<p>Lyle Hopper, of Hermiston, drops off an arm full of stuffed animals after the Echo Toy Run on Saturday.</p>

Downtown Echo roared to life Saturday as 120 motorcycles revved their engines. At 12:04 p.m. the colored lights of a Stanfield police car illuminated the front of the procession, and a shout of Ho, ho, ho erupted from the leather-clad crowd. Then, they were off, Santa hats plastered to skull cap helmets and toys strapped to bikes or secured in saddlebags.

For the next 20 minutes, the Echo Toy Run wound its way from Main Street up Highway 395 through Stanfield and Hermiston, turning heads before arriving at Good Shepherd Medical Center to drop off the hundreds of unwrapped toys.

Weve done it every year, and its just our annual way of giving back to the community, Anna Hopper, of Hermiston, said after dropping an arm full of stuffed animals into the bin. We wouldnt miss it.

At the hospital, the bikers were welcomed with warm drinks and apple fritters, a thank you for the donations used year-round to calm scared children.

Its not only the children who are admitted as patients, but those who are scared stiff because they have a sick mother or father in the hospital, said Mark Ettesvold, public relations person for the hospital. This is a community service that really does a lot of good all year round. This isnt just fun for bikers. This is for kids, and this is for the community. Now, those kids, when they see a motorcycle go down the street, they say, There goes some really nice people.

This year, the Toy Run filled two large bins to the brim with toys. Ettesvold said the toys will be divided amongst hospital departments, adding the emergency room and OB department traditionally receive the most because they see the largest number of children, either as patients or accompanying a patient.

Its for the kids. Thats what its all about, biker Dan Huxoll, of Irrigon, said Saturday. Theyre the future, and thats what we have to remember.

While many of the riders added Santa caps to their helmets or candy canes to their bikes, Huxoll took it one step further: A full Santa suit passed down from his father.

I actually got followed by a state cop wondering if I was wearing a helmet, Huxoll said with a laugh. I was, but he had to look twice.

Organizer Al Sells said the 120 motorcycles plus a few passenger vehicles that joined in made for one of the largest turnouts hes seen in the rides nine-year history.

Its bigger than last year, and I thought last year was big, Sells said. Thank-you to Stanfield and Hermiston police departments and all of the riders who showed up for their support. Without them, this wouldnt happen, and this is a really good thing we do.