Moncton/Shediac Motorcycle Festival

Moncton could still have motorcycle festival
Published Saturday February 13th, 2010
Organizers of the Shediac Motorcycle Rally hope to expand into an annual regional festival
ALAN COCHRANE
As the popular Atlanticade Motorcycle Festival leaves Moncton for St. Andrews, organizers of the annual Shediac Motorcycle Rally are gearing up to expand their event to regional status and would definitely consider staging some of their events in Moncton.

LeBlanc gives a 2010 Truimph Crusier a final rubdown yesterday at the 3rd Annual Atlantic Motorcycle and ATV Show at the Moncton Coliseum. But it would take a hard-working group of volunteers to put organize events in Moncton and so far no one has stepped forward to pick up the torch.

"We want to be able to do events that will encompass not just Shediac but the whole region, so we could have special runs to Moncton or other communities. If there is somebody out there who would like to work an event into the weekend, we'd love to do something like that," Gary Aucoin, a spokesman for the 2010 Shediac Motorcycle Rally's organizing group, said yesterday.

The Shediac event is one of several motorcycle festivals in Atlantic Canada with booths at the Atlantic Motorcycle and ATV Show at the Moncton Coliseum this weekend.

Organizers of the Shediac Motorcycle Rally, in its seventh year in 2010, are excited because Harley-Davidson has agreed to bring a trailer full of demonstration bikes. The Shediac event, set for Aug. 26-28, will also include a downtown street party, biker breakfast, dealer displays, burnout competition and other events that were part of the Atlanticade schedule over the last three years.

Organizers of the Shediac Motorcycle Rally, in its seventh year in 2010, are excited because Harley-Davidson has agreed to bring a trailer full of demonstration bikes. The Shediac event, set for Aug. 26-28, will also include a downtown street party, biker breakfast, dealer displays, burnout competition and other events that were part of the Atlanticade schedule over the last three years.

Aucoin said Shediac Motorcycle Rally has raised over $60,000 for charity. The event is now incorporated and moving forward with expansion plans. It is overseen by a volunteer board of directors who want to work with others to promote motorcycling as a safe and secure form of recreation and tourism.

"I think we have to be able to work around the whole region and make it work because if we have a rally it should be for the whole region."

Aucoin said many of the riders coming to Shediac will likely be patronizing hotels, malls and the casino in Moncton anyway, so it would make sense to incorporate some events in the city.

"We're hoping to work with as many people as we can to make this grow but I think it would be a great asset to include Moncton."

The Atlanticade motorcycle festival drew thousands of motorcyclists from across Canada into Moncton for several days. The festival included guided touring rides of the rural country roads in southeastern New Brunswick, social events, a parade, trade show and a downtown street party. One of the most popular Atlanticade events for local people was the downtown show and shine, where Main Street was closed off to create a big showcase of motorcycles. Each year, thousands of people made the trip downtown to see the bikes in the same way they make the pilgrimage to see the custom cars during the Atlantic Nationals car show. Events like these are organized by volunteer groups but depend heavily on corporate sponsorships and municipal support for cash and other resources.

Ian Fowler -- Moncton's general manager of Recreation, Parks, Tourism, and Culture -- said last year the city would be open to ideas from organizers of another motorcycle festival. But the city doesn't want to support events that are essentially the same as those held in other parts of the province. He could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Moncton already has a comedy festival, wine festival, seafood festival, hot rod festival and other big events which draw tourists who spend money at local hotels, restaurants, gas stations, retailers and other attractions. Moncton's new casino is expected to be open by this summer.

Organizers of Atlanticade said it was a tough decision to leave Moncton, but they couldn't come to an agreement with the city on sponsorship arrangements.

As Moncton loses its festival, other communities are expanding theirs to draw on the increasing number of motorcycle-riding baby-boomers who are looking for new destinations and adventure in their years after the kids have left the nest. In Charlottetown, organizers of the first Red Island Run Motorcycle Rally are hoping for up to 1,000 motorcycles to visit P.E.I. in late August and spend about $1.5 million. In the small town of Digby, N.S., the annual Wharf Rat Rally (Sept. 1-6 this year) drew an estimated 20,000 bikers and 80,000 people. Its popularity has made it the envy of other motorcycle festivals in Atlantic Canada.

Peter Robertson, executive-director and co-founder of the Wharf Rat Rally, said the festival puts on a full slate of events without charging participants any registration fee (Atlanticade charges $50 per person), relying mainly on corporate and government sponsorships. In return, the festival generates about $5.5 million into the small Nova Scotia town and the surrounding areas.

Robertson, who has a booth at the Moncton motorcycle show this weekend, said it takes a dedicated team of volunteers and community support to make any festival a success.

"You've got to have the heart for it. Your organizers have to have passion. I put 24/7 into this because I'm a biker and it's my passion. Some of the people who organize events are just in it for the bucks and you can't be in it just for the bucks. The bucks will come but you've got to grow it organically."

Glenn McLaughlin of Moncton, district manager for Motovan Corp., a distributor of motorcycle parts and accessories, says motorcycle festivals are better suited for smaller communities because bigger centres like Moncton already have many events going on through the summer months.

"Atlanticade had a great turnout in Moncton but a motorcycle festival is about getting on your bike and riding, it's all about the destination."

Dave Sawyer, sales co-ordinator for Atlantic Motoplex in Dieppe, said he'd like to see another festival like Atlanticade in Moncton because it brings the bikers into the city, generates economic spinoffs and helps the motorcycle community to make a connection with people who don't know that much about the sport.

"Personally, I think Atlanticade should come back to Moncton and if it doesn't there should be some other event in Moncton," Sawyer said. "I work at all the trade shows and events and there should be something here. We do the Digby show every show and it is awesome, there's no reason why we shouldn't have one in Moncton. It's good for the community and businesses and it shows people that not all bikers are outlaws."

Harold Nesbitt of Waverly, N.S., who publishes a Motorcycle Tour Guide of Nova Scotia, says motorcycle riders from all over North America want to come to Atlantic Canada to experience our laid-back atmosphere, beautiful scenery and rural roads.

Nesbitt, who has listings of over 88 motorcycle events in his Nova Scotia guide, says Moncton is a "hustle-bustle town" that perhaps had too many other events on its plate to really understand or care about what a motorcyle festival would bring to the city, and perhaps in time will want to put more resources into another one.