Eureka Springs Times-Echo The annual Bikes, Blues and BBQ motorcycle rally in Northwest Arkansas was a couple of weeks later in the calendar than usual, which might have benefited tourism in Eureka Springs.
That’s according to Mike Maloney, director of the Eureka Springs City Advertising and Promotion Commission, who said the rally was an “economic win” for the city.
The event, held Wednesday through Saturday, Oct. 1-4, and based in Rogers, was celebrating its 25th anniversary.
“[It] seems from the City’s perspective attendance was strong,” Maloney wrote in an email to the Times-Echo. “That might have been attributed to the change of date from mid-September to October.
“Weather was a huge factor as 3-4 perfect days. Pockets of activity all around Eureka Springs.”
While the numbers of visitors to Eureka Springs and Carroll County aren’t known, Maloney said event-wide attendance estimates across Northwest Arkansas are 150,000 to 200,000.
“What was noticed in Eureka Springs was more overall attendance from families, not necessarily bikers, but weekend visitors,” Maloney said. “Food and beverage sales were strong.”
Specific numbers for lodging and for food and beverage sales won’t be known until November, but the CAPC director anticipates a good outcome.
“The report from Rogers, the host city, was very strong,” Maloney said. “Their lodging occupancy was pushing 90 percent, and downtown retail was excellent.”
ACCIDENTS, BUT NO FATALITIES REPORTED
According to information provided by dispatch supervisor/office manager Tommie Barber of the Eureka Springs Police Department, there were four accidents in the city from Oct. 1-5, with three involving motorcycles.
There were also 17 reports taken by ESPD officers involving Bikes, Blues and BBQ and nine arrests were made involving the rally, according to information provided.
Eureka Springs police chief Billy Floyd was out of town and could not be reached for comment on the rally’s impact on his department.
Outside of city limits, six motorcycle accidents were reported between Oct. 2-5.
The Carroll County Sheriff’s Office assisted with a two-vehicle accident that was handled by ESPD on Highway 62 West near Razorback Gift Shop that included medical helicopter transportation.
Also on Oct. 2, CCSO responded to a medical call involving a motorcycle that had fallen over, along with a two-vehicle accident on Highway 62 near Angler’s Nest, which involved two airlifted individuals.
CCSO worked a one-vehicle accident on Highway 62 near the Bluebird lodge, which involved an ambulance transport, on Oct. 4, according to information provided.
Another one-vehicle accident on Highway 62 near Lake Leatherwood included an airlift transport, on Oct. 5, while a two-vehicle accident on Highway 62 near Pony Express didn’t require a trip to the hospital.
Carroll County Sheriff Daniel Klatt said he felt the number of accidents and responses was about normal for a high-traffic weekend in the county.
“I think it was about average,” he said. “… I think that was a pretty average weekend. During these big weekends, we tend to have more wrecks obviously because there’s more traffic, but this year we didn’t have any fatalities, which is good, that I’m aware of.”
Klatt said overall he felt it was a good weekend, especially since his department experienced some computer issues that affected its phone system.
“I will say that in talking with dispatch, we had some phone issues over the weekend and one of our servers went down, so we were really concerned about that, but they said overall, it really wasn’t too terrible at all,” he said. “So, I think we had a, for lack of a better term, good weekend.”
