Tag: charisse tyson

It took me a while to sit down at my desk and write about how I felt about our fourth year without a rally. How does one stay upbeat and positive while they watch the number of visitors to Hollister shrink exponentially every year without our famed motorcycle rally? I'll confess for me it is a huge struggle. I admit that Johnny's is very well the hardest hit by the loss but I know that our community as a whole suffers because of it.

As a business owner in Hollister who is grievously affected by the lack of a rally, my frustration continues to mount. I’ve sadly observed as every year without a rally the number of people who make the journey to Hollister on Fourth of July weekend declines. Thank God for Mike and the folks at Corbin. His annual Rider Appreciation Day, this year held on June 30th, draws thousands of motorcyclists to Hollister. Local media did not find it newsworthy, but last year the Corbin Open House drew an estimated 5,500 attendees. I would guess that somewhere in the neighborhood of 500 of them made it downtown and for a short time it looked like the good old days on San Benito Street. Without Corbin’s efforts, Hollister would have been a ghost town; if only we could talk him into a two-day event.