Motorcycle Week's Makris memorial run breaks attendance record in 17th year

LACONIA — More than 400 riders participated in the 17th annual Peter Makris Memorial Run from the Naswa Resort on Saturday morning, one of the first events to kick off the 100th Laconia Motorcycle Week. The event is a staple fundraiser for Veterans Count, the Laconia Fire Department and the Community Emergency Response Team, among other charities. According to the event’s website, over $500,000 has been raised for Veterans Count alone.

Riders started funneling into the parking lot at the Naswa just after 8 a.m., where motorcycle-mounted police officers from the city, Meredith, Manchester, the University of New Hampshire, and the state police joined them as escorts. Among the growing horde of motorcycle-riding combat veterans and their fellow riders was 98-and-a-half-year-old Hope Makris, matriarch of the Naswa Resort and widow of Peter Makris, for whom the memorial run is held.

“It’s wonderful,” Hope said of living to see Motorcycle Week’s centennial, “because I’m only one year behind.”

According to her daughter Cynthia Makris, president of the resort, there were a total of 410 riders this year, breaking all previous attendance records.

“Last year we had 167. COVID, the last couple years, everything was all messed up,” Makris said. “Our biggest years were 300, 350, way back in the early years before COVID hit. It was just a spectacular turnout for my dad’s memorial run.”

“This is huge,” said Kenneth Erickson, an event coordinator for the parking lot. “Biggest probably since the first year when Peter had just died. Maybe even bigger. It was lot of motorcycles. That upper lot was packed.”

Despite his humble title, Erickson has been a part of the memorial run since its inception.

“Coming back from Peter’s funeral, it was myself and Cynthia and a few friends came up with the idea to do a run,” Erickson recalled.

Erickson and the other 30 volunteers were able to navigate the riders out of the two small parking lots with ease. The rest of the ride seemed to go off without a hitch.

“To have that many riders and not have one problem, one incident was really beautiful,” Makris said. “We can’t do this without the generous help of the New Hampshire State Police and our local community police.”

Three cruisers also provided an escort, with local departments providing assistance as the cohort passed around Lake Winnipesaukee.

Makris attributed the surge in attendees to the end of the pandemic and the centennial celebration.

“It’s the 100th anniversary. There’s just a lot more people that came to Laconia for the rally. We had a lot of new people,” Makris said. “A lot of people have done it for the last 16 years. It was great to have a lot of new riders join in on us.”

James Holmes of Laconia said this was his first year participating in the Makris run, despite over 30 years of riding experience and six years of Motorcycle Week attendance.

"I’m an employee of Easter Seals. Veterans Count is one of the divisions of Easter Seals and I will start working for them Monday morning, and I thought it would be a great thing to come out, get to know some of the staff I’ll be working with, and meet the riders,” Holmes said. When asked why he hadn’t participated before, the former U.S. Army cook said he was “apprehensive” about big rides.

“Now that I work for these folks, it seems like the opportune time to change that,” Holmes said.

“It’s a good group, good bunch of people. Always is,” said John Aremburg, a rider from Springfield, Vermont, who came for his eighth Makris Memorial Run. “The Naswa staff is excellent. I’m a Marine myself and my wife really supports veterans. We love the ride, and we love the camaraderie.”

Makris isn’t the only one who noticed an influx of newcomers this year. Lakes Region Chamber of Commerce President Karmen Gifford says the city is full.

“I saw a lot of folks waiting in line, waiting for tables. It's all a good problem to have. The weather yesterday was phenomenal,” Gifford said Monday. “I'm still getting phone calls from people coming to decide whether or not to visit.

“Lodging is full. It has been for months.”

Gifford pointed to the long lines of both bikes and cars as indicators of a healthy influx of visitors. Unfortunately, those who didn’t plan ahead will be hard pressed to find a place to lay their heads.

“We’re getting a lot of people that are looking to come up and visit in cars,” Gifford said. “We’re telling them we want them in the Lakes Region, but it's gonna be hard to find a place to stay just for one night.”

Gifford noted that parking for visitors has been a challenge as well.

“Leading up to the festival we were getting a lot of questions for where they could do overnight parking,” Gifford said. “Sometimes, I’m finding that they don’t have parking. Some of the Airbnbs don’t have parking spaces. Or they only have one parking space and there’s multiple families coming.”

While it’s not possible to count the exact number of Motorcycle Week attendees, Gifford noted that from a traffic standpoint, this year feels far more populated than the last.

“I came through the Weirs on my way to the office this morning, and I definitely feel there are more people around,” Gifford said Monday.

For Makris, the high attendance is second fiddle to the money raised by her father’s memorial ride. A total was still being calculated Monday.

“We’ll be able to do a lot of good with the money we raised for the New Hampshire Veterans Home, the Laconia Fire Department Lifesaving Fund and the Belknap House,” Makris said. “Those are the four big charities that we contribute to. That’s the best part about it. The money we raise and all the good it'll do in my father’s memory, and keeping his legacy alive of taking care of his fellow veterans and his beloved community.”

Editor's note: This story has been updated to correct the amount the run has raised for Veterans Count over the years, over $500,000.