Bikers, Jeeps and big crowds highlight Bridgeport’s Trail of Tears kickoff event
Story By Katie Hightower
From Sept. 18-20, the town of Bridgeport welcomed thousands of people for its annual Trail of Tears kickoff events. The people of Bridgeport planned a full weekend of events for not only the bikers they welcomed into their town but for anyone else who also enjoyed seeing them. On Saturday, after the bikers left for their memorial bike ride to Waterloo, the spectators left behind had the opportunity to enjoy Bridgeport’s first Jeep’n the Port Jeep show. Jeep owners from all over North Alabama, Tennessee and even from other states like Missouri attended the event.
The weekend-long festivities began on Thursday with a breakfast hosted by the Mountain Lakes Chamber of Commerce. The breakfast, sponsored by Bridgeport Utilities, was served by local volunteers who worked hard to make the weekend a success. Ike Moore, President of the Trail of Tears Corridor Association, expressed his gratitude to the town of Bridgeport for welcoming the group into their town for their annual ride. He said in the beginning, they would line up along the highway but the people of Bridgeport invited them into town for the lineup. Moore said since then, the event developed into the large annual event celebrated each year.
“I want to thank the town of Bridgeport for hosting this. It turned out to be a great event,” said Moore.
At the breakfast, Moore said he expected 75 to 100 bikers to attend Friday evening’s festivities. Friday afternoon, over 150 bikers roared into Bridgeport. Many of the bikers had riders with them. Well over a thousand locals also came to Friday’s kickoff which had live music, vendors and fireworks.
“This has a huge economic impact on Jackson County,” said Rick Roden, President and CEO of the Mountain Lakes Camber of Commerce. “A majority of the people with motorcycles aren’t from around here and many are spending the night. Mayor Hughes and the City Council are doing a great job—it’s a neat event.”
Kevan Hutto, Vice President of the Trail of Tears Corridor Association, said “The turnout from Cherokee was exceptional. It was the biggest crowd I’ve seen in the ride from Cherokee to Bridgeport.”
Hutto said that the bikers that came with them planned to spend the night for the early morning ride.
“All of the surrounding motels are packed. Gas, food, lodging—the economic impact will be in the millions for North Alabama. When the ride started here, there wasn’t much here,” Hutto said.
According to Hutto, the number of people who attended grew and the construction of the stage in Bridgeport made a huge difference in making it memorable. Hutto has rode in the Trail of Tears memorial ride since 1995 and has been a board member with the Trail of Tears Corridor Association for 15 years.
Jerry Upton, from Bridgeport, said he didn’t attend the event with a bike, he went to it for the crowd.
“You see people you haven’t seen in 30 years,” Upton said. “Tonight, I came for the camaraderie—meeting new people, seeing old friends. A lot of planning goes into it and it came together! It’s lots of fun and it’s for everyone.”
After the motorcycles roared out of Bridgeport Saturday morning, the people of the town geared up to welcome a large group of Jeep enthusiasts for its first Jeep’n the Port event. The event, hosted by the city of Bridgeport, was sponsored by US Stove, Tractor Supply in Stevenson and Kimball, Big Daddy Dover’s Outdoors, Lowe’s in Kimball, O’Reilly’s Auto Parts, in Kimball, Lambert’s Construction in Hollywood and Gulley’s Hardware.
Over 30 Jeeps were entered into the event that had no registration fee. Jeeps covered in ducks were lined up along Alabama Avenue while spectators and judges walked through and picked which Jeeps they liked the best.
“This was the best year ever,” said Bridgeport Mayor, David “Bubba” Hughes. “Next year, it’s going to be bigger. We’d just been working on the Jeep’n the Port for six weeks. We had a good turnout for its first year and it’s going to be even better next year. Everyone said they couldn’t wait until next year.”
“I want to thank everybody involved: the food vendors, craft vendors, Trail of Tears Committee, Len Colvin, Steve Gill, Ike Moore and our two bands, 117 South and John Stone out of Nashville. They’ve done a great job and my phone rang off the hook thanking Bridgeport for this event. I’d also like to thank Rick Gibson for the best fireworks show the people had ever seen for a small town,” Hughes said.
The weekend was full of family fun and was educational. Vendors and attendees who went to the event said they had a great time and planned to attend next year’s events.
Those who missed the event can plan to attend the next Trail of Tears festival weekend on Sept. 18-19, 2026.
