Festival of Machines at Conner Prairie
Over 6,000 people attended Festival of Machines at Conner Prairie, a weekend that celebrates unique modes of transportation with a focus on history and innovation. We were thankful to have been a part of the third annual event with a sidecar display featuring our Ural Motorcycles. Check out the scene in this photo-story!
Our graphic design studio (Wilkinson Bros) is just down the road from this festival, which is at a top-notch outdoor museum and interactive history park. Conner Prairie is a Smithsonian affiliate, which speaks to its reputation of providing entertaining and engaging education.
At Festival of Machines, families enjoyed an up-close look at antique tractors, military vehicles, firetrucks, helicopters, motorcycles, concourse-level classic cars and heavy equipment. So, we thought our sidecar motorcycles would be a good fit. Children and parents climbed in and hopped on our Russian-made Urals for some fun photo ops. Below is a time lapse vid of the sidecars getting swarmed:
People of all ages stopped to talk about the origin of the Urals (established in 1941), their military history and what it feels like to ride them. Many passersby thought our models were really old and were surprised to hear they were new (2016 and 2010). One thing was clear, these things made people smile!
In the background of the pic above, you can see the tethered balloon that can float 20 people up to 370 feet!
Being motorcycle guys, we had to mosey over to the Featherston Barn where a collection of old American bikes were displayed. They were beautifully restored and great examples of early v-twin motorcycles.
Three helicopters flew in and landed so attendees could walk up and peek inside. The IASAR team was on hand to answer questions and talk about their mission and experiences.
The caliber of cars on display was amazing. Extremely valuable and rare, we had an unobstructed view of these incredible representations of American automobile styling and innovation.
Kids (and kids at heart) where allowed to push buttons, twist levers and open doors of many vehicles on display, which is sure to be an unforgettable experience.
In the parking lot of Conner Prairie, a big draw of Festival of Machines is the kid activities. Children took turns driving Peg Perego vehicles, pedal cars, a soap box derby car, a pedal-powered rover and even floated around on hover chairs.
Back over at our tent, hundreds of kids and adults were able to envision themselves riding down the road with a sidekick. Twisting the throttle and making engine noises was a common occurrence.
Visit the Festival of Machines website to learn more about this annual Conner Prairie event located in Fishers, Indiana.
To learn more about the sidecars featured in these pics, visit Ural Motorcycles or check out our dealership of choice, Heindl Engineering.
Keep it tuned in to Good Spark Garage to see where we go next or visit Wilkinson Brothers, Inc. to see who we are and what we do for a living!
P.S. If we met and talked with you at the event, we really appreciate you taking time to talk bikes, life and family fun. Maybe we’ll see you out there next year!
