The Mid-America Freedom Rally is about to enjoy its 22nd year. That’s right; this rally has been going strong
now for 22 solid years. What makes this rally so successful to the Biker community; it has not forgotten about why it started.
To honor those heroes who have given their lives to protect our freedoms, and to give a place for all motorcycle riders a
place to go, and enjoy themselves, while being a biker. And this part we never forgot, this rally is all about the biker,
not the hype.
The rally was first started in Freeburg Missouri in 1988. The rally continued to grow, outgrowing
the property that we were renting. In 1995, the rally moved from Freeburg, to Buckhorn Missouri, with the help of the Pulaski
County Shriners. This turned out to be a blessing. The Shriners bent over backwards to build us the ultimate Motorcycle Rally
spot. Every year, a little more is done to make it more comfortable to its guest. The first year we were here, the bands played
off the back of a semi trailer, and an old GP Medium army tent was the beer tent, other than that, it was a total wilderness.
Since then, we now have an awesome amphitheater stage, the largest in central Missouri, a shower facility, with ample showers,
toilets, and most importantly, hot water.
The
Rally is currently put on by 7 locals of Freedom Of Road Riders®
, Missouri’s premier motorcycle rights organization (FORR® ) These locals cover most of central Missouri. They are: Local 7, Lebanon, Local 10, Jefferson City, Local 13 Mexico, Local 28 Waynesville, Local 31 Rolla, Local 33 Highway 50 West, and Local 35 Golden Valley. Each local has representatives that meet
each month and work hard all year long to put on this rally. This year we have a new Local joining
us, it is Local 29 North Kansas City
One of the biggest things we emphasis is, we welcome all bikes and
bikers. Colors are also allowed as long as we all respect each other, and respect the freedoms this rally brings. As out sign
says, Attitudes will be treated as Entertainment! Leave you bad attitudes, firearms and large non folding
knives outside the gates, as non of these will be tolerated.
We no longer allow children in the gates. This had to stop as of our 2009 Rally, as it was getting out of hand. Many
parents were not watching their children and we had too many incidents of children wandering around alone. To stop a possible
lawsuit or DFS from becoming an issue, we thought it best to solve this but making the age lime to 18 years of age. IDs will
be required.
We do not allow pets of any
kind here. I know to some of you this is your family, but we can not allow any pets. This is not negotiable. There is an RV
camp up the road where you are allowed pets, and there are border facilities nearby. Anyone trying to sneak an animal (hairy
bikers are not animals in this park) will be asked to leave the rally.
Vendor Row has grown, so we now can comfortably park 26 vendors, with a 30X30 spot, with electric and water. And
as the rally grows, so will the facilities. The Shrine Club sells all your liquid refreshments, with three on site bars, the
main one up at the Shrine Club itself, then in the rally there are two bars, the main Shrine Pavilion, an the Green Dragon,
appropriately named after the famous Masonic Lodge meeting place in Boston during the revolutionary war. These bars sell individual
and package sales, and don’t forget, these facilities also contribute to the Shrine Children Hospitals nation wide.
Camping has gotten better an better every year, with new acreage cleared
out as we grow. Right now we have over 50 acres of cleared land dedicated to tent camping. No 4 wheeled
vehicles are allowed down there after the gates open, but there is a shuttle that runs all weekend to bring you from the parking
lot to your camping area, and you can haul all your camping stuff on it. Tent camping is included with your admission fee.
There is also an area for RV/Camper parking, which is raw, meaning neither electricity nor water. This costs $10
for the entire weekend. This includes any vehicle you plan on sleeping in, even if it is a cargo trailer. All the money collected
from this is going to the development of a real RV camp which will someday have electricity, water, everything a standard
RV center has.
Continue to read the site, and read about all the different facilities
and functions we have. Hope to see you at the rally, and remember, you can sleep when you get home, here the Freedom Rally
is a three day event, 24 hours a day, so don’t get upset when you hear “GOOD MORNING BUCKHORN” 10 minutes
after you laid down. It’s become a tradition here.