For riders like Debbie and Randy Liston from Camarillo in Southern California, it’s the history of the Hollister rally and all the bikers that keep drawing them back.
This is their third straight year at the Independence Day rally in Hollister. The two arrived downtown a day early Thursday—the Hollister Freedom Rally runs Friday through Sunday—and watched as vendors and organizers set up the downtown area, with some streets blocked off before the big event.
“It’s like a tradition,” she said.
Her husband quipped that they came to see Marlon Brando, the late actor who played the “Johnny” role in The Wild One, based loosely on the so-called biker “invasion” of Hollister in 1947 that helped to launch the city’s motorcycle culture and, in a sense, the nation’s as well.
He said the rallying tradition among bikers has to do with their shared interests—bikes.
“We all ride,” he said. “We all like the same thing.”
Freddie Naranjo and his wife came to the rally area Thursday as well after a drive from their home in Idaho. They used to live in Gilroy so they’re familiar with Hollister.
“We’re just here a little early taking a little glance through,” Naranjo said, referring to booths being set up Thursday.
During the interview, he noted how his wife had been perusing an apparel tent right then.
“You actually get good deals,” he said of rally merchandise.
