Bikes, Blues & BBQ is getting bigger.
For those Northwest Arkansas folks who like the annual motorcycle rally about as much as a rider likes road rash, this might seem like difficult news to take. For years, those uninterested in the two-wheeled extravaganza (and sometimes three) have dreaded the four days every fall when the rumble of motors fill the air and streets get clogged.
What’s The Point?
Expansion of the annual Bikes, Blues and BBQ motorcycle rally into Springdale’s Arvest Park is a good move for the organization, for Springdale and for Fayetteville, which is headquarters for the event.
The rally started on Fayetteville's Dickson Street with just 300 riders in 2000, but has exploded in popularity in the years since. Tens of thousands of motorcycle enthusiasts (nobody knows how many, exactly) flood into Northwest Arkansas during a time of year the weather usually cooperates for some outstanding rides through the region, tasty food, demonstrations, socializing, drinking, music, shopping and general people-watching. It is a sight (and sound) to behold, at least in measured doses. But the event can, at times, appear to overwhelm Dickson Street.
Over the years, planners have devoted considerable energy to expanding the event, not just in the numbers of visitors to Northwest Arkansas, but the number of venues. These include the Randal Tyson Track Center near Baum Stadium and the Washington County Fairgrounds. In the last few days, rally officials announced events will be held for the first time at Arvest Ballpark in Springdale during the Sept. 24-27 rally.
As we noted, some of our neighbors may grimace at the idea of a bigger Bikes, Blues & BBQ, but adding Arvest Ballpark as a venue for events should have the effect of spreading the activities out. We're not saying it's going to turn the rally into a quiet visit to the local library, but creating more locations for events, and spreading them around Northwest Arkansas, should ease some of the pressures on all of the locations. If an event at Arvest draws a few thousand riders there, it will be a boost for Springdale while helping take a little of the load off the rally's core in downtown Fayetteville.
The opening of the Don Tyson Parkway interchange on Interstate 49 made the addition of Arvest a logistical possibility. The large area around the ballpark is a great fit for rally-style events, with lots of room to park a lot of motorcycles. This is exactly the kind of event Springdale hopes to foster with its investment in infrastructure around the city-owned ballpark. The more use it gets, the more likely that area will be able to grow businesses that contribute to the local economy.
Organizers say four new events will be hosted at Arvest Ballpark: a vintage motorcycle show; the Northwest Arkansas Steak Cooking Championship; an area supporting the Soldier's Wish nonprofit organization; and supporting the Ride of the Brotherhood, another veterans group. The annual karaoke contest will move from the fairgrounds to Arvest as will a vintage car show, which had previously taken place at the Northwest Arkansas Mall.
Bikes, Blues & BBQ continues to be one of the most successful privately operated festivals in the region. Even with the headaches for locals (literal and figurative), the rally brings dollars, recognition and awareness to Northwest Arkansas.
We're always glad to see our motorcycle enthusiast visitors arrive to a good time. And watch them leave some money behind before heading back home.
Commentary on 07/31/2014