A new name, a return of late-night headliner entertainment and tattoo contests are all in the works after a Las Vegas-based company took control of Hollister’s motorcycle rally this year.
The company, ConvExx, has run the Las Vegas BikeFest for more than a dozen years and replaced Mark Cresswell’s North Carolina-based Worldwide Dynamics as the promoter of an event now called the Hollister Freedom Rally.
“So we have our experience in doing motorcycle rallies and we’re going to bring that with us to Hollister,” said Candice Cooley, the event’s marketing manager. “The whole name of the game is to make sure everyone has a great time.”
This year’s three-day event runs July 3 to July 5 and is expected to draw tens of thousands of visitors to normally sleepy San Benito County. The Hollister rally started in 1997 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the town’s “invasion” by motorcycle clubs that included the Boozefighters.
Changes this year include new additions such as a poker walk among vendors, a mechanical bull and a visiting replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall.
But one item that won’t necessarily be rocking and rolling at the festival is alcohol. This year, Hollister council members made a 4-0 decision in mid-June to require that downtown bars halt alcohol sales at midnight—two hours earlier than normal.
Councilman Ray Friend, a biker and Hollister’s vice mayor, said he looked forward to a “safe and sane rally” this year.
“I’m hoping 50,000 people come here and drink all our beer, have a great time and leave,” he said.
This year’s promoter has brought back the late-night music including an appearance by The Guess Who, a band with hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s, performing from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday. Tickets to the show are $50. The performance is included in the promoters’ $100 VIP package, which also offers such perks as a lunch coupon, an official rally T-shirt and tickets to the Fabulous Thunderbirds’ performance Friday night.
“We’re bringing in headline entertainment, which we think is important to keep the rally going at night,” Cooley said.
That same Saturday, stars from the Sons of Anarchy, a television series chronicling an outlaw motorcycle club’s efforts to keep their sheltered town in central California charming, will make a special appearance. Actors Tommy Flanagan (“Chibs”) and Mark Boone Junior (“Bobby”) will do a meet and greet from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Veterans Memorial Building stage.
At the rally largely about leather, ink and bikes, the promoters are starting a new tattoo contest that offers competitions for the best black-and-white designs, single pieces and numerous pieces, Cooley said.
“I don’t believe they’ve done it in the past,” the event’s marketing manager said. “It is something that we’ve done at our other rally in the past.”
Also making a comeback for the weekend is the photo tower, which Friend estimated last made an appearance at a local rally about five years ago. For $5, a person can go to the top of a tower and take photos of bikes whizzing along Hollister’s main street.
“A lot of people like to go up there and take photos of the whole street,” Friend said.
Classic events such as the Ms. Hollister Freedom Contest and a Custom Bike Show—with $25 entry fees—will also be making an appearance.
One set of activities that didn’t make an appearance last year—and won’t be returning for this one—are the biker games. In past events, motorcyclists did demonstrations and burned out their tires, Friend said. But games have not been as popular and space constraints make them difficult to host, the council member said.
“I don’t think it’s that popular of an attraction,” Friend said. “It’s not that kind of a rally.”
The city council member is, however, counting on good California weather to share with visitors.
“And I think the weather’s going to cooperate. It’s not going to be so scorching hot,” Friend said. “So, it’s going to be great.”
RALLY HIGHLIGHTS
FRIDAY JULY 3
Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall
Mechanical bull rides
Custom bike show
Poker walk
Tattoo contest
SATURDAY JULY 4
Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall
Mechanical bull rides
Sons of Anarchy stars appearance
Ms. Hollister Freedom contest
The Guess Who concert
SUNDAY JULY 5
Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall
Mechanical bull rides
Bike blessing
