron Custom Accessories tent. The free bike wash got lots of action, even without the bikinis, and the big tent with Star accessories was a good place to seek refuge from the blazing sun and chat with the courteous Yamaha staff. We even got a good look at the new Star VMAX that everyone’s so hot about. Other activities included kid’s games and prizes, a bike rodeo/safety seminar, an owner’s maintenance seminar, and Mr. Baron himself talking about customizing your motorcycle and performance enhancement. An annual endurance ride, dubbed the Swampazz Ride, went out Wednesday morning with about 500 riders taking on the five to six hour challenge.

While the focus of the STAR group is on family, fun, camaraderie, safety and riding, there’s a huge emphasis on community outreach. The culmination of the rally occurred Thursday morning, when a lineup of about 400 Star motorcycles (and a few others, too) bungeed boxed goods and paraded through town, celebrating the club’s donations to the Feed The Children organization. There were cheers and smiles all around as the shiny chrome neatly packed the Rogers High School parking lot where local needy families were lined up to receive food and toys for their children. Throughout the year, all 235 STAR Association chapters around the country do this: they organize charity rides that end by putting food directly into the hands of the community’s most vulnerable. The food drop has been an event tradition since the STAR Days rally in Bowling Green, Kentucky, in 2001, and is the group’s most rewarding experience.

Thursday evening, in the air-conditioned ballroom, there were lots of cheers and plenty of damp cloths once the delicious banquet dinner was wrapped up, and Feed The Children speakers gave heartfelt thanks and appreciation to one of its largest cash contributors, the STAR Touring & Riding Association. To lighten things up, the rest of evening saw great entertainment when auctioneer and member “Shark” took center stage with his witty humor and goodwill. There were tons of items donated to auction, including framed portraits of the professionally photographed STAR calendar bikes, with proceeds going toward next year’s STAR Days FTC community outreach in Billings, Montana. The auction kicked off with a campy jousting match between Iowa-chapter bidders and Shark for a stuffed bear that a military STAR member took to Iraq. The winning bidder demanded Shark’s shirt off his back for a bid of $2,000. Needless to say, Shark was happy to donate the shirt for the cause, as has become somewhat of a STAR Days custom. The highlight of the night for Marty and Judy Peterson, was when their winning bid of $20,500 (actually, I believe Judy outbid Marty) took home the Jeff Pahlegyi-designed custom Raider that Star Motorcycles donated for the 10th anniversary event. Fittingly, Marty was the very first member of the STAR Association back in 1996. Good luck getting a ride on the wife’s new Raider, Marty.

While a great time was had by all, the kids and families that find food on the table from the proceeds are the real winners here.

What I didn’t know before my trip was that Arkansas is full of great riding adventures (RoadBike, Feb. ‘09). So if you plan to be in the area, allow plenty of time, bring lots of water, and replace your floorboards with footpegs because you’ll grind them down in no time. RB

Be sure to check out the January/February 2009 issue of RoadBike for more about this year’s STAR Days coverage and Trish’s Arkansas adventures. Visit www.RoadBikeMag.com.