Shake, Rattle And Roll

Bikes, Blues & BBQ rally director Joe Giles drove up to Arvest Ballpark last year to help set up a stage for music. The minor league baseball stadium was to serve as a host venue for the first time. The published hours were noon to 5 p.m. Giles got there around 10 a.m., and the parking lot was already full.

"I couldn't find a parking spot," he says.

Such is the norm for the ever-expanding rally, which will bring thousands of motorcycle riders and enthusiasts to Northwest Arkansas starting Wednesday. BB&BBQ continues through Sept. 25 and uses several venues: Dickson Street, Baum Stadium, Arvest Ballpark and the Washington County Fairgrounds.

More events take place at Arvest this year, including a series of live music acts and a fireworks display. That adds to the growing list of offerings intended to entertain the masses that will descend on the area and particularly on Fayetteville's Dickson Street. New for the 16th annual rally will be a vintage dirt bike race at the Flint Creek Speedway in Colcord, Okla., just west of the Arkansas/Oklahoma border.

The idea behind the side events is to give riders a reason to come back, Giles says.

"It's something new for people to do," he says.

And organizers also encourage and promote events that are not officially partnered with the rally. Examples include the demolition derby that takes place Sept. 26 at the Parsons Stadium grounds in Springdale and the Kid Rock concert the night before at the Walmart Arkansas Music Pavilion in Rogers.

Because, like always, the bikers will be coming. Estimates on crowd size are difficult to come by, considering the event is free, and no gates exist to help coordinate a counting of the crowd. Giles says his organization estimates crowd size by the amount of merchandise and beer sold during the rally, and "last year was a banner year for both," he says.

The festival coordinates beer gardens that offer another of the titular elements of the festival. And responding to patron complaints that the music provided during the festival wasn't bluesy enough to live up to the title, Giles says the rally will feature a blues-only stage at Washington County Fairgrounds Saloon. Only four of the acts featured on this year's official stages at the Dickson Street beer garden or the fairgrounds played at the rally last year, and only seven of the more than two dozen acts have ever performed at the rally before. Additionally, local musician Barrett Baber composed a new official theme song for the rally and will perform on the festival main stage at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 25.

The last of the elements promised in the title comes via the Arkansas State Championship barbecue cook-off, which takes place Sept. 26 at the fairgrounds. The contest is closed to the public, but a People's Choice competition on Sept. 25 will provide opportunities to sample smoked meats.

The bikes, of course, will be everywhere, even if one of the area's favorite ride locations, Arkansas 23, is closed due to a mudslide that compromised the road. Other highways attract bikers from dozens of states, says Giles, an avid rider himself.

"Motorcyclists can go anywhere for a party," he says. "But we have such great rides."

NAN What's Up on 09/18/2015