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Sturgis Rally To Offer Eclectic Blend Of EntertainmentFrom: ArgusLeader.com Posted: August 4, 2008 A Sturgis rally expected to be smaller than recent years still will be an interesting cultural crossroads when KISS, Kid Rock and Sen. John McCain all are in town at the same time. "The single biggest thing people ask me about is Senator McCain," says Rod Woodruff, founder of the Buffalo Chip Campground where the presumed Republican presidential nominee will take part in a ceremony to honor military veterans Monday. McCain will find himself the opening act for Kellie Pickler, who will perform when the veterans tribute concludes, and for the evening's headliner, Kid Rock. Sturgis Mayor Maury LaRue sends his apologies for not being able to hobnob with his fellow public servant. "I've got to make a presentation on behalf of the governor at the KISS concert across the road" at Glencoe Camp Resort's Rock'n the Rally. "I'll be talking to GENE SIMMONS," the mayor says. Where else but Sturgis? The 68th annual carnival of horsepower, leather, music, celebrity, tattoos and lost youth officially begins Monday and runs until Aug. 10. But as in recent years, motorcycle enthusiasts have gotten out of the blocks early to avoid rally crowds that have been annually estimated between 400,000 and more than 500,000 since the 60th anniversary rally in 2000. "We already have a rally," Meade County Sheriff Ron Medwin reports. Woodruff at the Buffalo Chip and Gary Lippold at Glencoe say their campgrounds are filling rapidly. Michele Loobey-Gertsch, Sturgis Chamber of Commerce executive director, says "the streets have been lined with bikes for weeks," and Char Roth at J&L Harley-Davidson in Sioux Falls says in the past few days, "We have had really good traffic" passing through Sioux Falls and headed west. Foreign rallygoers A weak dollar might be behind one trend shaping up at this year's rally. Pepper Massey, the city of Sturgis rally director, says film crews from Switzerland, France, South Korea and Japan all are planning to make rally movies this year. A group of 60 Australians is expected to attend, says Massey, and Woodruff has a group of 200 coming from New Zealand. Lippold, looking at attendance from other big motorcycle rallies this year, predicts a dropoff in Sturgis attendance by as much as 30 percent. Other longtime rally watchers such as Medwin and Sturgis Police Chief Jim Bush have gut feelings rally attendance might be off 15 to 20 percent. But Woodruff says the Buffalo Chip could have its busiest year since it opened in 1982. "Our reservations are up substantially, and the number showing up without reservations is up substantially, as well," he said. One new feature: the opportunity to wreak simulated havoc with automatic weapons within the safe confines of the Buffalo Chip's firing range. "I just went over there myself for the first time, took a look at the machine guns and shot a machine gun used in World War I by American troops," Woodruff says. "I've got to tell you, I've been around guns my whole life but never around machine guns. To be on the wrong end when they are shooting at each other with that kind of equipment is really sobering." McCain's visit McCain is probably not going to crank off a burst, campaign spokesman Tom Steward says. The rally offers ample opportunity to engage in riotous behavior a presidential candidate probably would not like to be photographed enjoying, so McCain is not likely to get a tattoo - "I think those days are behind him" - or twist the throttle on a Hog. Woodruff and Steward said Sturgis has been on McCain's schedule for four months. "It's one of those places you have to get to at some point. It's one of the most American events," Steward said. Indeed, as details of McCain's appearance were hammered out, Woodruff found he was dealing with kindred souls. "Some of the Secret Service agents are bikers and have come to the Chip over the years," he said. "One of the agents yesterday told me he rode his Harley out in 1996, 2002 and 2004. He heard McCain was going to be here, and he immediately volunteered to be on staff for this event." The runup to the rally is proceeding smoothly. With a wet spring and summer, the Black Hills have never looked better, according to Lippold. "It's just green and beautiful. I've never seen it like this in August." The bright side If the rally is smaller this year "for the bikers, it's not going to take an hour to get into town. The hills aren't as crowded, and you don't stand in line at every restaurant. There's an upside," Lippold figures. Both Medwin and Bush say when rally numbers are down, law enforcement is easier because officers can get around more readily. "Sixty to 70 percent of the citations we write are parking citations. We do not hassle people unless they park where they should not," LaRue, the mayor, says. When rally participants run off the rails and get picked up for less than serious crimes, Sturgis is set to dispense high-speed justice. "During this week, we bond everybody," Bush says. "Even if it's a low-grade misdemeanor, you have to post a cash bond to walk away. The next morning, if you do not show up to court, the bond is presented in lieu of that fine." Many say the Sturgis rally is an escape from mundane life. "The people that ride motorcycles are a cross-section of America," Massey says. "They have mortgages. They have jobs they are worried about. They have to commute to work" burning high-priced gasoline. "They are affected by the same things everybody is - but they still need their holidays." |
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