Well, May Festival is in the rear view and the Rally at the Border Blues Fest is this weekend. Like May Festival, this is an ambitious project and we can only hope that it goes off as smoothly as Oroville’s event last weekend. It sure seemed to go smoothly, but if one were to peek behind the scenes they’d see what a lot of work pulling off events like May Festival and Founders Day are a lot of work and can only take place because of a great group of volunteers.

The Rally at the Border Blues Fest was born out of a desire to keep the motorcycle riders who come up to Oroville each Armed Services Day as part of the Run for the Border in town longer. Vicki Hinze took the reigns and put together a pretty good size group of volunteers to plan and promote the blues festival. By giving the hundreds of motorcyclists who come up a chance to stay in our area longer and learn that Oroville is more than a place to have lunch and then do a U-turn for Wenatchee, we hope to gain repeat visitors and the oh so important heads in beds that Chambers of Commerce strive for. We also want to showcase the area to all motorcycle riders and we’ve advertised on both sides of the border. I’ve said it before – our region is a great place to ride, with lots of twisties and great scenery. We need to advertise it more. We also hope to get blues fans to discover, or should we say rediscover Oroville. Ever since the Rendezvous Rhythm and Blues Fest went away, diehard blues fans have been looking for something to replace it. With the Rally at the Border Blues Fest we have a chance to cross market to motorcycle riders and music fans, who are often both.

Sponsored by the Oroville Chamber of Commerce and the City of Oroville, as well as several generous businesses and individuals, the blues fest features six bands playing at Deep Bay Park in Oroville this Saturday. Those of us on the committee want to make sure that everyone knows that it is open to all, not just motorcycle riders. To all that is, if you are 21 years of age and older because there will be adult beverages available. The park will be closed off to all vehicles except motorbikes during the festival, but we’ve secured a parking lot for four wheel vehicles and will have a shuttle to and from the concert. We also hope to have a shuttle to and from town.

The ticket prices are reasonable at $20 for pre-sales and $25 at the gate, so if you have the time come join us on beautiful Lake Osoyoos this Saturday between 2 p.m. and 10 p.m. I also encourage you to come out around 1 p.m. and greet all the Run for the Border riders and see the great two wheeled machines lined up and down Main Street.