SNOW HILL – As OC BikeFest and Delmarva Bike Week approach, officials in Snow Hill are encouraging motorcycles to ride to Sturgis.
Sturgis Park, that is.
The town of Snow Hill will welcome bikers to the county seat next Saturday as it hosts its first ever Ride to Sturgis. The town will offer bikers food and festivities in Sturgis Park on the Pocomoke River.
“I think it could grow into a really huge event,” said Michael Day, the town’s economic development consultant.
Day said he and volunteers were brainstorming for potential new events last year when Barry Laws from the Pocomoke River Canoe Company pointed out that the town had a park that shared the same name as the town in South Dakota famous for its annual motorcycle rally.
“I took off with it,” Day said.
On Saturday, Sept. 17, the town will host Ride to Sturgis from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Sturgis Park. The event will include music by Harley Vincent and the Panhead Pickers, a variety of food vendors, beer and activities. Laws will rent kayaks and canoes. Amanda Lee, a tattoo model, will make an appearance with “Buzz deMonkey” and representatives from Fast Lane Biker Delmarva magazine. A number of vendors with motorcycle merchandise will also be present.
Day says he’s not sure how many people will come to town for the event but that he’s had lots of inquiries. Because it’s the event’s first year, the town is even providing vendors with free space.
“We’ve got some vendors who are going to be at Bike Week but also wanted another location,” Day said.
He’s advertised Ride to Sturgis with the tag line “All bikes welcome, no attitudes allowed” in an effort to show it will be a friendly event.
“It means you can wear your colors but we don’t want any trouble,” he said. “Everybody’s been very positive about it.”
Day believes the new event will draw in quite a crowd because motorcycles typically visited Snow Hill during Bike Week anyway. They enjoy the trip down Route 113 through rural Worcester County.
“A lot of the bikers have said they love this ride,” Day said.
He said Ride to Sturgis was another of his efforts to draw more people to Snow Hill, a town that has struggled economically in recent years. Since Day was hired as consultant, the town has added Octoberfest, Return to Goat Island and Ride to Sturgis to its events calendar.
“I realized there was a need for more signature events,” Day said, adding that when people came for events they visited the town’s shops. “It’s a good thing to get visitors to walk around.”
For more information, contact Day at 443-735-0957.
