2014 Wide Open
Motorcycle Show
Kansas City
“By
Loney Wilcoxson
A change of scenery will do you good.” We
have all heard that phrase at one time or another.
Well I’ve got to tell you, one of the best examples
I saw of this saying proven out was our 2014 bike
show. By now you are no doubt aware we held this
year’s version of the greatest show on two wheels
6 Wide Open
at the KCI Expo Center. I for one was anxious to see
how the venue would look outfitted wall to wall
with custom bikes, vendors, and a two-stage bike
show. Two-stage bike show may have baffled you
just a bit but I’ll explain soon enough. I am here
several times a year for various shows and I am always impressed with how well the venue is lit and
how clean it is. This particular venue, out of all the
venues we have used for our Kansas City show, is
by far the easiest to access. From either north or
south, one only needs to exit I-29 and drive one
block east and then turn south one block. It truly is
that simple. For vendors and exhibitors from the
far reaches of the Midwest Coast, a hotel is conveniently located less than 100 yards from the venue
entrance. Parking is abundant, and of course, like
always, free of charge.
After the holidays, before I knew it, the weekend of January 18 and 19 popped up from out of
nowhere. I made my way south anticipating another great show. Fortunately the weather forecast
was on our side this year, and while Saturday was
pretty chilly, Sunday promised temperatures warm
enough I was sure many attendees would forego
the cage to get a little time behind bars.
When I walked into the Expo Center, I was truly
impressed. Ralph, as always, had kept his promise. The building truly was wall to wall custom motorcycles. No sooner did you walk in the door you
found yourself looking straight down the barrel of
three double rows of incredible machines. Well
over 200 bikes were under one roof, with 180
plus entered in the Wide Open show. While the
space was full, the floor plan was laid out beautifully. The aisles were plenty spacious to allow foot
traffic to continue even if a group of folks decided
to start up a conversation dead in the center of the
aisle. This is bound to happen when a ton of folks
that haven’t seen each other for a while gather together. In no time at all the venue was full of showgoers, checking out all the bikes, shopping for bike
accessories, leather riding gear, or picking up the
latest and greatest Wide Open gear. Our Calendar
Girls were busy smiling, autographing and selling
event shirts, our latest 16-month calendar loaded
with hot bikes and even hotter ladies, booty shorts,
and of course helping folks renew their subscriptions to the magazine that you have made the
voice of riders all across the Midwest Coast. Our
shiny gold raffle drum was filling up at a breakneck
pace. You asked for it and we delivered; the breast
augmentation raffle made a return appearance
and it was in big demand.
I made my way to the Wide Open trailer,
stowed my gear, greeted the always gorgeous
Wide Open Calendar Girls, and then began to survey my surroundings. Right next to the Wide Open
trailer was one of Total Venue’s sweet mobile
stages which would be the center of attention on
and off through F