Biker rally runs July 11 – 13
Downtown will once again be host to the official Hollister
Motorcycle Rally July 11 though July 13.
On Friday and Saturday, the rally will run from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
It will run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday.
Biker rally runs July 11 – 13
Downtown will once again be host to the official Hollister Motorcycle Rally July 11 though July 13.
On Friday and Saturday, the rally will run from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. It will run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday.
Downtown will be shut down between Monterey and East streets and from Fourth and South streets, said Clint Quilter, Hollister’s city manager.Even with the downturn in the economy, historic events such as the Hollister Bike Rally are still drawing really well, said Seth Doulton, president of Horse Power Promotions, the rally’s promoter.
“How it is going to effect the rally, it’s too early to tell,” Doulton said. “Groups of motorcycles usually have trace vehicles that carry their suitcases or tools. You have to pay gas for that.”
But since motorcycles themselves don’t cost a fortune to fill up, riders may still come in large numbers.
“It’s lucky that motorcycles get pretty good fuel economy,” Doulton said. “Everyone who wants to make an event in California, they are going to go to the rally.”
Pre-registration numbers for vendors and participants are even with last year, Doulton said.
Although city officials make money off business licenses and other permits, the real profit will come from T-shirt sales, Doulton said.
Unlike last year, T-shirt sales will be limited to the official rally shirt.
“In the past, there’s been 40 different T-shirts that say Hollister Bike Rally,” Doulton said. “We’re going to try to protect from people just bootlegging shirts in.”
City officials are controlling T-shirt sales this year.
“It’s going to be a learning curve, but hopefully in years to come, that will be the shirt that people want to get,” Doulton said.
Chamber staff will help sell T-shirts at the rally. T-shirts are currently on sale at the Chamber Office at 650 San Benito St.
“They’ve done an excellent job of helping with the logistics and the details of the show,” Doulton said. “It’s actually strengthened the foundation of the rally for this year and future years to come.”
The layout will look familiar to those who have been to the rally before.
“There will be some added bike parking on Fifth Street in front of Whiskey Creek between East and San Benito Streets,” Doulton said. “The food court we’ve moved to the grass.”
Vendors will be located on Monterey Street between Third and Fourth Streets, and on San Benito Street between Fourth Street and South Street, according to the Horse Power Promotions Web site.
Bands will play a hundred hours of music on three stages, Doulton said.
Instead of hiring a high level band to play for two hours, he tried to bring up the level of music during the entire rally.
“We’re really proud of the line up,” Doulton said.
Among others, various tribute bands will play the main stage, including Caravanseri, a Santana tribute band; Journey Unauthorized, a Journey tribute band; and Just Cream, a Cream tribute band.
The High Rollers Stunt Team, a motorcycle stunt team, will perform three shows daily.
Attendees will also have a chance to see more of the county, Doulton said.
“We’re having two rides a day that start at Corbin and go all over the county,” Doulton said. “People are going to be able to see a lot of the area.”
Rides will leave at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
Corbin will hold an open house from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. everyday.
In the future, Doulton wants to hold events around the county.
“It’s not about having 100,000 people in four blocks of downtown Hollister,” Doulton said.
For more information on the Hollister Motorcycle Rally, visit www.horsepowerpromotions.com.
