Bikes, Blues & BBQ Targets Local Vendors

Greg Mack said the number of local food vendors at the upcoming Bikes, Blues & BBQ will be triple what it was last year.r

Mack is president of Taylor Mack, the Fayetteville agency handling advertising and promotions for the fourth-annual motorcycle rally and music festival, which is scheduled for Oct. 2-4 in Fayetteville.r

After some grumbling last year that outsiders were taking all the business away (and not paying the city’s 2 percent hotel-motel-restaurant tax), Mack set out to change that.r

Fayetteville businesses get priority now for the vendor slots in the parking lots along Dickson Street. Other Washington County vendors are next in line, and outsiders are considered last.r

“We’re letting all the locals have priority,” Mack said.r

So far, seven barbecue vendors are registered. Local barbecue vendors that will be at the festival include Lucky Luke’s BBQ of Springdale and Fayetteville, Smokin’ Joe’s Ribhouse of Bentonville, Wally’s Smokeshack of Fayetteville, Shorty Small’s of Fayetteville, Tower BBQ of Benton County and Sonny’s BBQ of Springdale.r

A variety of vendors will be at this year’s festival selling everything from leather goods to sunglasses.r

Of the 50 vendors at last year’s festival, fewer than one-fourth were local, Mack said. With 60 vendors registered so far this year, more than half are local, he said.r

Mack said he still has a few vendor positions available. The 10-by-10-foot spaces rent for $250. The only spaces still available are those without water or electric service.r

A concert featuring the The Neville Brothers and Blues Traveler will be held Oct. 3 in the rear parking lot of the Northwest Arkansas Mall. Tickets for that concert are $28 for general admission and $53 for reserved seating.r

Local bands will perform in the parking lot at the corner of Dickson Street and West Avenue free of charge during the festival.r

Arkansas National Bank, which donated $15,000, is the primary sponsor of Bikes, Blues & BBQ. Basic Construction of Springdale, which donated $10,000, is sponsoring the concert.r

Mack said people will be on hand during the festival to collect Fayetteville’s HMR tax from vendors. Ten percent of profits goes to the Council on Aging — Meals on Wheels. Last year, Bikes, Blues & BBQ raised $50,000 for the charity, Mack said.r

For more information, e-mail [email protected] or call 957-8947. Bill Bowden can be reached via e-mail at [email protected].