Hero Thrill Show teaser gets the crowd going

Philadelphia lawyer Jimmy Binns took in the scene before him Friday - cops on motorcycles, cops on horses, firefighters on a truck, and even the Phillie Phanatic, all shutting down Market Street - and he remembered when the Hero Thrill Show was in need of a rescue.

"I took over in 2006, when it had gone out of business," Binns said of the annual fund-raiser he heads. "They had virtually no people attending. They had about 200 people attend. Last year, we had 55,000. This is my ninth year, and I'm putting 17 children through college."

Part of what makes the Hero Thrill Show a success is enthusiasm and buzz, and that's what Binns and company were doing: holding a lunchtime pep rally between 18th and 19th Streets to stoke enthusiasm for next weekend's extravaganza.

The pep rally gave a glimpse of what to expect at the show: gravity-defying stunts by firefighters and police officers. One of the routines was the Highway Patrol's motorcycle drill team performance of what it calls "the human flower" - four officers arrayed on a motorcycle, leaning back, holding hands to form a circle. The capper: The motorcycle is moving forward at a decent clip.

This brought cheers and gasps from the crowd, some of whom were busily shooting photos and videos.

No pep rally would be complete without cheerleaders, and the Phanatic was up to his usual antics, striking a pose at every photo op, or trying to impress the Sixers Dance Team with his own moves.

And while Binns can recall only 200 people attending the actual show, there were well over 200 people there for the rally on a sunny, picture-perfect Friday.

The Hero Thrill Show is a long-standing city tradition. It was founded in 1954, after 10 firefighters were killed in an explosion at a North Philadelphia chemical building, to raise money for college tuition for the children of fallen police officers and firefighters.

"The bottom line for a police officer, firefighter, or a prison officer is that they all want to go home because they have families," said Deputy Mayor Everett Gillison. "They have kids to raise. . . . This kind of show knits us together in such a great fashion that you can only build on it each year."

Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey recognized the impact that the show has for raising funds for families, including the Police Department's outreach to the community.

"It has a tremendous impact," said Ramsey. "The police can show off the things that they can do besides patrolling streets or fighting fires. We're here to mingle with folks - tell them about what we do - and they see us as human beings and individuals. There's more to us than just a badge and a gun."

The show will be held from noon to 5 p.m. next Saturday outside the Wells Fargo Center.

Tickets are $10 per person, $25 per family.

Tickets are available at all police and fire stations, or: http://hero-thrill-show.

ticketleap.com/hero-thrill-

show-2014/

EndText