HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2013-08-22, Page 10PAGE 10. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, AUGUST 22, 2013.Chrome Madness cancelleddue to poor attendance
First you get the trophy...
Brett Metcalfe, centre, took home the Parts Canada Walton
TransCan trophy as the winner of the MX1 pro class. The
TransCan was held last weekend in Walton and attendance
at the event was up between 15 and 20 per cent. Cole
Thompson, not pictured, took home the title of King of
Walton, and was awarded a sword for his trouble. (Jim Brown
photo)
Chrome Madness, a highly-touted
motorcycle rally event in Blyth last
weekend was cancelled abruptly due
to a lack of attendance.
Despite a last-minute reprieve
against cancellation thanks to
donations reportedly coming from
private citizens in Blyth last week,
the majority of the event at the Blyth
Campgrounds over the weekend was
cancelled.
Larry Peterson, organizer of the
event said that due to low attendance
and the cancellations, this year
wasn’t good for them financially, but
that the future doesn’t look bad.
“We’re definitely in the hole quite
a bit right now, but there was a lot of
positive stuff that came from the
whole event,” he said. “The few that
did come had a great weekend. They
loved the campground and the
facilities had everything anyone
could possibly want.”
One of the great things about the
area, says Peterson, aside from the
beauty it afforded the group when
they did eventually take to the roads
in a privately organized trail ride,
was the quality of the campground
and the surrounding businesses.
“The campground in Blyth is just
tremendous,” he said. “We had
everything we need: the bank, the
variety store, the grocery store and
all the restaurants are in walking
distance which is just great.
Everyone at the businesses were so
nice. Blyth has got to be one of the
friendliest places in the world.”
He said that as far as local input is
concerned, he was pleasantly
surprised with how involved the
local community is and could be.
“When we first organized it, we
didn’t know that the local people
would get behind it so much and
want to be involved,” he said. “We
didn’t realize that there were so
many people interested. Everyone
we ran into rides now or used to ride.
We had no idea people were that into
it.”
He added that the financial
assistance from a private backer
made the event possible after the
near-cancellation from the get-go
and that kind of support was
surprising and appreciated.
Peterson said that he wasn’t sure if
the event would happen again, but
that he hopes it does and, if so, it
will definitely be held in Blyth.
“I’m pretty sure we’re going to try
again with all the support we got,”
he said. “Blyth is a beautiful place
and if it happens, we’re definitely
going to be coming back. As a group
we’re going to consider the event
and the advertising and look at
working on it further ahead of time
next year.”
The event was cancelled after a
less-than-promising turnout for
Friday night’s show. Aside from the
lower attendance at the campground,
Peterson acknowledged that the day
passes that the group made available
to visitors at the gate were not
advertised well enough, having only
been announced a day before the
event started.
Despite the low attendance,
Director of North Huron Facilities
and Recreation Pat Newson said that
all reports from local businesses
indicated it was a great weekend.
“I was told that everyone was very
impressed with the restaurants and
businesses and that they felt
welcomed,” she said, adding that the
businesses echoed the sentiment.
“We had lots of good feedback from
the local groups and the local
businesses.”
Reports from Peterson state that
there were approximately 50 people
on site on Friday which dwindled to
30 on Saturday evening, a far cry
from the 200 to 2,000 that North
Huron Community Development
Officer Connie Goodall estimated at
a recent Blyth Business
Improvement Area (BIA) meeting.
Chrome Madness consisted of live
entertainment and vendors starting
Friday night and ending Saturday
night as well as a charity poker rally
on Saturday afternoon, however
most of those events were cancelled
after Friday night.
Due to several members of
township staff being on vacation and
several North Huron council
members attending the Association
of Municipalities Ontario (AMO)
annual conference this week,
comments on what effect the
cancellation will have, if any, on the
township were unavailable.
www.northhuron.ca
519-357-1208
Township of North Huronp oihwnsoT th rrtof Np o noHuro
Watch for your guide in your
flyer package August 22
Call to register for fall programs
By Denny Scott
The Citizen
Allison Dekroon was sworn in as
Huron East’s newest councillor at
Huron East Council’s Aug. 13
meeting.
Dekroon now takes over as a
McKillop Ward representative in the
wake of former councillor Bill
Siemon’s death earlier this year. She
was acclaimed to the position, as the
only person who applied.
Councillors greeted Dekroon with
a round of applause once she
completed her oath of office, taking
a copy of the Bible in her right hand.
Mayor Bernie MacLellan said she
reminded him of himself 20 years
earlier, feeling propelled into
politics by one issue he felt was
worth speaking up about.
“There was a hot topic and I’ve
been stuck here ever since,”
MacLellan joked. “Welcome to the
long haul,” he told Dekroon.
MacLellan was asked what the
issue was that brought him to local
politics and he said it was the closing
of local fire departments.
Dekroon is the active secretary for
Huron East Against Turbines
(HEAT) and stated in interviews
before she became a councillor that
wind turbines in Huron East would
be at the top of her agenda, should
she become a councillor.
Dekroon sworn in