WAUKESHA - So how do you throw a party for 100,000?

Take planning, patience, a dash of creative problem solving and a $1.3 million budget, and you’ve got a surefire recipe for the Weekend in Waukesha, a mega-extravaganza to celebrate the 105th anniversary of Harley-Davidson motorcycles that starts today.

The party, organized by Bethesda Events LLC partners Drew Vallozzi, Andy Ruggeri and Steve Meulemans, could be the biggest celebration the city has ever hosted, with crowds estimated for the four-day, three-night event exceeding 100,000.

"When we started planning, we thought maybe 80,000 to 100,000 people, but we’re going to be prepared for 150,000," Meulemans said as he watched a VIP seating area being built earlier this week for the free concerts to be held in Cutler Park.

"We’ve had to be fluid and flexible in putting it all together," he said of the festivities, which will feature headline entertainment like the BoDeans, Montgomery Gentry and Joe Nichols, bike shows, drill team exhibitions and a vendor mall. "Our goal is to promote the downtown and Waukesha, and the city really worked with us to pull it together."

Meulemans and Clarke Hotel and Black Trumpet Restaurant developers Vallozzi and Ruggeri approached the city in February about creating a Harley-Davidson anniversary celebration in Waukesha in hopes of drawing off some of the crowds attending festivities in Milwaukee, the motorcycle maker’s headquarters.

For more information about reservations for camping at the Waukesha County Expo Center, call 548-7200 or visit www.waukeshacounty.gov.

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