A brigade of bikers will embark upon a 70-mile journey around Chautauqua County to benefit Cathy Colquitt, who recently endured the extraction of a brain tumor.
The motorcyclists will start and end their voyage Saturday at the First Ward Falcon Club in Dunkirk. They'll make two stops along the way - at Plummer's Tavern in Ripley and at Whiskey Hill Saloon in Cassadaga.
Colquitt and her husband Ricky have suffered some severe hardships since Cathy was diagnosed as having a brain tumor, said Ginger Pokoj, one of the event organizers.
"This is a wonderful couple who have given to the community, also," Pokoj said. "It's a very unfortunate thing that is happening to many young people - they're running into horrible cancers, sickness, what have you. And in today's economy, we have to help one another. We just have to give back and help them out."
Struggling to make ends meet and with Cathy out of work, Ricky was forced to take a night job to supplement the income he makes at his day job. Still, life has been very difficult for the Colquitts and their young son.
The event will raise money to cover Cathy's medical costs.
"It's important for me to show what kind of community we live in," Pokoj said. "We do have really big hearts, and we're givers."
The bike run is just the beginning of a full day of festivities in support of Cathy.
Starting at 3 p.m., a benefit party and rock show will takeover the Falcon Club. Ricky Colquitt is the bass player for the band that is headlining the event - PassionWorks.
"The particular people in the band (PassionWorks), they always play for different benefits, like breast cancer benefits and other good causes, and now it's just time for us to give it back to them," Pokoj said.
Registration for the bike run is at 11:30 a.m. The riders will leave the Falcon Club at 1 p.m. There is a $10 fee for bikers. If riding with a passenger, the registration fee is $15.
The route will be well mapped out, Pokoj said. In addition, there will be a leader bike.
"And at each township, police will barricade the road so the bikers go through and don't get separated," Pokoj said.
With their registration fee, the bikers will get dinner, drinks, a t-shirt and a chance to win $100 at the after-run benefit party.
If you're not interested in doing to 70-mile bike run, you can still take part in the festivities. You can join in on the after-run benefit party, beginning at 3 p.m. at the Falcon Club. Admission is free, but a $5 fee will include free draught beer and refreshments.
"You always want to shoot big, but we'd like to raise anywhere from $3,000 and up," Pokoj said.
There will also be basket raffles and a silent auction. Up-for-grabs during the silent auction are an electric guitar and case - donated by The Guitar Factory in Buffalo - a leather jacket and jewelry.
Four musical acts have been booked for the benefit party. Live music will start at 3 p.m. The first act on will be a band called Last Act. Next, it'll be local band Rinky Dink. PassionWorks will be the final act of the night.
Acoustic artist Tara Graves will perform in between each of the sets.
"We're also going to have special guest musicians that are just going to come up and jam," Pokoj said. "Anybody is more than welcome to bring their guitar and come up, or sing or whatever they'd like. We're just opening up to people to just come in and have a great time and help us raise a little money."
Sponsors include: Wal-Mart, Budweiser, Certo Brothers Distributing, Big Rick's One-Stop and The Guitar Factory.
The First Ward Falcon Club is located at 341 Lake Shore Dr. E.