Compromise could set biker rally straight
As with many things, there are wrong ways and right ways to do a
festival.
Compromise could set biker rally straight
As with many things, there are wrong ways and right ways to do a festival.
The Wrong way: Woodstock ’99
Thousands passed out from heat exhaustion, fires ensued and injuries plagued the alternative rock fest ode to the summer of love.
The Right way: The Gilroy Garlic Festival
Who doesn’t like garlicky food? But more than that, the festival has entrances and exits that allow for crowd control, thousands of volunteers eliminate cost for the city and it raises money for local charities each year.
Hollister has a chance to do the 2007 biker rally the right way or the wrong way – and the rally committee needs to start planning now for the right way.
For the last few years the Hollister Biker Rally has been done the wrong way. It has cost the city tons of money and Hollister has no money to spare this year as essential programs are on the chopping block. The city can’t afford to cover the difference this year.
But last year’s attempt to quash the rally didn’t work, either. Bikers showed up from as far away as Europe, confused at the law enforcement officers on every corner. It left biker fans and some locals feeling betrayed – and it still cost the city money for all the out-of-town officers.
The best solution for the rally is a compromise. The way for the rally committee to turn the July event from a drain to an asset is to find a location where the crowd can be controlled and admission can be charged.
The Hollister Airport or Bolado Park are the two obvious choices as large, fenced off areas that could easily support a biker festival.
Borrowing a page from the Gilroy Garlic Festival playbook, a fenced-off rally would allow local charities to set up food and drink booths to raise money. With more money going to charities, locals would surely volunteer time to put on an event that would help the community.
For-profit vendors could pay a fee to set up shop at the event, too, so those who regularly benefit from the fans downtown could still get a share of the funds.
The rally has long been a divisive point for the community, but if done the right way it could raise thousands of dollars for local charities and offer some summer fun for biker fans near and far.
