BERLIN – A memorial ride to honor the life of a local teenager will return to Berlin next month.
Community members are invited to Windmill Creek Winery on Oct. 2 to celebrate the 5th Annual Hunter’s Ride.
Created in memory of Hunter Hudson, a 19-year-old community member who passed away in 2016, the annual event raises funds for local organizations.
“Everyone should come out and show their support for the local community, and to help keep Hunter’s memory alive,” said Janice Hudson, Hunter’s mother. “It’s really just a nice day to be out at the winery.”
Hunter, a 2015 graduate of Stephen Decatur High School, passed away suddenly on March 24, 2016.
“He had an undetected heart problem we didn’t know about,” she said. “He was healthy and fine, and there was no other reason to think otherwise.”
The following year, Hunter’s uncle, Kevin Hudson, launched Hunter’s Ride, a motorcycle ride that not only celebrates Hunter’s life, but raises funds for local charities. In the years that followed, family, friends and community members joined the cause.
“After that first Hunter’s Ride, we went and bought a motorcycle, and for the last four years now we’ve all been riding,” Janice said. “It’s become a nice thing for the family to get involved in.”
Now in its fifth year, Janice said Hunter’s Ride has grown. As a result, the event has moved from its original local at the West Ocean City Greene Turtle to Windmill Creek.
“The first year we may have had 15 motorcyclists at Hunter’s Ride,” she said. “Last year we had over 100.”
Hunter’s Ride will take place on Saturday, Oct. 2, at Windmill Creek Winery, located at 11206 Worcester Highway, Berlin. Registration will be held between 9-11 a.m., and the ride begins promptly at 11 a.m.
This year, motorcyclists will be escorted by both the Worcester County and Wicomico County sheriff’s offices.
“It leaves at 11 a.m. and gets back at noon …,” Janice said. “The ride is escorted, with thanks to Mike Lewis’ motorcycle brigade and Matt Crisafulli.”
While Hunter’s Ride is open to bikers, organizers noted all are welcome. Those attending the event in cars are encouraged to arrive at 11:30 a.m., to watch the motorcycles return and join the afternoon festivities.
“I really want to encourage people who don’t have motorcycles to come to the ride,” Janice said. “People think they have to have a motorcycle to come. They don’t.”
Food vendors will be on site throughout the event, and live music will be provided by the Lauren Glick Band. She added the event will also feature a silent auction, a 50/50, T-shirt sales and a raffle drawing for a 7-by-12-foot enclosed cargo trailer.
“One hundred percent of the money raised goes back to the local community,” she said.
Each year, Hunter’s Ride chooses various local organizations to support through its fundraising effort. In recent years, for example, proceeds have supported Worcester Technical High School, Coastal Hospice and the Worcester County Humane Society, to name a few.
“We have Hunter’s Ride, and we also have a scholarship, the Hunter Hudson Memorial Fund,” Janice said. “Between the two groups, we’ve given away over $50,000 in the last five years.”
For more information on Hunter’s Ride, call Janice Hudson at 410-251-1249. Registration is $15 per rider.
For those who can’t attend but would like to support the event, donations can be sent to Hunter’s Ride, Community Foundation of the Eastern Shore, 1324 Belmont Ave, Suite 401, Salisbury, MD 21804.
