One Moto Show Brings Motorcycle Fans to Portland
Every February, this festival celebrates racing, custom motorcycles and biker culture.
In 2009, the very first One Moto Show was hosted in an abandoned warehouse near downtown Portland. Why? “Because we thought it’d be fun,” organizers say.
The multi-day One Moto Show festival, held every February, is more than just fun, however. For several days, thousands of motorcyclists (and moto-enthusiasts) roll into Portland to celebrate bikes and biker culture, with dozens of motorcycles from around the world on display, ranging from the vintage to the strange and custom-made.
We want to be inclusive and inspire people to participate and bring people together
Thor Davis, One Moto Show Organizer
“Since we started, the motorcycle industry has grown a lot, making the quality of bikes go up and the amount of people who pay attention to them,” says Thor Drake, an organizer of the event. (Drake also owns Northeast Portland’s coffee shop/biker gear store See See Motorcycles.) “I’m proud to say we are the biggest show of its kind in the world. … I have been to many similar shows and I always try to make ours bigger and better.”
The One Motorcycle Show (often referred to simply as “One Moto”) celebrated its tenth anniversary in 2019. Couldn’t make it to the festival’s epic 10-year anniversary? Drake says not to worry. “Our goal is always to make it bigger and better without compromising the integrity of the show,” Drake says, meaning that whenever you can attend, the one thing to always expect “is that it will be the best show we’ve ever had.”
I’m proud to say we are the biggest show of its kind in the world.
Thor Davis
Recap of One Moto Show 2020
Presented by the iconic brand Indian Motorcycles, the festival moved into bigger digs in 2020, bringing its many bikes, artists, performers, vendors and races to the Veterans Memorial Coliseum in North Portland.
The show returned Feb. 7–9, 2020, with 200 custom motorcycles, 150 bike builders, 50 artists, 80 vendors, six bands and 60,000 attendees — along with professional and amateur flat track races onsite (with the winners splitting $10,000 in prize money). “It’s a motorcycle circus,” Drake says.
Throughout the festival, vendors offered up some of Portland’s finest craft beer, coffee, wine and food. Attendees enjoyed food by the likes of Chicken & Guns, Pine State Biscuits, Lardo, Grassa, Sizzle Pie and, of course, See See Motor Coffee Co. Bands who performed in 2020 included Thunderpussy and Hot Snakes, along with Portland-based acts Red Fang and Blackwater Holy Light.
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