New motorcycle show coming June 2-3 | News
The River City Bike Expo, a new event, is coming June 2-3 to the Owensboro Convention Center.
Mark Calitri, president of the Owensboro-Daviess County Convention & Visitors Bureau, said, “This will be huge for Owensboro.”
He said the event is attracting national vendors, and he expects a few thousand people to attend.
Mark Rhoades, expo organizer, said he and his wife, Deanna, are excited about the event.
They own Pinup Baggers, a motorcycle parts and apparel shop in Newburgh.
The last big motorcycle show at the convention center was Frank and Marlene Parsley’s River City PowerSports Show, which ran in January from 2017 through 2019.
It brought thousands of fans to town each year.
Mark Rhoades said, “I helped with that show, and I want to take it to the next level.
“I’ll really be disappointed if we don’t have at least 5,000 there this year. It’s going to be in warm weather, not the dead of winter like the other one. And people can ride to Owensboro.”
The PowerSports Show was billed as the largest indoor bike show in Kentucky at the time.
“I hope we at least double that show,” Rhoades said. “I hope this starts a tradition that lasts many, many years.”
In 2017, the PowerSports Show drew 4,000 people.
The Expo will be part of Friday After 5 on June 2, which should bring even more people to see the bikes.
It also includes a tattoo experience.
On June 3, a fashion show will be presented by the new Evansville Harley-Davidson, along with a bike show by Urban Rides Magazine and a sound competition by Sound Warz.
Several events for motorsports are in the works this year.
Hundreds of Jeep enthusiasts from several states are expected to be in town May 19-20 for the city’s first Owensboro Jeeps and Jamz Expo at the Owensboro Convention Center.
Calitri said the event will try to to break the record for the largest Jeep convoy in Kentucky.
And the new Bluegrass Legends Experience is coming Aug. 19-20 to Moreland Park. which includes 1,000 or more cars, music, a large food truck rally and a beer garden.
