Bikes, Blues and BBQ resumes charitable donations of $48,500 in 2009, plugs spin off Bikes, Babes and Bling festival for women bikers
Banner, News — By Christopher Spencer on November 17, 2009 at 3:58 AM
Festival director Nelson Driver names the 33 charities that received $500 and $3,500 dollars from the charitable bike rally.
By Christopher Spencer
Ozarks Unbound
FAYETTEVILLE -- Bikes, Blues and BBQ, the county’s largest charitable motorcycle rally, made good Monday night on their mission to raise money for local nonprofits.
The amount distributed this year, $48,500 sprinkled over 33 charities, is considerably less than in recent years, but far higher than last year when no money was distributed despite reported growth in festival attendance. The festival also suspended donations in 2003.
This brings the total to $550,000 donated over the past decade to various area charities.
Festival leadership decided in 2008 to forgo giving out donations in order to pay off a substantial loan that has burdened the organization for years. That $100,000 loan was taken out after the 2003 rally when festival revenue was poor, due largely to concerts with lackluster ticket sales. Another $100,000 loan was taken out after the 2007 rally in order to continue donating to charities.
The largest donation year was 2006 when 31 charities split $150,000.
“This has been a tremendous year for the rally. Not only were we able to retire our debt from 2008, we were also able to pay all of this year’s expenses and get back to delivering on our promise of providing funds to local charities,” festival director Nelson Driver said in a press release.
Community reaction toward the festival has been mixed in recent years. Some downtown merchants find the event, which draws between 300,000 and 400,000 people (see clarification below), bad for business. Lisa Sharp, owner of Nightbird Books on Dickson Street decided this year to close her shop during the September festival and do store inventory instead.
One long-time volunteer organization, the Northwest Arkansas Red Cross decided not to participate in 2009 because of the suspended donations. That organization received about $73,000 from the festival in past years and is notably absent from the list of those who received money this year.
**CLARIFICATION: Festival leaders typically report a crowd level of between 300,000 and 400,000 each year. That number is an estimate made through observations. A formula based on trash usage shows the attendance for the rally could be closer to 100,000. An article by Bill Bowden of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette dated Oct. 4 provides more information about how the crowd size is estimated. **
Here’s a list of those who received funding in 2009:
2009 - Bikes Blues and BBQ Charity Donation Recipients
| Organization name | Donation amount |
|---|---|
| Arkansas Visitation and Exchange Center | $500 |
| Arts Live Theatre | $500 |
| Big Brothers & Big Sisters of NWA | $1,500 |
| Big House Youth Outreach | $500 |
| CASA of NWA | $3,000 |
| Circle of Friends - Arkansas Children's Hospital $500 | $500 |
| Elkins High School Lady Elks Softball Team | $500 |
| Fayetteville Band Boosters | $2,500 |
| Fayetteville Boys and Girls Club | $3,500 |
| Faytteville Public Education Foundation | $500 |
| Habitat for Humanity of Washington County | $1,500 |
| Horses for Healing | $1,500 |
| Humane Society of the Ozarks | $500 |
| Jackson Graves Foundation | $3,000 |
| Jones TV | $2,500 |
| Juvenile Diabetes Association | $1,500 |
| Life Source International | $500 |
| Life Styles Inc. | $3,500 |
| Muscular Dystrophy Association | $500 |
| NWA Child Care Resource and Referral Center | $500 |
| NWA Economic Development Center | $1,500 |
| NWA Free Health Center | $1,500 |
| Ozark Military Museum | $500 |
| Pagnozzi Charities | $3,000 |
| Peace at Home Shelter | $3,500 |
| SARPA, NWA Rape Crisis | $500 |
| Seven Hill Homeless Shelter | $500 |
| Sheriff Ralph Baker Memorial Scholarship Fund | $1,500 |
| Single Parent Scholarship Fund | $2,500 |
| Sources for Community Independent Living | $500 |
| Special Olympics | $1,500 |
| The Crisis Center | $500 |
| Youth Bridge | $500 |
And in past years:
2007 - Bikes Blues and BBQ Charity Donation Recipients
| Organization name | Donation amount |
|---|---|
| Donald W. Reynolds Boys and Girls Club | $20,000 |
| Red Cross, Northwest Arkansas Chapter | $20,000 |
| Northwest Arkansas Economic Development District | $7,500 |
| Fayetteville Band Boosters | $5,000 |
| Pagnozzi Charities | $5,000 |
| Peace at Home Family Shelter | $5,000 |
| Walton Arts Center | $5,000 |
| Fayetteville Public Schools Athletic Department | $4,000 |
| Jackson L. Graves Foundation | $4,000 |
| Children’s House | $3,000 |
| Northwest Arkansas Free Health Center | $3,000 |
| Rebuilding Together of Northwest Arkansas | $3,000 |
| Single Parent Scholarship Fund | $2,000 |
| Taylor-Lackey Fund | $1,500 |
| Youth Bridge | $1,000 |
| Sources | $1,000 |
| Seven Hills Homeless Shelter | $1,000 |
| Ralph Baker Memorial Scholarship Fund | $1,000 |
| Ozark Military Museum | $1,000 |
| NWA Association for the Deaf | $1,000 |
| Life Styles | $1,000 |
| Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation | $1,000 |
| Fayetteville Police Department | $1,000 |
| Circle of Friends | $1,000 |
| Arkansas Sheriff’s Youth Ranches | $1,000 |
| Big House Youth Outreach | $500 |
| Elkins Youth Club | $500 |
2006 - Bikes Blues and BBQ Charity Donation Recipients
| Organization name | Donation amount |
|---|---|
| Donald W. Reynolds Boys and Girls Club | $28,500 |
| American Red Cross Northwest Arkansas Chapter | $23,000 |
| Fayetteville Firefighters Association | $16,000 (raised through poker run) |
| Rebuilding Together of Northwest Arkansas | $5,000 |
| Children’s House | $5,000 |
| Northwest Arkansas Economic Development District | $5,000 |
| Fayetteville Band Boosters | $5,000 |
| Circle of Friends of Arkansas Children’s Hospital | $5,000 |
| United Cerebral Palsy | $5,000 |
| Fellowship of Christian Athletes | $5,000 |
| Jackson Graves Foundation | $5,000 |
| Peace at Home Family Shelter | $5,000 |
| Northwest Arkansas Free Health Center | $4,000 |
| Walton Arts Center | $3,500 |
| Fayetteville Public Schools Athletic Department | $2,500 |
| Fayetteville Public Library Foundation | $2,500 |
| Taylor Lackey Foundation | $2,500 |
| Elizabeth Richardson Center | $2,500 |
| Pagnozzi Charities | $2,500 |
| Juvenile Diabetes of Fayetteville | $2,000 |
| Seven Hills Homeless Shelter | $2,000 |
| Sources for Independent Living | $2,000 |
| Life Source International | $2,000 |
| Fayetteville Fraternal Order of Police | $1,500 |
| Fayetteville High School Wrestling Boosters Club | $1,500 |
| Fayetteville Firefighters Association | $1,500 |
| Crisis Center | $1,000 |
| Ozark Military Air Museum | $1,000 |
| Goodtime Cruisers/ Rollin’ Relics | $1,000 |
| Special Olympics of Northwest Arkansas | $1,000 |
| Horses for Healing | $1,000 |
2005 - Bikes Blues and BBQ Charity Donation Recipients
| Donald W. Reynolds Boys & Girls Club | $25,000 |
|---|---|
| American Red Cross Northwest Arkansas Chapter | 20,000 |
| Council on Aging | $10,000 |
| Fayetteville Band Boosters | $10,000 |
| Jackson Graves Foundation | $5,000 |
| Children’s House | $5,000 |
| United Cerebral Palsy Arkansas | $5,000 |
| NWA Free Health Center | $5,000 |
| Battered Women’s Shelter | $3,000 |
| Taylor Lackey Fund | $2,500 |
| Walton Arts Center | $2,500 |
| Seven Hills Homeless Shelter | $2,000 |
| Life Source International | $2,000 |
| Sources for Independent Living | $2,000 |
| Christmas for Kidz | $1,000 |
| Ralph Baker Memorial Scholarship Foundation | $1,000 |
2004 - Bikes Blues and BBQ Charity Donation Recipients
| Organization name | Donation amount |
|---|---|
| Council on Aging | $10,000 |
| American Red Cross Northwest Arkansas Chapter | $10,000 |
| Donald W. Reynolds Boys and Girls Club | $10,000 |
| Fayetteville Children's House | $5,500 |
| Sources for Independent Living | $2,000 |
Bikes, Babes and Bling
A Bikes, Blues and BBQ spin-off festival geared toward women is headed to Fayetteville called Bikes, Babes and Bling. Festival leaders took the opportunity to mention the new festival as donations were announced Monday.
The new festival set for July 15-17 received $20,000 recently from the Fayetteville Advertising and Promotion Commission.
“This is an exciting new endeavor for Bikes, Blues and BBQ. In the past five years, there has been significant growth – approximately 35 percent – in the market of female motorcycle riders, said Allyson Twiggs Dyer, a Bikes, Blues and BBQ board member, in a press release.
“This rally will offer Fayetteville great exposure as a forward-thinking community. We also believe this will provide a significant impact to Fayetteville by bringing visitors into the area that will stay in our hotels and enjoy our restaurants during what would normally be a slow time of the year, event director Coleson Burns said in a press release.
In other words, money.
SIMILAR POSTS
- Bikes, Blues and BBQ adds new board member, third new member this year | Press Release at 12:57 PM on December 15, 2009
- NWAT’s Greg Harton questions distribution of Bikes, Blues and BBQ money | CF at 2:24 PM on November 23, 2009
- Bikes, Blues and BBQ board gets two new members at 6:17 PM on July 9, 2009
- Fayetteville’s A&P gives away $182,850, tables lottery plans at visitors center at 11:33 PM on November 9, 2009
- Fayetteville details traffic flow and police plans for Bikes, Blues and BBQ at 6:09 PM on September 23, 2009
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8 Comments
Chris, can you source the data on that attendance figure?
I’ll go ahead and answer the question: No. Because that figure is bogus. But the perpetrators of this event have successfully brainwashed people around here into thinking it is legit.
As you know, Bruce, there’s been some controversy around the crowd estimate. I think the festival leadership has a formula they use, but their methodology has come under fire repeatedly. I’ve heard numbers as high as 400,000 and as low as 300,000. I’m not sure what the accurate number is and I’d be surprised if anyone really did.
Then… should we be reporting a number as “fact” when there is clearly no basis for it?
You make a good point, Bruce. I added a clarification and a link to a story that Bill Bowden wrote after the most recent festival that explains a formula which could put the attendance at closer to 100,000