Sturgis is most famous for its annual motorcycle rally, but today kicks off a rally of a different sort. One where all of the participants ride on four wheels instead of two. This weekend is the fourth annual Sturgis Mustang Rally. Organizers of the event say that it is the largest Ford Mustang rally in the world.

Ford Mustangs from all over the U.S. are already rolling into legendary Sturgis and are revving up for a weekend full of events ranging from poker runs to drag races and live music to swap meets.

While many of the events at the Sturgis Mustang Rally are for registered attendees only, there is a public show & shine event scheduled for this Saturday, September 4. From 10:00 a.m to 4:00 p.m. the cool muscle cars will line Sturgis Main Street – free for the ogling.

And I’m not talking about just a few Mustangs, either. According to the Facebook page for the Sturgis Mustang Rally, there were already more than 250 cars registered by about 3:00 this afternoon. Registration continues on into this evening and goes all day tomorrow too!

There will be literally hundreds of them in the hills this weekend – countless years, colors and special editions will be present, so it should be a really diverse lineup for the public event on Saturday.

Forecasters are saying it will be sunny with temps in the 80’s on Saturday, so grab some sunscreen and a camera and I’ll see you in downtown Sturgis.

Historic Miles City to Deadwood Trail Ride Parade
Friday, September 3rd between 2:30 p.m and 3:30 p.m.
A procession of horse- and mule-drawn wagons will travel down Spearfish Main Street and on out to the High Plains Western Heritage Center for the night. Spearfish will be the final overnight stop for the riders before finishing in Deadwood the following day. This 200-mile, old fashioned trail ride began in Miles City, Montana on August 20 and has been retracing the historic route through Montana, Wyoming and South Dakota.

First Friday Market
Friday, September 3 from 5:00 p.m – 9:00 p.m.
The final First Friday market of the summer will be a great night of entertainment for the whole family. Downtown businesses will be open extended shopping hours. There will also be sidewalk sales, food vendors, kids’ activities, craft booths. Live music on stage by Third Lift. Relaxed open container regulations will be in effect for adults.

10th Annual Dakota Five-O
Sunday, September 5; all-day event
This strenuous mountain bike race starts and ends in Spearfish City Park, with 50 miles of Black Hills climbs, dips and drops in between. The race starts at 7:20 a.m and ends around noon. Lunch and refreshments will be provided for registered riders. The public is invited to Spearfish City Park, mid-afternoon on Sunday, to join in the Dakota Five-O festivities and enjoy live music and a kids bike race at 4:00 p.m. To compete in the Dakota Five-O, you must pre-register online or at Common Grounds coffee shop in Spearfish. For more details, CLICK HERE.

Kool Deadwood Nites, the region’s largest gathering of classic cars, free music and nostalgic fun, takes place in Historic Deadwood this weekend. This year Kool Deadwood Nites will feature free Main Street concerts by The Platters and Sha Na Na, two of the biggest musical acts of the ‘50s and ‘60s.

Kool Deadwood Nites starts Thursday, Aug. 26, with classic car registration from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Deadwood Gulch Convention Center. People’s Choice voting for early car registrants will be from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Deadwood’s History and Information Center Parking Lot, with results of the voting at 9 p.m. The 2nd annual Sock Hop will be from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., also in the History and Information Center Parking Lot.

The Deadwood Rod Run, an escorted tour of Spearfish Canyon, kicks off the Friday, Aug. 27 activities. It runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Meanwhile, car registration for Kool Deadwood Nites continues from noon to 7 p.m. An owners-only barbecue will be held in conjunction with the registration, at the Deadwood Gulch Convention Center.

Friday’s free concerts on Main Street begin at 5 p.m. featuring the Kid & Nic Show and DD & The Fayrohs, followed by Friday’s headliner Sha Na Na. The highly popular ’60s rock ‘n’ roll band released more than 40 albums, including the 40th Anniversary Collector’s Edition in 2009. Their songs were featured in “Grease,” and they starred in it. They played at Woodstock and had a hit television show for four years.

On Saturday, Aug. 28, registration continues from 7 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. A classic car competition will take place, with judging from 8 a.m. to noon at the Days of 76 Rodeo Grounds, across from the First Gold Hotel. Poker runs begin at 10 a.m. and continue until 4 p.m. throughout Deadwood and the Black Hills.

Concerts kick off again at 5 p.m. on Saturday when the Kid & Nic Show and DD & The Fayroh’s perform again. Also on Saturday, The Rat Pack Show will take the stage, followed by The Platters. The Platters had a number of Top 10 hits, including “Only You,” “The Great Pretender,” “Twilight Time,” “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes,” and many more.

On Sunday, Aug. 29, the classic car parade, a crowd favorite, will be held. Cars begin lining up at 7 a.m. at the Days of 76 Rodeo Grounds. The parade starts when all cars are lined up. After the parade, all cars will be on display on Main Street for a show-and-shine. The weekend’s award ceremony will be held at the History and Information Center Parking lot beginning at 11 a.m.

Beginning at noon Friday and running throughout the weekend, a Classic Car Corral will be held at Ferguson Field with many classic cars for sale. The cost is $10 and all vehicles must be 1973 or younger.

The Aug. 30 edition of People magazine has photos of Pee Wee Herman bicycling through Deadwood — with a crowd of onlookers in the background — during the recent Legends Ride.

Pee Wee, if you recall, didn’t actually do the Legends Ride on his Schwinn (customized to look like Peter Fonda’s chopper in “Easy Rider). He wobbled from the Franklin Hotel to Deadwood Dick’s, and jumped into a car for the annual fundraiser put on by the Legendary Buffalo Chip Campground and the Deadwood Chamber of Commerce.

But Pee Wee certainly brought a lot of people to Deadwood. And brought Deadwood to People.

The twin photos were in this edition’s Second Look page — a Photoshop of Horrors feature in which several details in the photo are changed. The reader is supposed to find the changes. (There are 10.)

The Franklin Hotel and Deadwood’s brick-paved streets are clearly visible, although the accompanying copy only mentions the Sturgis Rally.

You might notice that the Black Hills Travel Blog’s Jack Hughes, shooting the event for us, is very visible in both photos. He’s the shooter squatting down just to the right of Pee Wee’s bicycle. (Jack went out this weekend and bought three copies of the magazine.)

It has come and gone – another Sturgis motorcycle rally is in the books. And to me, casual observer-extraordinaire, this year’s rally sure seemed like a good’un.

The crowds were large, the concerts impressive and the weather surprisingly cooperative. One of the most reliable attendance estimates usually comes from the official rally organizers with the City of Sturgis, who are guessing that around 600,000 people attended this year’s 70th annual rally. They use a combination of things to come up with their estimate including: Department of Transportation vehicle counters, number of accidents reported, amount of garbage collected and vendor licenses among others.

Regardless of the actual number of visitors, to me, it was a great event. I must admit – this is only my fourth Sturgis rally – and only my third as an adult. My first memory of the rally is from when I was six years old.

My parents had loaded all four of us kids into the wood-paneled station wagon (yes, really) and taken us on a family road trip ‘Out West’ through Montana, Yellowstone and The Tetons. On our way back, we were going to spend a couple of peaceful days in the Black Hills – and we were all really looking forward to it: Spearfish Canyon, Mount Rushmore, Custer State Park , the whole traditional family trip.

That was until we hit Sundance, Wyoming or so and realized that the annual Sturgis rally was roaring along full-force in the approaching hills.

You see, my parents – bless their hearts – have always been the “drive until we’re tired, see where we end up and hope to find a motel room” sort. And their method usually worked pretty well – except this time around they had overlooked the whole Sturgis rally thing.

On that hot August day, we rolled in to the Black Hills on Tuesday – traditionally the busiest traffic day of the rally. I remember Mom and Dad in the front seat quietly discussing what to do, as us kids peered out the windows – wide eyed and a little scared by the bikes flying by on either side of the station wagon.

I’m not sure which one of the parents made the decision, but next thing we knew we were exiting the interstate and turning INTO the legendary motorcycle destination! Here we were – six Iowans in a brown, two-toned station wagon cruising down Lazelle Street in Sturgis. We stuck out like a sore thumb.

As we slowly made our way through town, mixed in with several hundred thousand bikers, I remember being told to keep the doors locked and the windows up. It was more motorcycles, leather and beards (among other things) than I had ever seen! As a six-year old farm kid, it was a pretty wild sight.

We drove through town and made the loop back out on Junction Avenue to the Interstate. I have no idea what the conversation between our parents was, but I do remember merging onto Interstate-90 and heading directly east toward Iowa. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200.

So much for Mount Rushmore or any of the other attractions we had been so excited to see.

Because of the motorcycle rally, every roadside motel room for the first couple hundred miles east of Sturgis was full. Mom and Dad decided that since we were already that close to home, we might as well go all the way. We ended up driving straight through the night and arrived back home in the wee hours of the morning.

That was my first exposure to the Sturgis rally – and it would be my last for a couple of decades.

Today, as a Black Hills resident and contributor for the travel blog, I have a whole different viewpoint of the rally. Through spending some time at the Sturgis rally hot spots the past few years, I’ve really come to appreciate the event.

Interesting people, positive economic impacts, opportunities for out-of-the-ordinary entertainment and another chance to show off this beautiful area that some of us are lucky enough to call Home.

While not everyone enjoys the motorcycle rally in Sturgis as much as I do, it’s tough to deny what a spectacle of an event it is and what a boon it presents for Black Hills businesses.

Sure, I prefer the solitude of a backwoods Black Hills hike any day – but, as far as the few-day-a-year motorcycle rally is concerned, it’s part of what makes this region so unique. And it’s part of what will continue to draw visitors to the Black Hills for years to come.

A production crew from The Tonight Show with Jay Leno followed him around the hills, and last night, aired a film montage of his time in Deadwood and Sturgis. It’s actually pretty funny to see him interact with bikers of all types. Give it a look below.

TV celebrities Lorenzo Lamas, Rupert from Survivor and Pee-Wee Herman all took part in the Legends Ride, along with several nationally-known custom motorcycle builders and designers. I was able to follow the Legends Ride throughout the day and even got to chat with Rupert for a few minutes. These shots should give you a better feel for what the ride kick-off in Deadwood was like. Enjoy!

A steady stream of motorcycles rolls into Historic Deadwood.

Motorcycles of all shapes and sizes arrived to take part in the Legends Ride.

America’s most beloved reality-TV star, Rupert from Survivor, met with fans and rode in the Legends Ride. (I'm the one without the beard and tie-dye)

Actor and custom motorcycle builder, Lorenzo Lamas, also participated in the Legends Ride.

Legends Ride participants gathered in Deadwood before leaving on a 50-mile charity ride through the Black Hills.

Pee-Wee Herman also participated in the Legends Ride and led more than 300 bikers out of Deadwood on his new, custom-built Schwinn bicycle.

]]> http://blackhillstravelblog.com/legends2010/feed 0 http://blackhillstravelblog.com/sturgis-rally-revs-into-high-gear http://blackhillstravelblog.com/sturgis-rally-revs-into-high-gear#comments Mon, 09 Aug 2010 15:55:53 +0000 Joe http://blackhillstravelblog.com/?p=5803

Today, August 9, is the official start of the Sturgis rally – but by the looks of things around the Black Hills, you’d think it has been going on for days already! And, in a way, it has. Bikers have been rolling into the region for well over a week now.

Yesterday afternoon, I took a walk down Sturgis Main Street and this is what I saw – motorcycles as far as the eye could see. The official rally week, as designated by Sturgis officials, runs August 9-15, but it’s become more and more popular the past several years for folks to come before or after the official week, to try to avoid the peak crowds.

I love the rally and plan to be out and about this week to try to catch some of the events, to ogle the tricked out motorcycles and just to people-watch.

Today – I’m off to follow the Legends Ride – which has some famous faces that will be participating. Rupert, of the reality TV series Survivor, actor and bike builder Lorenzo Lamas and the one and only Pee Wee Herman are all said to be rolling in to downtown Deadwood any minute here. An eclectic group? Yes. But, they should make for an entertaining event – I’ll be sure to share a few photos with you tomorrow.

We’ll probably have several rally-related posts here on the travel blog this week, so stay tuned. If you’re out and about in the Black Hills this week – whether on two wheels or four – have a great time, safe travels and enjoy the great place that we call home!

No weekend plans? Not to fret – I’ve got a great event for you to attend this Sunday night in beautiful Spearfish City Park. A lively, family bluegrass band will be putting on a free show at the Spearfish bandshell.

The Kalisch Family of Lonsdale, Minn., won a free trip to the Black Hills – two trips, actually — and to thank the Black Hills, the Kalisch Family bluegrass band will perform on Sunday, Aug. 1 at 8:00 pm. It will be a free concert with donations accepted to benefit the Spearfish Art Center.

The family’s free vacation is a story in itself. Black Hills Digital Strategies Group, a tourism promotion organization, sponsored an online contest this spring called “Vacation Makeover: Destination Mount Rushmore.”

Participants were asked to post their favorite vacation tales, and readers voted for their favorites. The top four vote-getters each won a free vacation worth up to $4,000.

The Kalischs are a big family – nine people — so mother Sandy Kalisch and daughter Hannah Kalisch entered the contest separately, lobbied fans and won two of the five trips. The Kalisch Family is bringing their musical instruments and their talents along for the free benefit concert in Spearfish City Park.

“We are thrilled to welcome the Kalisch Family to Spearfish,” said Mistie Caldwell, executive director of Visit Spearfish. “We are grateful they are willing to share their musical talents with the locals and visitors during their vacation to the Black Hills.  We are equally excited that they are offering the concert free to the public.”

The Kalisch Family band features Sandy (Mom) on the guitar, Hannah on fiddle and harmony vocals, Sam on bass, Alex on banjo, and Ellason with lead vocals and mandolin. Their high-energy music has won them many contests and is sure to please crowds in Spearfish.

“This is good, old-fashioned family entertainment,” Caldwell said. “I can’t think of a better way to spend a Sunday evening than pulling up a blanket in beautiful Spearfish City Park and listening to quality live music.  We are hoping for a great crowd to welcome them and thank them for their time and talents.”

I’ll see you in the park on Sunday evening!

I’ve noticed that each summer around this time, just about every car dealer in Spearfish – regardless of franchise – finds a way to have at least one sleek, shiny Chevy Corvette prominently for sale on their lot. Just in time for the annual Black Hills Corvette Classic that brings nearly 500 Corvettes rolling into town.

The 39th annual Corvette Classic is this weekend, July 15-17 in and around Spearfish. Last night on my way home, I saw a couple of lone Vettes – the early arrivals – parked around town. They kind of reminded me of those solitary bison bulls you see down in Custer State Park – all alone and waiting for the rest of the herd to come their way. But, I digress.

The majority of the Corvettes will come cruising into town mid to late afternoon tomorrow, July 15. Over the course of the three-day rally, the Corvette enthusiasts will take part in guided driving tours around the Black Hills, drag racing, a poker run throughout the region, wine tasting, concerts and more.

Most of the activities are for registered attendees only, but don’t let that fool you – if you’re in the Black Hills this weekend, you’ll see plenty of Corvettes out and about taking advantage of the scenic, spiraling roads in the region.

The main opportunity for the public to check out the classy cars will be on Friday evening, July 16, in downtown Spearfish. Main Street will be blocked off to general traffic and will literally be transformed into ‘Vette Street USA’ for a few hours. The Corvettes will line the street downtown from 6-9:30 p.m for a public show & shine and people’s choice award contest.

Ever since I was a little kid, I’ve thought Corvettes were pretty cool. If you’re anything like me in that way, Friday night’s downtown event will be like a playground for you – without the climbing and dirt and touching, of course.

It’s going to be a busy weekend in Spearfish with the Corvette Classic going on and the Festival in the Park happening just a few blocks away. Lots of great events, lots of great people – all in one great place!