Hogs will go to the dogs if the Summer Stomp committee is successful at making Sicamous their new home.
Sicamous council has directed district staff to begin the process of looking at the legalities and necessary arrangements (such as land use options for campsites, security and policing) to accommodate the motorcycle rally. This is based on the 2013 Summer Stomp motorcycle rally being held at the municipal dog park, just off Sicamous-Solsqua Road.
Mayor Darrell Trouton says a decision on whether or not to approve the event won’t be made until after a staff report is received.
The Stomp Committee, however, has already announced they have “a great new location” for the event, to be held July 18 to 21.
“The site has been talked about with council’s unanimous support… I don’t think we’re jumping the gun,” says Hammer. “We don’t have an event. But the ball is in our court to screw it up. If the event doesn’t go forward, it’s because of something our committee did; not because of not having a location.”
Hammer told council during a presentation last week that the Stomp committee is committed to Sicamous. He said the organization is already working with the local chamber to run the event in synch with the Sicamous Burnout event. Hammer assured the Stomp is not looking to take over the burnout, but to help turn a one-day event into a weekend event. This would include vendors and activities downtown from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, with the Stomp’s music festival running at the dog park from 8 p.m. to the “wee hours of the morning.” To do this, the Stomp will be asking for noise bylaw extensions.
The Stomp expects Sicamous could see upwards of 2,000 riders for this year’s event. And Hammer says the average rider will spend about a thousand bucks to attend, with a large portion of that being spent at local businesses and on accommodation.
“I think it would be a great partnership,” says Hammer, adding the Stomp is looking at Sicamous in 2013 as a one-year trial. “But our goal is to have this event move to Sicamous on a permanent basis. And of course, the charitable donations would come into the community of Sicamous. That’s just natural.”
Coun. Fred Busch asked why the event isn’t back in Silver Creek, where it was held for 16 years. Hammer said this stems from an agreement with the Columbia Shuswap Regional District to shut the music down at midnight last year – an agreement the Stomp couldn’t live up to.
“We said yes, we’ll sign off on the agreement,” said Hammer. “Midnight rolls around, and there’s no way we can shut the music down and send everybody out on the roads, out on Silver Creek, to try and make last call….”