OC Council Deliberates On Expanded BikeFest

Ocean City officials are still weighing the pros and cons of expanding BikeFest to cover two weekends in September.

The annual event gathers thousands of motorcyclists and offers performances by well-known musical artists, some of whom have been lined up for 2021. BikeFest would seek a match of $250,000 from the town to cover expenses of a second weekend, and wants a four-year agreement.

“We understand what the ask is, and it’s quite large,” BikeFest promoter Chase Michael told Council members. “But as it is right now it’s merely a fraction of what we spend just in booking the bands, let along the rentals, the land, the lease of the venues, the production, the staging, the sound, the lighting and everything that goes into that.”

One of the proposed second weekends of BikeFest would coincide with the annual motor vehicle pop-up rally, which was especially disruptive this year.

“It’s a manpower-resource issue for me,” Councilman Mark Paddock said. “I love it. I think it’s great. But, there are some liability things that really need to be discussed.”