In 2024, Vespa Club of America added regional events, in addition to the national Amerivespa event. The first Midwest event was held in St. Louis last year (photo above). Slaughterhouse Chicago is excited to host this year’s MVD, and we hope to see a lot of new faces from the Vespa Club community.

Absolutely! Vespa Club of Chicago are the organizers of  Slaughterhouse, and we’re working with Vespa Club of America to host this year’s Vespa Midwest Days, but let us be absolutely clear that both the local and national clubs are open to all scooters and all scooterists.

If you like what you see at the rally, please do get involved in the Vespa Club scene, but again, neither a Vespa nor a membership in our club are required to register for Slaughterhouse or Midwest Vespa Days. 

Yes! The Vespa Club of Chicago welcomes everyone! That said, we set limits to keep group rides safe for everyone:

All scooter makes and models and vintages are welcome, but all vehicles on our rides must be street legal, titled and plated, and capable of 45-ish mph. Most 50cc scooters meet this criteria, but most electric scooters and bicycles and mopeds do not, though there are exceptions both ways. Make no mistake, we love you — and your vehicle, but if you need to run lights and split lanes and ride in the bike lane to keep up with the group, you’re creating an unsafe situation and we’ll ask you to catch up with us later.

Motorcycles are welcome, but we ask you stay towards the back on the group rides to let the smaller bikes set the pace (or feel free to hop on the highway and meet us at the end of the ride).

People-wise, we welcome (and thankfully attract) all ages, genders races, colors, creeds, even (most) musical tastes. So long as you have an open mind and can respectfully co-exist with others, you will be welcome at our events.

We do insist that you have an L- or M-class license or at least a motorcycle learners permit before joining our rides. (Despite what your dealer told you, an L-class license is required for 50cc scooters over 2hp in Illinois). If you’ve never ridden with a group of scooterists before, we highly recommend coming to one of our warmup rides over the spring and summer. Watch the calendar and emails for more info.

We are not aware of any motorscooter rental companies in the Chicago area. You might check national bike-sharing/rental platforms like EagleRider or RidersShare. Or ask around on the WhatsApp group… some of us have more scooters than we know what to do with (and some of them even run).

If you’re not competing for the “farthest ridden” trophy, trailer it! Read Vespa Club of Chicago’s guide to transporting your scooter. We do have free truck/trailer parking very near to the hotel and you can park your scooter at the hotel for free, check the lodging page for up-to-date info.

For domestic ground transport, we highly recommend Denver James (facebook)(email). He’s a licensed, bonded scooter-transport expert and a big supporter and friend of the community.

If you’re shipping by air freight, O’Hare Airport is just minutes from the hotel, so pickup and drop off should be convenient.

Not by any means. If you actually believe that, there’s probably no convincing you, but you’re missing out on a great rally in one of the world’s friendliest, most fascinating, historic, diverse, and creative cities. More kebabs, Italian beef, al pastor, hot dogs, bibimbap, pizza, Malört, pancit, keftedes, chaat, Pollo Campero, and schweinshaxe for the rest of us, I guess.

If they’re participating in the rally, they should register, they’ll get the full experience: a goodie bag, a ticket to the banquet, admission to the concert, etc. If they want to come check out any public events, that’s totally fine, but non-registered guests may not actively participate, and the rally is not liable for their safety. Kids are welcome, but again, they must register to participate. (If you’re bringing a toddler or baby that doesn’t need a banquet meal, they do not need to be registered.)

Pre-register BEFORE AUGUST 14 to guarantee admission to the concert and banquet, and to ensure you get your desired T-shirt size. We will accept late registrations up to 350 registrants, either online or in-person, but it will be the same price, and WILL NOT include admission to the concert or banquet and we might not have a t-shirt in your size. PLEASE register early, it’s better for everyone.

Please do! Your ticket to the Crombies/Handsome Devilz show is included with your registration, but additional tickets are available in advance on the Martyrs’ website for $10. If the show doesn’t sell out (it’s likely!) you can pay $15 at the door. All proceeds will go to the rally, so we would love for you to bring your friends! Note that the show is 21 and over by venue policy.

No. Only rally participants who registered in advance may come to the banquet. Onsite registration will not include admission to the banquet, awards, and raffle, and no guests are allowed. This will be strictly enforced.

Check out our page showing the raffle items, and there are more coming!

For the general raffle, we’ll use the simpler-to-manage tickets that have become popular at recent rallies, and we’ll have all the items on display with boxes, so you can choose which of your tickets go to which items. 

The Bluesmobile raffle will feature different tickets and will be drawn last.

• Volunteer! Simply fill out this form and we’ll get in touch.
• Offer to hand when it looks like we need it!
• Register (now!)
• Stay at the host hotel!
  Book your room ASAP!
• Tell your friends and share our social media posts.
• Suggest (or approach) sponsors! That helps keep our costs down and/or gets you more for your rally dollar.
• Purchase raffle tickets and rally swag.
• Set a good example by riding safely and legally.
• Pay attention to the briefings, and arrive early, gassed-up and geared-up.
• Ply the organizers with snacks and drinks.
• Be patient and respectful with organizers, venues, neighbors, and citizens.
• Make a point of being kind and welcoming to everyone, especially new riders. Today’s new riders are tomorrow’s old friends!
• To paraphrase Tim Kerr, Go start your own rally!