GET YOUR MOTOR RUNNIN’….
They come every year during the last weekend of April. Bikers of all ages, sexes, ethnicity and wardrobes arrive ready to shop, eat (and drink), mingle and rev their engines.
This year’s 14th Annual Leesburg Bikefest didn’t seem to show much of the financial uncertainty our country has endured the past couple of years, especially with crowd totals nearing about 250,000 in three days. There were also more vendors this year as well as new events to attend this year (such as the Tattoo Expo where you could see and get tattoos).
I experienced a little of Bikefest on its opening day on Friday while doing The LAKE Magazine Hour on location (outside) behind an woman’s apparel vendor from South Daytona (who were also nice enough to broadcast our show insider their vendor tent).
Having the roar of the motorcycles in the background as I interviewed recognized names in Bikefest was definitely a treat and a sound effect that you definitely couldn’t duplicate.
My four guests for the show were Leesburg Partnership’s (and Leesburg Center for the Arts) Amy Griffin, Leesburg Sunset Rotary Club’s Jerry Galbreath, Lori Farfaglia and Terry Beebe. Each had or were performing different jobs for Bikefest and had been a part of the event for years.
Talking to each of them was enjoyable and educational as I learned more about Bikefest than I knew before as well as heard some facts about the services available and what all there was to do at the annual event.
What struck me most about the conversation with each guest was how happy they were to see the event come around and how impressed they were of the growth in popularity of their “little” event. Bikefest, according to Amy Griffin, has become the biggest three-day motorcycle festival in the Southeast (if not the country).
Everyone appreciates the motorcyclists that come to the event each year and the money they bring that helps to provide and pay for the other great events Leesburghas for locals and visitors year-round. Each guest talked about different tricks of the trade with their jobs for Bikefest but mostly conveyed how nice bikers were and how everyone was there to have a good time.
A far cry from what you hear every year (it seems that way sometimes) when Bike Week begins and ends in Daytona, from biker deaths to fights to damaged property. Townspeople hate to see the event happen, though it brings money into the struggling city, and police are always on guard for what mayhem might ensue.
As I broadcasted on a side street next to the main drag of Bikefest, I see now the great strides Bikefest has made to become more than a community event. It has become an event people everywhere can come to where reality can be set aside for the weekend and everyone is there making new friends and enjoy the time in the name of motorcycles!
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