SPECIAL Rally gets Harley pin, adds new venue in 2010

— Bikes, Blues & BBQ is growing.

Again.

The annual motorcycle rally roars back into Fayetteville Wednesday with more venues, more music and, officials say, more riders than ever before.

Estimates are hard to come by, but some have guessed at least 400,000 guests filter through the area during the four-day rally, which this year begins on Wednesday and continues through Oct. 2.

Judging by how quickly the area’s hotels were booked and by increased attendance numbers at other major motorcycle rallies such as Daytona and Sturgis, Bikes, Blues & BBQ director Nelson Driver believes the 2010 rally will be larger than the 2009 version.

Also drawing new traffic, Driver suspects, is the fact that Harley-Davidson, the American motorcycle manufacturing company that builds so many of the motorcycles ridden to the rally, has for the first time designated BB&BBQ as an official pin destination for its Harley Owner Group (H.O.G.) riders’ club and its 1.2 million members.

To help accommodate the influx of people, rally organizers have expanded to yet another venue. This year, the Washington County Fairgrounds, near the intersection of Arkansas 112 and Interstate 540 in Fayetteville, will become an official venue for the festival. At the site will be a Wall of Death stunt ride, helicopter rides and the barbecue element of Bikes, Blues & BBQ. The Kansas City Barbeque Society-sanctioned event will take place Thursday through Oct. 2, with the popular People’s Choice Award sampling - limited to the first 3,500 - at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 1 at the fairgrounds.

A beer garden, complete with live music, will also be active throughout the festival.

Clearing out space at the parking lot across from Baum Stadium on the northeast corner of Razorback Road and 15th Street - where the barbecue contest has taken place in previous years - allows the festival organizers to do two things, Driver says.

First, it will allow a new partner organization, Jeep, to construct a obstacle course in the lot to display vehicles.

Second, it will provide extra parking for patrons visiting the rally, who canthen be transported via train from the southern venue to Dickson Street, where vendors, a stage and a beer garden will be set up in the Walton Arts Center parking lot. The city of Fayetteville’s new paid downtown parking program has eliminated many of the spaces that both motorcycle riders and guests had used in years past, Driver says. That makes using the train and the parking lots to the south more important.

In addition to the Jeep track and parking, the rally area to the south will feature live music, a beer garden and dozens of vendors and attractions.

Among them is the dynamometer drag track, which pits two motorcycles against each other in a simulated race.

Helicopter rides will also depart from that area.

The main stage area at Dickson Street and West Avenue will include dozens of vendors along with music. The main stage is also the site for the Miss Bikes, Blues & BBQ competition, where a winner will be crowned at 11:30 p.m. Oct. 2.

Another popular event, the Parade of Power, returns this year, albeit with a slightly different setup. To avoid congestion on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, the parade will departat 4 p.m. Oct. 2 from the University of Arkansas’ Lot 56, on the northeast corner of MLK Jr. Boulevard and Razorback Road. It will then proceed north on Razorback before turning on Maple Street and traveling down College Avenue before ending on Dickson Street.

Taking place during the rally is an affiliated car rally called Bikes, Blues & Hot Rods, Too. Located at the Arkansas Music Pavilion at the Northwest Arkansas Mall, the event will feature a car show on Oct. 2 and blues music throughout the weekend. The AMP is also the site of the headlining music of the festival, which includes Easton Corbin on Thursday and Pat Travers and Rick Derringer on Oct. 1. The Black Crowes are also scheduled to perform on Oct. 2.

Many other local venues, although not officially affiliated with the rally, also offer entertainment options. Live music can be found at nearby Dickson Street venues such as Smoke & Barrel Tavern, Rogue Pizza Co. and even the Walton Arts Center, which has booked bands for Thursday through Oct. 2.

The official Bikes, Blues & BBQ information booth is located at the intersection of Dickson Street and West Avenue.

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FAQ

WHEN - Wednesday-Oct. 2

WHERE - Dickson Street, Washington County Fairgrounds and Tyson Track Center, Fayetteville; affi liate rally Bikes, Blues & Hot Rods, Too at Northwest Arkansas Mall in Fayetteville

COST - Most events are free; headlining concerts and concessions vary in price

INFO - www.bikesbluesandbbq.org

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MUSICAL HEADLINERS

All of the headlining concerts take place at the Arkansas Music Pavilion, in the parking lot of the Northwest Arkansas Mall, near the intersection of Joyce Boulevard and College Avenue in north Fayetteville. The first two concerts are part of a partnership between Bikes, Blues & BBQ and Bikes, Blues & Hot Rods Too. The Black Crowes concert on Oct. 2 is billed as a separate event.

THURSDAY

photo

Easton Corbin

6 P.M. - Easton Corbin, $10-$30 GENRE - Country INFLUENCES - George Jones, Merle Haggard, George Strait and Keith Whitley BIG HIT - “A Little More Country Than That”

OCT. 1

7 P.M. - Pat Travers and Rick Derringer, $10-$50 PAT TRAVERS GENRE - Rock INFLUENCES - Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Ronnie Hawkins BIG HITS - “Snortin’ Whiskey,” “I La La La Love You”

RICK DERRINGER GENRE - Rock INFLUENCES - Johnny Winter, Edgar Winter, Steely Dan BIG HIT - “Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo”

OCT. 2

7 P.M. - The Black Crowes, $20-$100 GENRE - Rock INFLUENCES - The Rolling Stones, Buddy Guy, Otis Redding, Humble Pie BIG HITS - “Hard to Handle,” “She Talks to Angels,” “Jealous Again”

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- SOURCE: STAFF REPORT

See stories SPECIAL: BBBBQ MUSIC & AND EVENTS SCHEDULE for full listing of all events and BIKES, BLUES & HOT RODS, TOO SCHEDULE

Whats Up, Pages 19 on 09/24/2010

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