Movement to salvage Hollister's biker rally
Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2006 4:37 am
Movement to salvage Hollister's biker rally
City Council votes 3-2 to cancel event
By BRANDON BAILEY - San Jose Mercury News - montereyherald.com
The town of Hollister has pulled the plug on its annual motorcycle rally -- a much ballyhooed event that capitalized on the allure of the outlaw biker to double the town's population every July 4 weekend.
Officials cited increased costs and worries about rival gangs when the City Council voted 3-2 to cancel this year's Hollister Independence Rally.
But various promoters are still hoping to salvage the event -- for this year or 2007. And a lot of people in town seem convinced the bikers might still show up this summer, uninvited.
''I don't know what the City Council's thinking,'' said Charisse Tyson, co-owner of Johnny's Bar & Grill. ''I can guarantee 30 or 40 thousand bikers are still going to come anyway.''
Though she may be exaggerating, Tyson has some basis on which to speak. Johnny's has been in business since 1946, the year before several thousand bikers roared into the rural San Benito County town for a rally that came to be celebrated in news reports and the Marlon Brando film ''The Wild One,'' as an invasion of beer-swilling, leather-clad barbarians.
Although modern accounts suggest the reports of chaos were mostly overblown, the city decided to have fun with the notoriety and officially sanction the event when some locals sought to organize a 50th anniversary rally in 1997.
Since then, Hollister residents acknowledged Thursday, there have always been two sides to their flirtation with the biker crowd:
The rally has drawn more than 35,000 people each day of the July 4 weekend -- most of them peaceful and many of them eager to spend money on everything from beer and tattoos to disposable cameras and bottled water. Sponsors say they have pumped millions into the local economy and helped local charities raise money for good works.
But even simple crowd control has become more expensive, city manager Clint Quilter said. The town got stuck with a $250,000 law enforcement tab last year after the rally's nonprofit organizers were unable to pay it back.
Spokesmen for the previous organizers couldn't be reached for comment Thursday. But while city officials said the group dissolved in fall, several new entities have formed and submitted plans to operate the rally as a for-profit event. A skeptical city council rejected those bids as inadequate or incomplete, before voting Feb. 6 to prohibit any rally this year.
That hasn't stopped a Florida promoter, Biker Design of Daytona Beach, from circulating a new proposal and taking out advertisements in at least one local newspaper. Vice Mayor Brad Pike, who voted against canceling the rally, said he would meet with representatives to see if there was any chance of salvaging the event.
''Some people in the community have absolutely no desire to have the disruptions of bringing so many people into town,'' conceded Pike, a firefighter by profession who said he hasn't ridden a motorcycle since he was in college.
But along with the revenue, he added, ''it's an event that provides some excitement. And the biker image just has some personality to it.''
Many in town admitted to mixed feelings:
''A lot of people think it's fun,'' said downtown resident Elizabeth Gage, who worked on the event in its early years. But she added, ''now that the novelty has worn off, it's kind of a pain. It's noisy and you have to take detours to get out of town.''
Some accused city officials of hidden motives.
''There's been an agenda against the motorcyclists out there for a long time,'' complained Ray Tole, a 55-year-old mechanic and lifelong motorcycle rider. Arguing that fears of gang violence are exaggerated, he demanded: ''Do they cancel the Super Bowl? Do they stop Mardi Gras?''
Since its re-inception in 1997, the annual event has become one of the biggest motorcycle rallies in the West and a fixture on Web sites and calendars for motorcycle enthusiasts, repair shops and clubs nationwide.
That's why many people believe some bikers will show up despite the city's decision.
City officials said they are making plans for that contingency, including the possibility of deploying extra cops that weekend. The city manager said he issued a press release this week because he wants bikers to know the event is off.
Fat chance, said Letty Radman, manager of the Cinderella Motel, whose rooms are filled every July 4 weekend with motorcycle riders from all over the West.
''Rally or no rally,'' she predicted, ''the bikers are still coming.''
City Council votes 3-2 to cancel event
By BRANDON BAILEY - San Jose Mercury News - montereyherald.com
The town of Hollister has pulled the plug on its annual motorcycle rally -- a much ballyhooed event that capitalized on the allure of the outlaw biker to double the town's population every July 4 weekend.
Officials cited increased costs and worries about rival gangs when the City Council voted 3-2 to cancel this year's Hollister Independence Rally.
But various promoters are still hoping to salvage the event -- for this year or 2007. And a lot of people in town seem convinced the bikers might still show up this summer, uninvited.
''I don't know what the City Council's thinking,'' said Charisse Tyson, co-owner of Johnny's Bar & Grill. ''I can guarantee 30 or 40 thousand bikers are still going to come anyway.''
Though she may be exaggerating, Tyson has some basis on which to speak. Johnny's has been in business since 1946, the year before several thousand bikers roared into the rural San Benito County town for a rally that came to be celebrated in news reports and the Marlon Brando film ''The Wild One,'' as an invasion of beer-swilling, leather-clad barbarians.
Although modern accounts suggest the reports of chaos were mostly overblown, the city decided to have fun with the notoriety and officially sanction the event when some locals sought to organize a 50th anniversary rally in 1997.
Since then, Hollister residents acknowledged Thursday, there have always been two sides to their flirtation with the biker crowd:
The rally has drawn more than 35,000 people each day of the July 4 weekend -- most of them peaceful and many of them eager to spend money on everything from beer and tattoos to disposable cameras and bottled water. Sponsors say they have pumped millions into the local economy and helped local charities raise money for good works.
But even simple crowd control has become more expensive, city manager Clint Quilter said. The town got stuck with a $250,000 law enforcement tab last year after the rally's nonprofit organizers were unable to pay it back.
Spokesmen for the previous organizers couldn't be reached for comment Thursday. But while city officials said the group dissolved in fall, several new entities have formed and submitted plans to operate the rally as a for-profit event. A skeptical city council rejected those bids as inadequate or incomplete, before voting Feb. 6 to prohibit any rally this year.
That hasn't stopped a Florida promoter, Biker Design of Daytona Beach, from circulating a new proposal and taking out advertisements in at least one local newspaper. Vice Mayor Brad Pike, who voted against canceling the rally, said he would meet with representatives to see if there was any chance of salvaging the event.
''Some people in the community have absolutely no desire to have the disruptions of bringing so many people into town,'' conceded Pike, a firefighter by profession who said he hasn't ridden a motorcycle since he was in college.
But along with the revenue, he added, ''it's an event that provides some excitement. And the biker image just has some personality to it.''
Many in town admitted to mixed feelings:
''A lot of people think it's fun,'' said downtown resident Elizabeth Gage, who worked on the event in its early years. But she added, ''now that the novelty has worn off, it's kind of a pain. It's noisy and you have to take detours to get out of town.''
Some accused city officials of hidden motives.
''There's been an agenda against the motorcyclists out there for a long time,'' complained Ray Tole, a 55-year-old mechanic and lifelong motorcycle rider. Arguing that fears of gang violence are exaggerated, he demanded: ''Do they cancel the Super Bowl? Do they stop Mardi Gras?''
Since its re-inception in 1997, the annual event has become one of the biggest motorcycle rallies in the West and a fixture on Web sites and calendars for motorcycle enthusiasts, repair shops and clubs nationwide.
That's why many people believe some bikers will show up despite the city's decision.
City officials said they are making plans for that contingency, including the possibility of deploying extra cops that weekend. The city manager said he issued a press release this week because he wants bikers to know the event is off.
Fat chance, said Letty Radman, manager of the Cinderella Motel, whose rooms are filled every July 4 weekend with motorcycle riders from all over the West.
''Rally or no rally,'' she predicted, ''the bikers are still coming.''