As we discussed at our membership meeting last night, we are amidst initial planning stages for the 2011 Midwest Mtn Bike Festival which will be hosted by our club at Sco Co Pa. Selecting the date is the first step and now is the time to begin considering when to have our Fest so we can get pavilions reserved, get our dates to bike and gear companies, etc.

Because Sco Co Pa trails generally takes a while longer in the Spring to dry out (as compared to Sylvan and Sunderbruch), the pool not opening until Memorial Day weekend, and due to lots of rain in May, there was some consensus that a June Fest would be good. But, that is what this thread is about... discussing the pros and cons of various dates.

Someone suggested a Fall fest. Limited rain, decent weather. Others said that the earlier in the season, the more apt bike manufacturers would be part of the midway because thy want to sell their new product lines. And, by Fall, lots of people have gotten camping out of there systems and are "camped out."

We asked the Michigan Summit folks to put a poll on their site asking people to vote on a preferred date. With 14 impressive votes, here's how it ratcheted down:

Early June - 14 votes
Memorial Day Weekend - 2 votes
Mid May - 5 votes
Early may - 1 vote

Memorial Day weekend seems out since Sco Co Pa is always full with campers that weekend.

My vote is the second weekend in June, 2011. A few weeks after Memorial Day weekend, not too hot weather yet, before a lot of people start vacationing.

We will be discussing dates for our 2011 Fest at our July meeting.