Name: Laconia Bike Week postponed to August
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Laconia Bike Week postponed to August

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You are the owner of this article.You have permission to edit this article.LACONIA — Bike Week, which along with Memorial Day weekend traditionally marks the start of the summer tourism season in New Hampshire, has been postponed to mid-August over concerns surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.The 97th Progressive Laconia Motorcycle Week, also known as the World’s Oldest Motorcycle Rally, has officially been postponed from June 13-21 to Aug. 22-30, following a unanimous vote Monday night by the Laconia City Council.Charlie St. Clair, executive director of the Laconia Motorcycle Week Association, said canceling the popular event, which annually draws nearly 300,000 riders and motorcycle enthusiasts and millions of dollars in tourism revenue to New Hampshire, was never a serious option.“This is a very large economic boost to the state and people everywhere. There was no thought of canceling at all,” he said. “It’s going to be different and tough for some people to get here, as far as vendors go, but I’ve been on the phone with a lot of them today and they’ll do it. They’re just happy it was postponed, not canceled.”St. Clair said no one is sure how COVID-19, which has killed 60 and sickened more than 1,900 in New Hampshire, will impact the state through the summer months. He admits his association isn’t sure whether they will be able to hold Bike Week come August.“If not, we move it to September,” said St. Clair. “If we have to, we move it to October. We can hold it in the snow if we have to ... motorcyclists are pretty tough.”Hotels and motels in the Granite State are closed, and restaurants are limited to takeout service only, under emergency orders issued by Gov. Chris Sununu. The governor’s stay-at-home advisory expires May 4, though Sununu has indicated he will likely extend it before the end of the week.St. Clair has served as executive director of the Laconia Motorcycle Week Association since 1991. He said the group chose the week of Aug. 22-30 because it doesn’t interfere with other sanctioned motorcycle events, and falls toward the end of the busy summer tourist season in the Lakes Region.He said the timing could interfere with planned vacations for some longtime rally attendees.“We could see the attendance numbers drop a bit,” said St. Clair. “But the truth is, we don’t know what to expect. I’ve already heard from people who are excited about it, who said they’ve never been to New Hampshire that late in the summer and hope the water is warm enough to go swimming. Maybe people will be ready to get out and go somewhere by then.”Laconia Bike Week is the oldest and third-largest motorcycle rally in the nation. The largest such rally is held annually in Sturgis, S.D., in early August.Lake George in New York typically holds a motorcycle event the week before Laconia’s annual rally, but the Empire State’s event has been bumped to July due to coronavirus concerns.Bike Rally attendees head to Laconia from across New England, New York and New Jersey, as well as Quebec and parts of Canada.St. Clair said it’s too early to know how many vendors can take part in a late August rally.“Some may have schedule conflicts,” said St. Clair. “We will just have to wait and see. The good news is we have a date, and all we can do now is focus on that and start to plan for it. If circumstances change, we’ll change with them. There are so many unknowns with this pandemic.”Sorry, there are no recent results for popular videos.© Copyright 2022 , 100 William Loeb Drive Manchester, NH&nbsp;| &nbsp;|Powered by from .Sorry, an error occurred.You are logged in&nbsp;Sign up withThank you .Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.Check your email for details.Sign in withSubmitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the e-mail address listed on your account.×Thank you.Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.Rate:Begins:Ends:Transaction ID:A receipt was sent to your email.This offer is currently unavailable.Close

You are the owner of this article.You have permission to edit this article.LACONIA — Bike Week, which along with Memorial Day weekend traditionally marks the start of the summer tourism season in New Hampshire, has been postponed to mid-August over concerns surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.The 97th Progressive Laconia Motorcycle Week, also known as the World’s Oldest Motorcycle Rally, has officially been postponed from June 13-21 to Aug. 22-30, following a unanimous vote Monday night by the Laconia City Council.Charlie St. Clair, executive director of the Laconia Motorcycle Week...

Laconia Bike Week postponed to August

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