Hollister Fourth of July

Back in 1947, a hell-raising group of bikers descended on Hollister city, California, 90 miles south of San Francisco, for a 3-day rally over the Fourth of July holiday. The notorious events of that weekend are said to have inspired the 1953 Hollywood cult classic, biker film, The Wild One starring Marlon Brando.

Hollister became known as the "Birthplace of the American Biker" and each year since then, has played host to an annual Fourth of July rally where bikers are reckoned to spend an incredible eight million dollars.

But not this year. The City Council have voted to cancel the rally, kick-starting a dispute that has divided their community. An interesting decision; I wonder if they really thought that issuing a press release saying that the rally was cancelled, would deter 60,000 motorcyclists. As you might expect, many motorcyclists are threatening to spend the Fourth of July in Hollister anyway, saying, "You can't cancel freedom."