By LINDA CHION KENNEY
Roar into the new year with the 21st annual Gibtown Bike Fest, on track for three days of live entertainment and thrilling stunts, with a portion of the proceeds benefiting a scholarship program named for a south Hillsborough County deputy killed in an off-duty crash.
The annual event is one of three major draws the International Independent Showmen’s Association (IISA) presents in the early weeks of the new year. That’s when the local and long-established community of carnival, fair, festival and circus workers are on break from the rigors of cross-country travels in the entertainment industry.
Indeed, Gibsonton has been the winter home for carnival workers for roughly 100 years. According to two-time IISA past president Lee Stevens, this migration began in part with Eddie’s Hut, a gathering spot opened by Eddie and Grace Lemay in the late 1920s. As key figures in the carnival industry, the Lemay’s helped spread the word that Gibsonton was a great location for show people in the off-season.
As for the long-established Gibtown Bike Fest, the biggest draw is the different bands, playing continuous music somewhere on some stage throughout the event. The event features free parking and $10 gate admission.
“To see it all come together, it’s like job satisfaction,” said Larry Nieukirk, event chair. “We’re showmen. We like entertaining.”
Through their events IISA members cast light on the significance of Gibsonton and the greater Riverview and Apollo Beach communities to the world of show.
To wit, the Gibtown Bike Fest (Jan. 9-11), set to welcome some 10,000 bikers, precedes the Gibtown Showmen’s Circus (Jan. 17) and the 58th annual IISA Super Extravaganza and Trade Show (Feb. 10-13), which is open to a worldwide membership of trade association members.
Linda Chion Kenney photo
Lee Stevens, outside the Carnival Museum run by the International Independent Showmen’s Association (IISA)
Leading up to Gibtown Bike Fest is the Saturday, Jan. 3 disco-themed, black-light, “DQ (Drag Queen) Let’s Glow Crazy Music Bingo” adults only event at the Gibtown Showmen’s Club, which is open to the community, with a portion of funds set to benefit the IISA Carnival Museum. The museum sits across the street from the IISA clubhouse and rental facilities off Riverview Drive. Bingo prizes are designer purses, Yeti coolers, beach bags and tools, with basket raffles available as well. The cost is $30 per person, or $250 for a table of eight. Dress the theme and receive two door prize tickets.
The Robert L. Howard Foundation, which has been selected to receive a portion of Gibtown Bike Fest profits, is named for a 17-year veteran of the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, Master Deputy “Bobby” Howard, who died in June 2023 at age 53 in an off-duty crash. A resident of Ruskin, Howard’s name was submitted for consideration last year in the naming of the new high school in Wimauma, which opened this school year as Aquilla J. Morgan High School, named posthumously for a decades-long educator.
“Any money we give out goes through the IISA Charity Corporation,” Stevens said. In addition to supporting community nonprofits, programs for students with special needs and more, IISA supports a trailer home community in Seffner for retired and struggling showmen, and mausoleum costs for show people in a cemetery off U.S. Highway 301 North in Tampa, which suffered severe hurricane damage in 2024. “One hurricane flooded it, and the next blew it apart,” Stevens said, about hurricanes Helene and Milton.
The three-day Gibtown Bike Fest, supported for years in large part by the Fran Haasch Law Group, traces its roots to Archie “Hawk” Lidey, IISA president at the time, “who liked riding Harleys,” Nieukirk said. “Archie and Ron Lane, also a past president, started the event, which started with a bike night the first year.”
Then, past president “Wesley Burnett took it over, and he had it for several years, and then it fell into my hands, and this is my fifth year,” said Nieukirk, also a past president. “It started with some guys riding motorcycles and now it’s all over the community, with Ron Lane’s son, Eric, taking over from his dad to book the entertainment. And Kenny Ryalsm, he handles all the vendors. He lays out the grounds and chooses where everything goes.”
The DQ (Drag Queen) Let’s Glow Crazy Disco Music Bingo fundraiser at IISA is set for Jan. 3, adults only.
As a major music festival, this year’s Bike Fest features Firefly, Nobody’s Fool, Ben Meyer, Blistur, Jeff Johnston, Fusebox, Bobby Friss and Tabasco; tribute bands for REO Speedwagon, Bob Seger, Steve Miller and Creed; and a band rocking “old hair metal,” featuring hits from Bon Jovi, Cure, Skid Row, Aerosmith, Ratt, Guns N’ Roses, AC/DC and Van Halen. The headliner is Confederate Railroad, set to perform 7 p.m. Saturday night.
Also in the entertainment lineup is the Born To Ride Southern Fried Moto Show, and Gary Michaels, billed as “the world’s only biker comedy hypnotist.” For thrills, catch the American Motor Drome Company “Wall of Death” stunt show, which takes place inside a vertical cylinder, often referred to as a “bowl.” Skilled motorcyclists performing at high speeds defy gravity, using centripetal force to stay against the wall.
Another feature, with paid admission, is the IISA Carnival Museum (6938 Riverview Drive), across the street from the Gibtown Showmen’s Club (6915 Riverview Drive).
The event website, at www.gibtownbikefest.com/, includes applications for overnight camping, across the street from the main event. For more information on Bingo, Bikefest, Gibtown Showmen’s Club rental facilities and more, call 813-677-3590.