FORT SMITH -- This May will mark 10 years since the first Steel Horse Rally and organizers will premiere a brand new event in collaboration with the U.S. Marshals Museum.
Founded in 2014, the Steel Horse Rally will be turning 10 years old this year; however, the 2024 edition is only the ninth annual event because the 2020 rally was canceled due to the covid-19 pandemic. For next year's 10th annual rally, event founder and President Dennis Snow said organizers plan to celebrate in a "grand old fashion."
Attendance for the event grows every year. The rally first recorded attendance in 2015 and noted around 10,000 people; more than 210,000 attended last year's rally, according to Steel Horse Rally Inc. records.
"This has turned into more than a motorcycle rally; this is now a big event in downtown Fort Smith, and you don't have to ride to enjoy the sights, sounds -- and smells -- of the Steel Horse Rally," Snow said.
The new event -- Bikes and Badges -- will be an antique motorcycle show featuring bikes 25 years and older, and any Fort Smith resident owning a qualifying motorcycle is welcome to volunteer their bike for the show. Attendees will be able to vote on their favorite antique motorcycle, and the winner will have their name affixed to a trophy permanently staying at the Marshals Museum.
"We try to do new events on a pretty regular basis to keep the motorcycle rally a family-friendly event and every year or every other year we try to come up with new events," Snow said. Bikes and Badges joins the lineup of seven other events.
Fort Smith police are preparing for the event as well. Sgt. Kyle Story said the department is excited for the event and will have a heavy presence as both security and entertainment.
"It's a very friendly event we actually look forward to every year and we have so many people who come up to us and tell us how much they enjoy it and the relaxed atmosphere," Story said.
Officers will patrol the event to ensure all attendees are safe. Off-duty officers will also participate in the Cops and Cones event, in which officers maneuver their motorcycles through a challenging course of traffic cones. Story said this is his favorite part of the rally.
"We allow a bit more to happen without anything getting out of hand -- the revving of motorcycles and stuff like that," Story said.
Behaviors the police will strictly prohibit include reckless driving, burnouts and anything else that may qualify as a safety hazard.
The Steel Horse Rally also announced which local nonprofits will benefit from this year's event: the Buddy Smith Home for Veterans, The Arc for the River Valley and the Fort Smith Boys and Girls Club. Buddy Smith provides housing and programs to support veterans, The Arc assists community members with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and the Boys and Girls Club helps local youth develop life skills for adulthood.
"We love being involved with community events," said Beth Presley, chief executive officer for the Fort Smith Boys and Girls Club. "It helps us connect with people and let them know a little bit about the organization. As a nonprofit the funding obviously helps, but we have a large volunteer base that can give back as well, so it's a way for our volunteers to actually help a community event which in turn helps us."
Presley said the Steel Horse Rally helps the organization in more ways than one. Not only does the event raise money for the nonprofit, but it also raises awareness within the community and can be used as a recruiting opportunity.
The motorcycle rally also brings in money for the city. Ashleigh Bachert, executive director of the Fort Smith Convention and Visitors Bureau, said the event is estimated to generate $680,000 in both sales and lodging taxes.
"This is the type of event that makes the culture of a city valuable. I look at it as the same thing as when they turn the river in Chicago green" for St. Patrick's Day, Bachert said. "It's one of those cultural events that you have to be a part of or at least know is happening in the city and you appreciate that it is happening even if you're not attending."
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NoneThe 2024 Steel Horse Rally
WHEN: May 3-4
WHERE: Garrison Avenue, downtown Fort Smith
COST: Free, though donations are accepted
EVENTS:
Bikes and Badges antique motorcycle show — 11 a.m. - 3 p.m., May 4 at U.S. Marshals Museum
Thunder Through the Valley motorcycle parade — 4 p.m. May 4, starting at Riverfront Park parking lot
Cops and Cones police motorcycle traffic cone course show — 10 a.m. May 4, Garrison Avenue and 12th Street
Miss Steel Horse Rally bikini contest — 8 p.m. May 4, on the Steel Horse Rally main stage
WEBSITE: www.thesteelhorserally.com