Bentonville's Slaughter Pen Jam Grows Into Festival

BENTONVILLE -- The Parks and Recreation Department wants to elevate the Slaughter Pen Jam from a great race to a great event focused around a race, said David Wright, parks and recreation director.

The Parks and Recreation Department and Bentonville Convention and Visitors Bureau will team with Friends at Slaughter Pen Trail to make the annual mountain bike race into a festival.

The event has been organized by friends group in the past, but it has outgrown the volunteer organization's ability orchestrate it alone, said Greg Pool, Friends treasurer.

Friends at Slaughter Pen Trail is a sponsor of the three-day event and will play a "boots-on-the-ground" advisory role, lay out the course and manage scoring, Pool said.

"The city is really picking up the heavy lifting for us," he said.

The Slaughter Pen Jam Mountain Bike Festival will be Sept. 5-7. The Friday portion will be similar to years past, Wright said.

Organizers don't want to lose the focus of the mountain bike race the event started as, but for it to benefit the community and promote mountain biking, it should bring people to the trail and introduce them to what's there, Wright said.

"This really encourages the mountain biker dad to bring his wife and three kids because now they have something to do," he said.

Between 500 and 700 people, with about 200 being racers, have attended in years past, Pool said. Adding the festival atmosphere has the potential to increase those numbers greatly, he said.

"We knew we always wanted to expand it to make it a race-plus," Pool said. "This is a way to get everyone involved."

The Advertising and Promotions Commission approved $10,000 for the event at its last meeting.

The festival is a good fit for the Convention and Visitors Bureau to help support as the city's trails are starting to get some national exposure, Kalene Griffith, bureau president and CEO, told commissioners.

"I think it's a great asset for us," she said. "It's a great fall event for us in September."

Much of the money would be used for advertising and promoting the event, Griffith said.

"I think it would be $10,000 well spent because people really love this," said Mary Baggett, commissioner.

Mike Steidly, U.S. national champion, and Adrian Lengyel, Hungarian national champion, will show their skills during a trails exhibition in partnership with Downtown Bentonville's First Friday.

"That's always a fun event for the spectators and riders as well because they're not used to the big crowds," Pool said of Steidly and Lengyel. Usually, trial exhibitions are watched only by those competing in them, he said.

Real Encounter also will perform a BMX stunt show. Real Encounter gained recognition when it performed on the television show "America's Got Talent."

"These guys are crazy," Wright said. "It's fun to watch them."

The Saturday portion will see the biggest changes from previous years, Wright and Pool said.

Biking activities will be held from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. for riders and non-riders instead of having several racing events.

There will be vendors, food trucks, live music and games, Wright said. Every hour there will be an education class covering topics such as changing a flat tire, bike maintenance and bike safety. There also will be guided rides through Slaughter Pen Trail.