The Hollister Freedom Rally’s new Las Vegas-based promoter estimated 40,000 to 45,000 people descended on the city nicknamed “the Birthplace of the American biker” this weekend to celebrate motorcycles with music and revving engines.
Those numbers were higher than the other large biker event the Las Vegas-based company, ConvExx, has promoted but smaller than attendance counts from former Hollister rallies.
“Things went great,” said Chuck Schwartz, the rally promoter. “We had no major incidents. We had no issues with the gangs. We think people had a great time and we enjoyed being out on the streets with them.”
Schwartz estimated the weekend totals this year were 40,000 to 45,000 as he stood beside a packed car outside the Veterans Memorial Building on Monday morning and prepared to leave town. Last year’s promoter estimated attendance topping 100,000.
“We don’t have a precise formula,” Schwartz said, adding that the event was larger than the Las Vegas BikeFest that the company has promoted, which draws crowds of about 35,000 people.
The Ms. Hollister competition drew a crowd of about 500. The photo tower drew at least 600 paid customers and probably closer to 1,000 users including the VIP badge holders. And the headliner band entertainment drew crowds of about 500 the first evening and about 700 the second one, Schwartz said.
“The only surprise is, we had a tattoo contest and the only people that were excited about it were the contestants,” the promoter said.
Just one person showed up to participate in the contest scheduled for the first day of the rally, added Promoter Mindi Cherry, the vice president of ConvExx. The contest was postponed to Saturday and then finally canceled, she said.
Schwartz is already thinking of changes he would like to make if his company has the chance to run the rally a second time.
“I’ve got a list of about 300 things,” he said.
High on that list was a new layout for the beer gardens, more stages for music, finding ways to move bikes more efficiently down Fourth and South streets, and seeing “how we can get people to stay longer,” Schwartz said.
During the rally, some vendors complained closing earlier meant a loss in revenue.
“We closed the rally at eight o’clock and they didn’t like that,” said Schwartz, who added that the event formerly closed at 9 p.m. and the rally would likely go back to that tradition.
Everyone in the police department, the city, and the company’s partner, the Hollister Downtown Association, was “great,” the promoter said.
