FAYETTEVILLE — It’s not just bikes and bling that the women bikers are bringing when they roll into town for the Fourth of July weekend.
Expect some boom as well.
A fireworks show is set to explode over Dickson Street at dark July 3. It’s another installment to the new Bikes, Babes & Bling motorcycle festival devoted to female enthusiasts for the two-wheeled rumblers.
“We finally got the fireworks organized a couple of weeks ago,” said Coleson Burns, an organizer for Bikes, Babes & Bling, which rides on the saddlebags of the established biker festival known as Bikes, Blues & BBQ. “Since our rally fell on this special national holiday, and Fayetteville no longer provides the show, we felt that this was a great way to give back to the community.”
In years past, Fayetteville hosted a community fireworks show on Independence Day at Baum Stadium — known as Red, White and Boom. However, city budget crunches snuffed out the fireworks display, which was last held in 2007. At the time, the show cost $40,000, said Mayor Lioneld Jordan. Of that cost, $20,000 was shouldered by the city, $15,000 was covered by the Fayetteville Advertising and Promotion Commission and the remaining $5,000 was picked up by Northwest Arkansas Mall, said Lindsley Smith, Fayetteville’s communication director.
Fayetteville has no plans for a firework display this year, say officials.
The fireworks planned for Dickson Street will be launched by Riverside Entertainment of Siloam Springs, from the roof of the Walton Arts Center. Using a roof as a launch pad is not uncommon and tends to be safer, said Tim Reed, owner of Riverside. He’s been in the pyrotechnic business for 18 years.
“That’s the reason we went to the roof, is to get away from all of the walk-up traffic,” Reed said, noting his firm has done similar shows at the University of Arkansas, another dense urban setting.
Applicable permits from the Fire and Police departments have been filed, he added. Streets around Walton Arts Center will be closed to traffic during the display. Since this is the first year for Bikes, Babes & Bling, event organizers are not sure what to expect in terms of crowds — either from bikers or Fayetteville residents coming out for the festivities, Burns said. For now, organizers are putting attendance in 10,000 to 25,000 range.
“If we are blessed with such a turnout — 10,000 — for a single night, we do have veteran staff from Bikes, Blues & BBQ that has dealt with the hordes of people that rally brings,” Burns said.
The fireworks planned for the display will not be like the large, big-city displays, which can be seen for miles, Reed explained.
“Our diameter is going to be very small,” he said. “Our focus is the people right there on Dickson. You’re not going to be able to see a whole lot out on Highway 71.”
But for those on Dickson Street that night, the show should be a good one, Burns said.
“Since the fireworks are being displayed from the Walton Arts Center’s roof, there shouldn’t be a bad seat in the entire entertainment district,” Burns added.