SULTAN — A popular motorcycle show normally held in Snohomish had its first test run at Sultan’s Shindig celebration Sunday.
It went off without any bumps in the road, Shindig organizers and police said.
“Everybody got along great,” said Debbie Copple, director of the Sky Valley Chamber of Commerce.
The Sky Valley Chapter of the American Bikers Aimed Toward Education held a scaled-down classic bike show on the third day of Shindig, Sultan’s annual street fair.
An estimated 1,000 motorcyclists showed up to take in the show in Sultan, which has a population of about 4,500.
There was no trouble, said Sultan’s police chief, Lt. Jeff Brand.
A thunder and lightning storm may have helped mellow things out, he said. Motorcyclists also had to contend with roadwork on U.S. 2 that left the pavement a ground-up mess.
Brand said city officials plan to debrief sometime this week.
“We’ll look at Shindig as a whole and talk about what went right, what went wrong and that should give us an idea of what we can do better next year,” he said.
ABATE canceled The Old Snohomish Antique and Classic Motorcycle Show this spring after officials there asked them to pay the full $30,000 bill for police services. Last year, 22,000 people showed up, including a few hundred members of outlaw biker clubs such as the Bandidos and Hells Angels.
In the past, organizers had paid $5,000 for the popular event. Snohomish officials said the city could no longer count on other agencies donating police services.
Organizers of the motorcycle show said they won’t make any decisions about the location of next year’s show until after Sunday.
At least two other cities, Everett and Lake Stevens, have expressed interest in hosting the show.
Debra Smith: 425-339-3197, dsmith@heraldnet.com.
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