Wing Ding 31(XXXI) Tulsa, OKLAHOMA,July 2-5, 2009

The Gold Wing Road Riders Association (GWRRA) is pleased to announce its 31st annual Wing Ding will be in Tulsa Oklahoma,the international convention opens Thursday, July 2, and runs through Sunday, July 5, 2009, at Tulsa's Expo Square.
1. What is Wing Ding?
•Wing Ding is Gold Wing Road Riders Association’s (GWRRA’s) annual convention, get-together, party, etc. It is our once-a-year chance for our Members, and everyone else who wants to see the world’s largest Gold Wing trade show, to gather to party! The show moves to a different city every year and is held over the 4th of July holiday for four days of FUN, Food, Entertainment, Shopping, Education, Riding and Meeting old and new Friends.

2. Where did the name Wing Ding come from?
•A Wing Ding (WingDing) by definition is a party…what better way to describe our gathering of Wings? The term was coined by Co-Founder, Shirley Stephens-Garcia, just before the very first Wing Ding in 1979, at the Point Hilton Resort in Phoenix, Arizona.
•This started GWRRA’s long tradition of holding Wing Dings in convention centers or fairgrounds that have indoor, air-conditioned facilities. “This was unlike any other motorcycle organization or rally at that time,” says Founder Paul Hildebrand, and still holds true to this day.

3. Why is Wing Ding held over the 4th of July holiday?
•Wing Ding’s are currently held over the 4th of July holiday for several reasons. Many Members find this time period easier to schedule their vacations; they can tack on to the holiday, thus taking less time off to attend Wing Ding.
•Also, many vendors have found that this time period fits well in their rally circuit.
•And, this is a good time for the Association to negotiate with cities for “the business” of Wing Ding. Summer is generally a slow time for many cities; and GWRRA can get better deals for our Members on hotel rooms, entertainment, etc.

4. How does the Home Office pick the cities that host Wing Ding?
•As you can imagine, selecting a location for Wing Ding is a very complicated process. Our event management team has a very long checklist of physical qualifiers that a city must provide such as:
◦Space for the trade show, registration, etc.
◦Sufficient number of hotel rooms for our Members
◦Sufficient parking lots for the motorcycles
◦Parking lots for Rider Education courses
◦Sufficient restaurants
•Then, there are such items as:
◦Location of convention center to center of city
◦Security for Members
◦Traffic conditions
◦Condition of road (construction issues)
◦Access of major, minor roads to the city
◦Wagering rules (50/50’s, etc.)
◦Vendor issues (Can they sell motorcycles, trailers, etc.?)
◦Is the city/state motorcycle friendly?
◦Availability for entertainment venues (concerts, opening/closing ceremonies, etc