Bikers Ready To Roll In Chicagoland Toys for Tots Motorcycle Parade

CHICAGO — Perhaps the most spectacular holiday tradition ever takes place this Sunday, Dec. 4, when the Chicagoland Toys for Tots Motorcycle Parade roars down on Western Avenue collecting new toys for kids who would otherwise not be getting a present this Christmas.

The 45th Toys for Tots run will start staging at Dan Ryan Woods, 85th and Western, Chicago, around 7 a.m. Sunday. The motorcycle parade is set to begin, rain, snow or shine, at 9:30 a.m., on Western Avenue all the way to the North Side and ending at Lane Tech High School, off Belmont and Western.

Since 1978, the Chicagoland Toys for Tots Motorcycle Parade has collected toys for underprivileged kids all over the Chicago area in cooperation with Marine Corps. As many as 50,000 bikers have congregated the first Sunday in December at the South Side Dan Ryan Woods, at 85th Street and Western Avenue, before roaring up Western ending somewhere on the North Side. The only requirement was that each motorcyclist bring a new, unwrapped toy.

Over the years, there have been weddings with parade participants getting married in the Dan Ryan Woods. The first Chicagoland Toys for Tots Motorcycle Parade took place Dec. 13, 1978, with one borrowed Harley and a van half filled with toys.

When the bike’s chain broke, the parade’s founder, Ed "Animal" Wisniewski, a Vietnam veteran and former owner of Fantasy Choppers, made the final stretch down Western holding on to the van’s door handle. The next year, 100 bikers showed up and the parade continued to grow. Today, the motorcycle parade is Chicago's largest contributor to Toys for Tots.

In the ride’s 45-year history, the motorcycle parade has been called off only twice – in 1990 for Operation Desert Storm, and the 2020 pandemic – and not at the behest of parade organizers.

Billed as the world’s largest motorcycle parade, the Chicagoland Toys for Tots run has been known to attract thousands of riders. Anyone is welcome to ride, just bring a toy. Street legal bikes, only please.

Chicagoland TFT Parade donation boxes can be found in every Chicago fire station, as well as 300 other locations throughout the city and suburbs.

Toy requests are filled from a warehouse the group rents in Bridgeview, where volunteers spend up to 15 hours per day processing requests and sorting through toy donations. The group is still accepting requests for toys through Dec. 20.

“We don’t take requests by email or fax,” said Lester Fortier, president of Chicagoland Toys For Tots. “We just need a brief description and whether it’s for a boy or girl and their age.”

Members are already filling requests from individuals, youth groups, shelters, individuals, hospitals, group homes and community organizations.

“There is such a vibe, as the kids say,” volunteer Stacy Swaw said. “It’s a really good time and the cause is amazing.”

Send toy requests or monetary donations to: Chicagoland TFT Parade, 8900 Odell Ave., Bridgeview, IL 60455; or P.O Box 388500 Chicago, IL, 60638. Keep up with parade happenings on Facebook.