There’s a Way There – 3rd Annual Kentuckiana Motorcycle Showdown
Despite the downtown mess caused by the Executive Inn’s demolition, the
Kentuckiana Motorcycle Showdown returns for its third year at the Centre on
January 30 and 31. The convention hall looks to host a weekend of bikes, music,
and food as the event looks to utilize all 40,000 square feet of available
space.
A lot of the hubbub
over this year’s convention comes as a result of the Executive Inn’s closure. With
the convenience of the downtown hotel gone this year, motorcyclists will have
to stay at other hotels. Not a problem, claims motorcycle blog Owensboro Biker
News.
“Several alternative room accommodations have been offered to provide
vendors and overnight show participants excellent lodging at attractive rates,”
their website reads.
More importantly, this year’s show touts an impressive lineup of
additions, including a reception on Friday evening for vendors and other
participants, featuring hors d’oeurves and a cash bar. A greater advertising
and media presence is expected this year as well. Perhaps the most exciting
addition comes in the form of a “motorcycle giveaway” during the show’s closing
on Sunday.
“Some lucky patron will ride away the winner,” says Barney Lain, one of
the event organizers.
Along with these additions, the usual show attractions will still be
there. Saturday afternoon features prize drawings and other announcements, as
well as interviews with bike builders and other notable personalities
throughout the day. Tattoo judging commences at 1:00 p.m. with prizes for that
awarded at 3:30 p.m.
Sunday’s line-up of events includes another day of tattoo judging as
well as the annual Bike Show awards, when the voting closes at 4:00 p.m. so the
awards can be presented an hour later. At 5:15 p.m., the motorcycle giveaway
winner will be announced before the show closes at 5:30 p.m.
With all the events, prizes, and contests slated this year, one would
think the admission price to be completely ridiculous—not so. Lain says,
“Admission prices are unchanged…Adults, $12. 12 years and under are free.”
The 411 on SMG511
SMG—you know, the
organization responsible for all the concerts Evansville enjoys at Roberts
Stadium, Mesker Park Amphitheatre, the Centre, and the Victory—have a new
service available in the area. SMG511, which takes its name from a combination
of SMG and Owensboro-based Agent 511, allows users to receive concert
information directly in the palm of their hands.
Of course, with the
advent of broadband technology on phones, the question about this service isn’t
“How do I sign up?” but “Why?” Internet access on your iPhone or BlackBerry
makes navigating to websites just as easy, one would assume. SMG is prepared
for that very question; customers who sign up for SMG511 will gain access to
exclusive presales not offered to anyone else.
Of course, while
signing up for SMG511 is free, standard text message rates do apply. In order
to sign up, all that’s needed is a quick trip to www.smgevansville.com, where
customers can pick and choose which events or announcements they want sent to
them. It took me about five minutes to sign up—one caveat, however. The SMG web
site didn’t seem to want to play nice with Mozilla Firefox, so you may need to
switch over to Internet Explorer if you don’t normally use it. That issue
aside, things seemed to work great for me.
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PHOTO CREDIT | OWENSBOROBIKERNEWS.COM
