The Christian Motorcyclist Association’s Thunder on the Plains, which is open to the public, is rolling into Seward from May 23 – 26.
Brian Sermeno and his wife, Carrie, of Seward are CMA state coordinators. He said about 140 CMA members will likely come to town for the festivities.
CMA will kick off the fun by showing a free movie at the Rivoli Theater on Thursday, May 23.
Starting at 9 a.m. the next day, CMA will have a list of activities for people to participate in, including a youth minibike build. CMA is a family-oriented organization, so activities will be geared toward all ages.
At 7 p.m, nationally touring comedian Nick Morrison will perform at the Bandshell.
On Saturday, May 25, CMA will host a motorcycle show and shine at 11 a.m. Awards will be given out, and so will the youth minibike, at 1:30 p.m at the Hillcrest Evangelical Free Church parking lot. Then, there will be adult bike games, live music, vendors, a bounce house, face painting, a caricature artist and a food truck.
A worship music band will play at 6:45 and CMA’s north central region’s National Evangelist Jay Wilber will speak at 7 p.m. at the Bandshell.
On Sunday, May 26, a 9 a.m. community worship service at the Bandshell will wrap up the weekend.
Thunder on the Plains is one of two annual events that CMA hosts in Nebraska in which its national evangelist, a paid staff member for CMA, attends. This will be Seward’s fourth consecutive year hosting one of these events.
Sermeno said CMA used to host the events at church campsites but started doing them in communities in order to connect with more people.
“We've kind of changed the attitude and direction of this event to be more of an outreach to not just the CMA members, but also to the community that were holding the event in,” he said. “That's why we've tried to make a lot of the event open to anybody.”
CMA member Kasey Hans’ husband, Josh, introduced her to riding. She said she found that she enjoys the sights, sounds and camaraderie that comes with motorcycle riding. One of her favorite things to do is go on group rides with other CMA members.
“I think a lot of people don’t know how, yeah, it's about the bikes and the motorcycles and the gear heads and everyone getting together but, really, it's just so much about people and friendships and community,” she said.
Hans, who moved to Seward a couple of years ago, said the best part of Thunder on the Plains is meeting new bikers and getting to know more members of the community.
Sermeno said he and his wife agree.
“We enjoy the people. Just getting to know people, know their story, where they came from, how they grew up and where they are in their faith walk,” he said. “I just love to hear everybody’s journey, the avenue they took to get where they are currently. (My wife and I) would say that charges our batteries.”
