A parade of over 1,200 motorcycles made its way across Haywood County in a police escorted procession from Canton through Clyde, Hazelwood and Waynesville and winding up at the Wheels Through Time Museum in Maggie Valley.

The 15th Annual Motorcycle Parade and Toy Run was the biggest in its history Cecil Yount coordinator of the event for the Blue Ridge Thunder Motorcycle Club said Saturday.

The Motorcycle Parade and Toy Run solicits money and toys from registrants of the annual ride. The ten dollar fee, or equal value toy, then gets distributed to various non-profit entities in Haywood County like the Salvation Army and Haywood Christian Ministries who, in turn, help out the less fortunate during the holiday season. “We are all painfully aware that there are a lot of kids in the region that don’t have the benefits of a loving family or the financial complacency that most of us had when growing up,” says Yount, “Last year we were able to distribute $60,000 dollars in cash and truckloads -- literally tons of toys -- to organizations that then gave to kids and families in need around Haywood County.”