Weekend to have the 2011 Midwest Mtn Bike Festival

[Bexter]

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.

[ew_perry]

I was thinking that Fathers Day weekend could be good. It is in the right time frame, and easy to say/remember, gives people a good reference point.

I also thought having it Air Show weekend would be great. Might push people to come if they and/or non cycling family could see one of the worlds best air shows! However I learned the airshow changes weekends from year to year.

We should keep in mind other things going on in the QC. Not because we will be competing against them but they could compliment our event.

Eric

[Chuck Norris]

I agree. Bringing people in for more than one venue can definitely work to our advantage! This gives them a value-packed weekend for the same price.

The biggest factor in piggybacking our event with any other, like the air show, is lodging. Father's day is no sweat, since it's local. The air show, however, does bring in people from outside the area and will limit the number of hotel rooms, etc., available for our event attendees.

So, whichever event we choose to piggyback with, we'll need to make sure there's enough of everything to go around.

Another one that may work, since people might be more inclined to travel/take a day off, is July 4th weekend. It is on a Monday in 2011.