It is almost over. Quiet should be restored within hours as this year’s version of Bikes, Blues & BBQ comes to an end.
The four-day rally, which is in its 14th year, tests the patience of many in the Fayetteville citizenry; but it is generally welcomed each autumn as tens of thousands of bikers and gawkers fi ll Dickson Street and beyond.
This year, rain dampened some of the celebration.
But the partying continued pretty much unabated.
Bikes rolled all around towns and out into the countryside, engines revving and discomforting those who shared the many curvy roads that attract the riders.
Fayetteville may host the rally and the long slate of events, but all of Northwest Arkansas experiences the presence of the bikers.
In some respects, Bikes, Blues & BBQ is like the War Eagle Arts and Crafts Fair and the many other related shows that all happen in Northwest Arkansas on an October weekend. They, too, draw hoards of visitors and pack the roads with heavy traftc, mostly in BentonCounty. Those visitors are welcome here and encouraged to spend money.
The same thing goes for all the Razorback fans who descend on Fayetteville, particularly for home football games, and fi ll hotel rooms all over this corner of the state.
Granted, those coming for games and craft fairs don’t prompt quite the same preparation.
A newspaper report this week noted Fayetteville police would have plenty of oftcers on the streets and have assistance from other local departments for Bikes, Blues & BBQ. They wanted it known they wouldn’t tolerate “drinking and riding, drug use, load pipes, engine revving, indecent exposure and antics like burnouts and careless orreckless riding.”
I can’t say police have issued any such caution for the craft fair-goers. Nor do the craft fairs prompt special police reports, detailing the number of accidents and related arrests.
The bike rally is a different animal, one that has grown to huge proportions. Had anyone predicted how much the rally would grow when the event was in its infancy, there might have been more objections to it. Now that it is a 14-year fixture, the rally seems here to stay, whatever its inconveniences.
No one is really sure just how many come for Bikes, Blues & BBQ , but the estimate for last year’s rally was about 400,000.
Whatever the number, it’s a whole lot of people, all with money in their pockets and in need of some sort of services during their stay here.
That is why many of the city’s residents tolerate the noise and traft c congestion that comes with the festival.
An economic boost comes with it for some businesses, particularly hotels andmotels that are booked solid in Fayetteville and elsewhere.
While many locals also enjoy getting into the crowd to ride their own bikes, hear the music and partake of the barbecue, others want no part of Bikes, Blues & BBQ.
Plenty of residents avoid the main drags, particularly Dickson Street, during the festival. Some even leave town or stay somewhere other than their homes, if they happen to live near downtown Fayetteville.
Notably, some local businesses, having learned from experience the bikers don’t patronize their shops, close down for the weekend. A few let biker-oriented vendors use their parking lots and make up for some lost business that way.
Meanwhile, many other businesses look forward to the crowds and their potential sales. They don’t hear the revving engines as well as they do the ringing cash registers.
BRENDA BLAGG IS A FREELANCE COLUMNIST AND LONGTIME JOURNALIST IN NORTHWEST ARKANSAS.
Opinion, Pages 10 on 09/22/2013