Street Vibrations is billed as Reno's celebration of music, metal, and motorcycles. Attend Street Vibrations along Virginia Street in downtown Reno and you will see there is plenty of all three. Other event venues include Victorian Square in Sparks, the Harley-Davidson dealerships in Reno and Carson City, area casinos and bars, and historic Virginia City. Thousands of hogs and their riders cruise into Reno for Street Vibrations, filling downtown with rumbling color and a fun street party atmosphere. This 17th Annual Street Vibrations will run from September 21 through 25, 2011. You do not need to be a Harley rider to have a good time at Street Vibrations.
For 2011, Street Vibrations will be back in downtown Reno in full force. You'll enjoy three live entertainment stages, fireworks, motorcycle stunt shows, factory rigs and vendors, and plenty of food and drink. Rules about beer sales and drinking at the event have been changed to a more relaxed attitude - learn more with my Drinking at Reno Events article. The Victorian Square venue in Sparks will see more of everything as well.
Street Vibrations Activities
Street Vibrations revolves around the motorcycles (mostly Harleys, but lots of other rides as well) and related interests. Custom bikes can be seen at the Custom Bike Builder's Expo and you can contemplate personal decoration at the Tattoo Expo. If you don't want to go quite that far, check out the vendors with all the cool biker gear and clothing so you can at least look the part. Of course, you need not go hungry or thirsty as plenty of food and drink vendors will be sprinkled among the rows of glittering Harleys. It's free to come downtown, mingle with the crowd, talk motorcycles with riders and vendors, and walk among the rows and rows of powerful bikes. In addition to Virginia Street downtown, you'll find vendors in the Reno Events Center, the Reno Ballroom, Victorian Square in Sparks, Chester's Reno Harley Davidson, Carson City Harley Davidson, and up in Virginia City.
Street Vibrations for Riders
Street Vibrations is a big event. Thousands of motorcycles and even more thousands of people come to Reno for this party. Think Hot August Nights for big bikes and you will get the idea. You can just ride to Reno for Street Vibrations and go with the flow, but Roadshows (the organizer) encourages riders to register as participants. You must be 18 or older and have proof of insurance. The fee is $60 per person. As an inducement to register, Roadshows throws in a pretty good package of deals and discounts at no extra charge. The package includes a secured bike parking pass for each day of Street Vibrations. A portion of the proceeds benefits the Juvenile Diabetes Association.
Other registered biker goodies include poker runs up to Lake Tahoe and Virginia City. Reno / Tahoe casinos will be looking to separate Street Vibrations attendees from some of their money with slot tournaments and other special action. Food discounts and other goodies are available to registered participants. On Saturday night, a fireworks display will shoot off over the Silver Legacy.
New Event at Street Vibrations
If you want to test out your muscular biceps, enter the arm wrestling competition. The contest will be at the Reno Ballroom on Saturday the 24th, starting at 1 p.m. There will be different weight classes for both men and women. The entry fee is $20 per arm/class.
Street Vibrations Information Links
Get additional information about Street Vibrations from these links:
- Street Vibrations Events Schedule.
- Street Vibrations Online Participant Registration Form.
- Benefits of Registering for Street Vibrations.
- Street Vibrations Information: (775) 329-7469.
Street Vibrations Major Entertainment
Free entertainment at Harrah's Plaza, next to the Reno Arch...
- Thursday, Sept. 22, 12 noon to 3 p.m. - Buddy Emmer Band
- Thursday, Sept. 22, 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. - China Grove
- Thursday, Sept. 22, 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. - Unauthorized Rolling Stones
- Friday, Sept. 23, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. - Cream of Clapton
- Friday, Sept. 23, 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. - Unauthorized Rolling Stones
- Friday, Sept. 23, 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. - China Grove
- Saturday, Sept. 24, 12 noon to 3 p.m. - Buddy Emmer Band
- Saturday, Sept. 24, 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. - Cream of Clapton
- Saturday, Sept. 24, 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. - Skynnyn Lynnyrd
- Sammy Davis Jr. Tribute Show - Thursday, Sept. 22, 8 p.m., Harrah's Reno
- Santana - Friday, Sept. 23, 7:30 p.m., Reno Events Center
- Cinderella & Warrant - Saturday, Sept. 24, 8 p.m., Silver Legacy
- hairspray - through Nov. 13, Eldorado
Main Street Vibrations Venues
- Virginia Street in downtown Reno
- Victorian Square in Sparks
- Reno Events Center (400 N. Center St., Reno)
- Reno Ballroom (401 N. Center St., Reno)
- Chester's Reno Harley Davidson (2315 Market St., Reno)
- Carson City Harley Davidson (2900 Research Way, Carson City)
- Virginia City
Street Vibrations Street Closures
Street Vibrations results in numerous street closures during its run, with the majority of them being in downtown Reno. To save yourself some time and hassle, refer to the downtown Reno road closures and restrictions map before driving to the city center during Street Vibrations. This map is also good for showing traffic restrictions during other special events held in downtown Reno.More Motorcycle Rallies
Street Vibrations in Reno is a big motorcycle rally, but it's only one of many. The biggest and baddest of all is the annual August event in Sturgis, SD. Another biggie is Rolling Thunder in Washington, D.C. There are others throughout the country, including the 10 Great American Motorcycle Events chosen by our About.com: Motorcycles guide.
More About Motorcycles
If you are new to the two-wheeled mode of transportation, it would pay to study up before taking the plunge. These Ten Great Beginner Bikes aren't Harleys, but they will get you going in starter mode. Besides choosing a motorcycle, you'll find just about everything else you need to know about the world of motorcycles at About.com: Motorcycles.
Of course, motorcycles didn't just appear. Learn about where these machines came from at History of the Motorcycle.
