The 27th annual Victory for Veterans Memorial Ride is set for Sunday, Sept. 27, at Wicker Memorial Park in Highland, with more than 1,800 riders expected, including veterans traveling from across the country. The gathering will come as the park continues recovering from an Aug. 11 storm that destroyed more than 350 trees.
The August storm left extensive work for park crews, according to the Chicago Tribune. It damaged fence lines around the golf course and the park's west perimeter and disrupted power, phone and internet service for more than a week. Kelly Bridges, the North Township Trustee's Office special events coordinator and Wicker Park Memorial Fund board president, said nearly seven weeks of cleanup were needed to prepare the grounds for Sunday's ride.
Groundskeepers Race Against the Clock
Groundskeepers with the North Township Trustee's Office worked nonstop to make the park safe in time for the ride, the report notes. Bridges said there was very little structural damage to the park's buildings, even as the grounds themselves took a beating. The trustee's office said it will keep working to get Wicker Memorial Park fully open as soon as it is safe to do so.
The scale of the storm's impact reaches beyond one park. According to nwitimes.com, the same system tore across Northwest Indiana with destructive winds that toppled trees and power lines, damaged homes and businesses, blocked roads and left hundreds of thousands of customers without power. Wind gusts reached 99 mph in Gary, and parks across the region were hammered by uprooted trees and flying branches, per the same report.
Housing Context for the Beneficiary
The ride's support for Habitat for Humanity of Northwest Indiana's Veteran Build also fits within a broader local housing context. Lake County's consolidated plan says its federally funded housing programs assist low- and moderate-income households earning less than 80% of the area median income. The plan provides context for the housing project supported by the ride, though the cited material does not give a veteran-specific estimate of housing need in Lake County or Northwest Indiana.
Route, Registration and Ticket Details
Day-of registration runs from 8 to 10 a.m. Sunday at Wicker Memorial Park, near Ridge Road and Indianapolis Boulevard, with the police-escorted ride set to start around 10:30 a.m. Riders will exit through the park's Southwest Gate and return through the Main Gate after a route that heads west on Ridge Road to Calumet Avenue, south to Route 30, east to Taft/Cleveland, and back north to Ridge Road toward the park. Tickets cost $25 per individual or $40 per couple, and riders can preregister at victoryforveteranswickerpark.org. Anyone with questions can call 219-313-3934.
Money raised through ticket sales will benefit Habitat for Humanity of Northwest Indiana's Veteran Build in Lake Station's Riverwalk neighborhood, along with improvements to the Wicker Park Veterans Memorial. The ride raises money for veterans' causes through a nonprofit fund, and this year's keynote speaker is Beau Bayh, the Democratic candidate for Indiana secretary of state. Big City is scheduled to perform as the musical guest after the ride wraps up.
A Sold-Out Tradition Since 1999
The Victory for Veterans ride began in 1999 and has grown into one of the region's signature fundraisers. At the 23rd annual ride in 2022, an estimated 1,800 motorcycles filled Wicker Park by 11 a.m., a turnout organizers said was sold out, according to the Chicago Tribune's 2022 coverage. That year's ride covered 27 miles through Highland, Munster, Dyer, Schererville, Merrillville, Griffith and Gary, and was sponsored by the North Township Trustee's Office along with the American Veterans Motorcycle Riders Association.
Past rides have typically raised between $8,000 and $10,000 for causes including veterans' mental health and suicide-prevention programs, per the 2022 Tribune report. Habitat for Humanity of Northwest Indiana has been among the ride's beneficiaries before, according to a PR Newswire release tied to that year's event, which also noted single-rider tickets ran $25 and couples' tickets $40 back then too.
For now, organizers and park staff are focused on getting Wicker Memorial Park through Sunday in one piece after a summer that tested the grounds and the community around them. With registration, the route and the beneficiaries locked in, the ride is set to bring together riders, veterans and neighbors in a park that, just weeks ago, was without power, phone service or hundreds of its trees.
