THIS Friday, June 13, marks the 76th Friday the 13th motorcycle rally in Port Dover (PD13) since the celebration started in 1981. Residents and local organizations have been readying for the rally for weeks, anticipating that the warm weather will draw colossal crowds in the hundreds of thousands to town for the event.
What’s happening in town?

Main St. between Chapman St. and Walker St. and Powell Park will host 50 or so vendors with a variety of goods, many of which will be motorcycle-themed or relevant for riders.
Besides all the local dine-in and take-away restaurants, there will be food trucks in Roulston’s parking lot at the corner of Main St. and Chapman St. W., as well as at the intersection of Main St. and Market St. W.

Beer tents and bands

Starting on Thursday, June 12, eventgoers can enjoy live music and a cold beverage at Port Dover Board of Trade and Port Dover Minor Hockey’s beer tent in the Erie Beach Hotel parking lot off Walker St., Port Dover Kinsmen Club’s beer tent in Elmer Lewis parking lot off Main St., and Port Dover Legion at 212 Market St. E.
The Board of Trade’s beer tent music schedule sees The Purdy Durverts kicking off the good times at 7 p.m. on Thursday, followed by The Hip Experience at 9 p.m., and Orangeman at 11 p.m. On Friday, music starts at 11 a.m. with The Echelon Band, then The Purdy Durverts again at 1 p.m., Crued at 3 p.m., Stone the Radio at 5 p.m., Dust N’ Bones at 7 p.m., Route 6 at 9 p.m., and Dry County at 11 p.m.

At the Kinsmen Club’s beer tent, Jesse Murphy Trio starts the party from 11 a.m. –1:45 p.m. on Thursday, followed by Albatross from 2:15–5 p.m., John Atlee Band from 5:30–7:45 p.m., Wicked Truth from 8:15–9:45 p.m., and Practically Hip from 10:15 p.m.–midnight. Jasmine T will perform first on Friday from 11 a.m.–12:45 p.m., followed by Killin’ Time Band from 1:15–4 p.m., Felicia McMinn from 4:30–6:45 p.m., Mystic Highway from 7:15–9:45 p.m., and Back in Black from 10:15 p.m.–midnight.

The Legion will have Route 6 performing from 7 p.m.–11 p.m. on Thursday, with Atkinson Brothers Band from noon–4 p.m. on Friday, followed by Pure Vintage from 4–8 p.m. There will also be food available at the Legion, including beef on a bun on Thursday, peameal on a bun from 9 a.m. to noon on Friday, fish dinner from 1–5 p.m. on Friday, and subs after 5 p.m. until supplies run out on Friday.

Overnight camping sites

The local Port Dover Kinsmen and Port Dover Lions clubs are renting spaces to campers and those with RVs at two locations in town. Kinsmen Club camping will be in the field at Kinsmen Park, 95 Hamilton Plank Road, with a shuttle bus service available to bring people in and out of town. The Lions camping will be at Lions Silver Lake Park, 320 St. Patrick St.

Traffic and policing tidbits

Some streets will be closed for the event from noon on Thursday, June 12, until 4 a.m. on Saturday, June 14. Affected roads are:
o Main St. from Nelson St. to Walker St.;
o Chapman St. West from Main St. to St. Andrew St.;
o Chapman St. East from Main St. to St. Andrew St.;
o Market St. West from St. George St. to Main St.

Also closing from 3 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. on Friday, June 13, are:
o Nelson St. East, from St. Patrick St. to Highway 24;
o Greenock St. West, from St. George St. to Richardson Dr.;
o Richardson Drive, from Nelson St. West to Greenock St.;
o Main St. from Clifford St. to Nelson St.

During the event, traffic in town will flow in a one-way loop, with guidance from the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP). A change the county made for this year’s event is designating St. George St., St. Andrew St., and Walker St. as motorcycle-only streets.

Const. Andrew Gamble, media relations and community safety officer for Norfolk County OPP, said that “access to the downtown area during the event will be restricted to motorcycles and authorized vehicles only.”

“However, residents and individuals who work within the affected area will not be prevented from accessing their homes or places of employment. That said, please note that travel times may be significantly impacted throughout the day due to high traffic volumes and temporary road closures,” Const. Gamble said.

Norfolk County asks residents living or working on St. George St., St. Andrew St., or Walker St. “please treat these roads as one-way, and turn onto the first available side street to travel through town.”

“Detour routes will be set up on both sides of Port Dover with signage posted to route passenger vehicles away from the closed roads.”

OPP will watch traffic and may ask drivers about their destination with the goal of increasing public safety. Const. Gamble said the police plan to have a large presence in town during the event “to prioritize traffic safety and ensure a secure environment for all attendees.”

“Motorists should plan accordingly and exercise patience, as congestion is expected. Any behaviours that compromise public safety or create unnecessary risk will not be tolerated,” he said.

The airspace over downtown will be closed to drones and aircraft during PD13 “from the centre of Port Dover to 2,000 feet above the surface” unless one has authorization from Transport Canada.

Designated PD13 motorcycle parking areas will be on Main St. from Clifford St. to Chapman St. West, St. George St. from Dover Ave. to Clinton St., St. Andrew St. from Silver Cres. to Harbour St., as well as Clinton St., Walker St., Market St. East, Park St., and Harbour St. Norfolk County’s municipal parking lot on Clinton St. will be open for motorcycles during PD13.

Parking rules enforced

OPP and county bylaw officers will be enforcing parking rules during the event. Const. Gamble said that “parking in prohibited areas may result in towing and fines of approximately $400.”

Residents should be aware that the Elmer Lewis parking lot will be closed as of 8 a.m. on Tuesday, June 10; any vehicles in the lot as of noon that day will be towed.

Last week’s issue of the Maple Leaf reported that Ride Norfolk would operate during the event with a limited range into Port Dover. Since then, the county has changed course, and Ride Norfolk will not travel to or from Port Dover on Friday, June 13.

Harbour St. will be open to all vehicles and pedestrians during PD13.

For this year’s event, the county decided to have a medical area in town, which will be staffed by a doctor equipped to respond to attendees’ non-urgent medical needs, reducing the need for paramedics to traverse the crowded downtown via ambulance to transport people to Norfolk General Hospital for non-emergency care. Paramedics will also have carts to navigate town if needed.

This year’s celebration is the last PD13 on the calendar in a warm weather month until August 2027. Next year’s Friday the 13th dates fall in February, March, and November.

More information about PD13, including a map of planned road closures, can be found on Norfolk County’s webpage for the event, www.norfolkcounty.ca/pd13.

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Originally published June 11, 2025