This Week: Harley-Davidson's 110th Anniversary

Saturday night Kid Rock - 7:30 pm, Marcus Amphitheater

Sixty bands, street parties, tours of the Harley-Davidson Museum and lots of cold beer are on tap for this week's big Harley-Davidson 110th anniversary in Milwaukee. The 110th anniversary party in Milwaukee is a homecoming celebration, after a year of events hosted by Harley-Davidson around the world, including a memorable blessing of the bikes by Pope Francis in Vatican City.

The 3-day party, Aug. 29 to Sept. 1 includes a parade on Saturday from Miller Park to the Summerfest concert grounds on the lakefront, and a custom Harley-Davidson bike show on Sunday at the museum. The long weekend will include concerts by 60 bands, including Aerosmith, Kid Rock, The Doobie Brothers, Toby Keith, and ZZ Top.


Thursday, ABATE of Wisconsin, a bikers rights organization, hosts a kick-off biker party and old-school chopper bike show at the Road Guardians compound in Big Bend. Editors from four major motorcycle magazines, including Easyriders and Iron Works, will judge the show. A California filmmaker will also be at the party, filming "The Bike Movie." 

The Doobie Brothers - Sturgis 2013

Patrick Simmons, of the Doobie Brothers rock band, will be at the old-school bike show with his wife, Cristine Sommer-Simmons. They're riding to Milwaukee from Sturgis on century-old Harley-Davidsons — taking the back roads at about 45 miles per hour. "We love to ride old bikes. It's kind of what we do," Sommer-Simmons told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Three years ago, she rode her 1915 Harley-Davidson in a grueling 3,294-mile motorcycle race from Kitty Hawk, N.C., to Santa Monica, Calif. Of the 45 entrants in the race, she was one of only two women and captured 20th place overall.