Ride CT & Ride New England Serving New England, NYC and The Hudson Valley!
LITCHFIELD, CT – It has become a tradition for RIDE-CT & RIDE-NewEngland to start each new year at the comical Possum Queen 
pageant. What’s Possum Queen? It’s a “legitimate scam operation,” according to event co-founder Brent Hawkins, and this year raised $45,000-$50,000 through the staging of skits, the bribing of judges and auctions, both actual and silent.
The liquid-fueled 26th annual Possum Queen Contest and Auction was held Friday afternoon at the Litchfield Inn and a crowd of more than 500 attended, including two hardy motorcyclists who weren’t deterred by the chilly weather and who parked their bikes out front.
Ralph Davila of Morris, CT rode in on a dark red 1990 Harley-Davidson FXR Super Glide. “Every one of their frames is hand made,” he noted of the model.
Ralph Davila and his 1990 Harley-Davidson FXR Super Glide
Ken Wells of Bridgeport, CT arrived on a white 2001 Indian Centennial Scout, which he had purchased last year from Davila. “I saved it and brought it back to life,” he said.
Ken Wells and his 2001 Indian Centennial Scout
While the snow flurried as we stood outside, a hot time was to be had in the ballroom. RIDE-CT & RIDE-NewEngland participated by handing over $750 generated through the generosity of riders that have been written about in the RIDE-CT motorcycle column in the “Republican-American” and here on the website.
Bud Wilkinson hands over a check
Phil Pepper of Torrington donated his 1977 Honda GL1000 Gold Wing, which he has had been trying to sell for years. It brought $450 on Craigslist from Nick Huebsch of Torrington. Meanwhile, Banam native Tim Sparks donated $300 for two Montesa basket cases that we’d rescued from Bjorn “Bob” Bagn of Torrington back in March. Sparks likewise sold them onlne.
Possum Queen co-founders Brent Hawkins and Billy Neller, Bud Wilkinson and Phil Pepper
Over the years, the non-profit Possum Queen Foundation has raised roughly $300,000. Proceeds benefit local families facing medical hardships.
Photos by Bud Wilkinson and Bill Capuano
Updated at 8:19 p.m. Jan. 2, 2016
