Each Canada Day Weekend, the small Northern Ontario community of New Liskeard, Temiskaming Shores transforms into something extraordinary. With the thunder of engines and compassion at its core, the New Liskeard Bikers Reunion Rockin’ on Canada Day Event (founded by Barry Phippen) rolls into town. It’s a high-energy, heartfelt weekend that brings riders, families, and community members from across North America. With live music, camping, fireworks, great food, and an epic motorcycle parade, it’s all for a powerful cause—supporting local cancer care. Much more than just a biker party, it’s a grassroots movement of hope, remembrance, and community pride.
The origin of the Bikers Reunion is deeply personal. Barry Phippen didn’t set out to start a major tourism event. He was a father in crisis. His daughter was diagnosed with cancer and given a 0% chance of survival. “Other families were talking about 80%, 70%, 50% chances—and we had none,” Barry recalls.
But miracles do happen. Barry’s daughter survived. Today, she’s the proud mother of two daughters, a living testament to defied odds. Barry’s response to that hardship was action: channelling grief into generosity, he started a small event that blossomed into the New Liskeard Bikers Reunion. The event has thrived and so has its cause—over 15 years, the Bikers Reunion raised over $4 million for cancer care in Temiskaming Shores.
The final Bikers Reunion of its original 15-year run was held in 2016. Barry, his team, and countless volunteers had poured their hearts into it year after year—but the time had come for rest. “I could see that my troops were getting a little tired,” Barry shares. “They are all volunteers, and they gave so much of their lives to this event.”
At the time, Barry himself was struggling with fatigue and exhaustion—but didn’t yet know the reason—until he was diagnosed with advanced cancer. “It’s been quite a battle, to say the least…even to this day,” he says. The diagnosis shifted his world, but Barry continued his mission.
Although the engines went quiet, the spirit of the Reunion didn’t fade. For the next eight years, his foundation continued to give, providing hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations to the Temiskaming Hospital and the Community Cancer Care program. Those funds helped purchase specialized equipment and provided crucial support for early cancer detection and treatment. Thanks to wise investments, the Reunion continued to fight cancer annually even while the event itself had ceased.
And now, despite his own health challenges, Barry is back at the helm. "You probably ask yourself…why would he want to do this again?" he muses. The answer is pretty simple: because it matters. Because it brings hope. Because it lifts small businesses and celebrates northern pride. Because it includes seniors, showcases local talent, and gives families something real to gather around.
If Barry had any doubts about whether the community was ready to rekindle the Bikers Reunion, they were quickly silenced. "I got message after message, call after call, asking if we’d ever bring it back," he says. "It was overwhelming in the best way." The encouragement from locals, past attendees, small business owners, and even families who had once received support during their cancer journeys gave Barry the push to rally his team. “A lot of people are asking for this thing to come back," he said, asking his board "do we want to do this again?" After some discussion, they decided, "Okay, we'll keep it small."
The team vied to start an event at a local seniors’ centre, with the idea that they’d just have a small event with the seniors in the yard, taking them for rides in the antique cars, maybe a concert—just keeping it for the local people. “But what happened was that as soon as I released that, well, it got out that the Bikers Reunion was on,” Barry chuckles. He explains that’s why they had chosen to rebrand the event under the “Rockin’ on Canada Day” title—to try and separate themselves from the previous event. “That didn't work. Didn’t work…” he laughed. The old name still sticks.
Despite early difficulties in getting the Reunion back up and running, the community’s encouragement and support spoke loud and clear, “It got pretty hot and heavy,” Barry recounts, “but the people chose it. People wanted the event."
Perhaps the most visually arresting and emotionally charged feature of the Biker’s Reunion is the yellow banner memorial strip—a corridor lined with banners from sponsors who are commemorating loved ones lost to cancer. "Seeing all these yellow banner sponsorships, well...the proof is on the strip. You look at these sponsorships—these people are doers, not talkers.”
The Reunion also packs a serious economic punch. Riders spend an average of $800 per visit, injecting millions into the local economy. Hotels, gas stations, restaurants, and local vendors all thrive. The event has become a staple of Northern Ontario’s summer tourism calendar.
Even during its hiatus, the event’s foundation quietly gave over $750,000 in cancer-related donations, using interest from invested funds from previous years. That commitment didn’t stop when the engines did.
What makes the New Liskeard Bikers Reunion truly exceptional isn’t just the size of the event—it’s the diversity and warmth of the people it draws. As Barry describes it:
“Just everybody—all different types of people. Families. We have children show up. We have bouncy castles. And it's kind of neat to think that big, tough bikers know that they're coming to an event that's going to have bouncy castles, games, it's going to have bands, it's going to have different vendors—and they're still coming. They love it.”
They love the ride, the welcome, the events and the shared tradition. “There've been times that we've had 15 miles of motorcycles,” Barry recalls, all parading together.
“We go through town, and to see the people lining the streets with their big homemade signs, 'We love you bikers. Thanks for coming.' We go for groceries, and these little old ladies are saying, 'Hey, biker, thanks for coming.' We draw that type of crowd”.
Choosing an almost radical inclusivity, the Bikers Reunion encourages togetherness. “You don’t even have to know where the key is on a motorcycle,” Barry chuckles. Veterans, First Nations communities, young families, curious tourists, and even those without bikes—everyone is welcome.
“We don't have any wet T-shirt contests or burnout clips or anything like that. This is a very respectful event,” Barry emphasizes. So respectful, in fact, that the word itself—“respect”—is written on the roof of the dome where many of the weekend’s activities take place.
Barry sums it up best: “You respect the children, you respect the seniors, you respect the person that rides a different style of motorcycle than you. It doesn't matter the colour of their skin, what colour his eyes are or the colour of his hair or his jacket. That stuff doesn't matter. You just have respect, and everybody gets along. You find that amongst this crowd—everybody just falls right into that."
That inclusivity extends across generations. Children at the event give the seniors mini-manicures. Seniors in mobility scooters lead the Canada Day Parade, proudly riding ahead of thousands of bikes. “Three of them had tears in their eyes,” Barry recalls the last parade. “They told me, ‘Thanks for including us.’ I told them, ‘We need you. You’re the reason we’re here.’”
Barry jokingly describes the Reunion as a "beautiful monster"—a reflection of the immense effort behind it, but also the profound positive impact it has on the community. The event brings families and friends together, even those who have moved away, fostering a strong sense of community and connection that extends far beyond just a motorcycle gathering.
“When I bump into these people, they're shaking my hand, saying ‘thank you’—that they’re going to hook up with friends from eight, nine years ago,’” Barry says. His most treasured memories of the Bikers Reunion are about the people that have reached out to him—like the beaming 85-year-old woman who came to his sign shop just to say that her son and four friends were riding all the way from Calgary to attend. “I asked her if she was going too, and she said, ‘Heck no—I have to cook for all of them!’” Barry smiles. “She was so proud.”
The Biker’s Reunion is about more than motorcycles. It’s a celebration of life, a salve for grief, a showcase of what community can achieve when united by compassion.
“If we can help one person, honour one family, or spark one connection, we’ve done our job,” Barry says. “We have the best country in the world. All we have to do is be ourselves.”
It’s not about the chrome or the horsepower. It’s about how we show up for each other. This Reunion roars to life every year with a message loud and clear: community heals. From the thump of engines to the quiet conversations over coffee, whether you're riding a Harley or holding a loved one’s photo close to your chest, the road leads to the same place—connection, courage, and a shared belief that we’re stronger together. And that, as Barry would say, is the Canadian way.
Location: Downtown New Liskeard, Temiskaming Shores, Ontario
Main event areas include Riverside Drive, May Street South, and the New Liskeard Waterfront.
Dates: Friday, June 27 – Sunday, June 29, 2025
Events commence at 9:00 AM on Friday and conclude at 11:59 PM on Sunday.
Admission: Free general admission
Evening concerts may have a cover charge.
All proceeds benefit local cancer care initiatives, including the Temiskaming Hospital and Community Cancer Care. Over $4 million has been raised to date.
