OCEAN CITY – The 4th Annual OC BikeFest was held in Ocean City last weekend, resulting in record breaking ticket sales for the concerts and special events held in the Inlet Parking Lot despite the rain on Saturday.
OC BikeFest, in conjunction with Delmarva Bike Week’s venues spread across Worcester and Wicomico counties, featured vendors and attractions located at the Roland E. Powell Convention Center and Inlet Parking Lot in Ocean City and at Arthur Purdue Stadium and WinterPlace Park near Salisbury.
While no official count of ticket sales at the Inlet over the weekend was available as of mid-week, OC BikeFest owner Kathy Michael confirmed on Wednesday each day of the event resulted in record breaking ticket sales.
“I am going to say we had at least 130,000 to 165,000 bikers in town this past weekend. I would say it was even higher [then previous years] with the record selling of tickets at the gates at the Inlet this year,” Michael said. “I have only heard positive comments about the whole weekend. The only negative thing I have heard is too bad it rained on Saturday.”
OC Bikefest kicked off on Thursday with performances by Kashmir, Big Engine, Jamiah on Fire and the Red Machine and Jackyl. On Friday, Jamiah on Fire and the Red Machine, Big Engine, and Kashmir again took the stage, along with Davisson Brothers Band and Travis Tritt. On Saturday Kashmir, Big Engine and Davisson Brothers Band performed once again in addition with The Marshall Tucker Band and Don Felder. OC Bikefest concluded on Sunday with performances of Rowdy Johnson and Kashmir.
Other attractions that took place throughout the weekend included ILL Conduct stunt motorcycle riding, a Nascar Simulator and the Ives Brothers “Wall of Death.”
Saturday experienced rain throughout the day but the weather only really impacted beer sales within the Inlet venue and concert goers who had set up in the courtyard.
“We still had a record breaking day on Saturday because they came and once they were inside after Marshall Tucker was when the rain came. We had a full tent and a full court yard for Marshall Tucker but when the rain came we lost about half of our court yard but we still had a full tent for Don Felder. It hurt a little bit on the beer sales but not for the tickets,” Michael said. “All of our locations did very well. At the convention center with the vendors it was very crowded. We also had two locations in Salisbury for Delmarva Bike Week at WinterPlace Park and Arthur Perdue Stadium were both very busy. The rain hurt them a little bit on Saturday but Thursday and Friday had record crowds there too.”
Michaels announced the next OC BikeFest will take place in Ocean City Sept. 17-20, 2015. The event will be celebrating the 15th Anniversary of Delmarva Bike Week and the fifth anniversary of OC BikeFest.
“It will be bigger and better,” Michaels said. “We are working on some big plans to be announced.”
According to Ocean City Hotel-Motel-Restaurant Association Executive Director Susan Jones, most hotels sold out over the weekend and those with vacancies only had about a handful of rooms left.
“For the most part, it was still a very strong weekend. and most of our members reported no vacancy or being close to sold out. Restaurant wise, I haven’t heard of any having an awful weekend but they may have been down from last year, but last year was stellar being absolutely gorgeous every day. All-in-all, it was successful with being slightly off thanks to the rain. We look forward to next year.”
The Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) reported a total of 30 arrests over the course of the event from Sept. 11-14. Four of those arrests were drug arrests, two weapon arrests and nine DUI arrests. There were 1,600 total calls for service compared to 1,740 during biker weekend last year.
“It was a successful BikeFest weekend for us. We had a few motorcycle collisions but luckily none that resulted in any serious injuries. Other than that, our arrest numbers were down significantly. We want to thank all of law enforcement allies that assisted us over the weekend, and also the event staff and participants for maintaining such a safe and enjoyable weekend,” OCPD Public Affairs Specialist Lindsay O’Neal said.
Ocean City Communications Manager Jessica Waters also reported a successful OC BikeFest last weekend from a general perspective.
“If it wasn’t evident by the roar that was heard on Coastal Highway, you could have certainly looked at the parking lots around town and tell that it was going to be a successful weekend,” Waters said. “Weather certainly puts a factor on how the event is going to turn out. We did see a little bit of rain on Saturday, but despite a little bit of wet weather, I thought that we had a great weekend. I love to meet the people that come down and hear where they come from and what brings them to Ocean City. To them, this is something that they look forward to all year long, and I am glad that we can host an event that brings such a great crowd to Ocean City.”