Myrtle Beach SC Seeks to Regulate Bikers, Pudding Wrestling

Wow, hard to believe “family fun friendly” Horry County hasn’t already regulated  “wet T-shirt contests, pudding wrestling, motorcycle or car washes, stunt shows, burn-out pits and just about any outdoor event” during the biker rallies. HOWEVER I don’t think they should burden vendors with higher fees. As Councilwoman Liz Gilland said  “If you don’t have vendors, what are folks going to do?” she said. “I don’t want to invite folks here to have a rally with our name on it when we don’t provide anything to do other than you come, you gather at the bars, and you drink all day.”  ((smirk-pudding wrestling))

random pudding wrestling image.

Horry County to debate new motorcycle rally rules
By Mike Cherney  |  mcherney@thesunnews.com  |  Tue, Jan. 20, 2009

The area’s motorcycle rallies will be back in the spotlight today as Horry County Council discusses again whether to restrict where vendors can sell their wares, raise the price of required vendor permits and reduce the time merchandise can be sold.

Some residents are looking for the county to take action against the noise, congestion and rowdy behavior they say accompany the Harley-Davidson spring rally and the Atlantic Beach Bikefest, both in May. Biker groups, though, say restricting vendors is the wrong way to go.

“People don’t come for the vendors,” said Sonny Copeland, the owner of Myrtle Beach Bike Week LLC, which sells merchandise online. “That’s a great misconception that the locals seem to have, that the vendors make the rallies. People come to these events because they enjoy the area.”

Horry County’s effort to regulate the rallies comes after the city of Myrtle Beach passed laws last year to stem the effects of the rallies. Tom Rice, an attorney who lives in Myrtle Beach, said the county proposal does not go far enough and address heightened crime and traffic deaths during the rallies.

“If we were Walt Disney World, and we had a ride that every year people got killed on, how long would that ride be open?” Rice said. “We would definitely have to do something to change it.”

The proposal to be discussed by the county today would only allow 100 vendors east of the Intracoastal Waterway, 100 between the waterway and the Waccamaw River and 200 west of the river. For last year’s Harley-Davidson rally, most of the nearly 400 vendors were east of the waterway.

The proposal would also change the price for vendor permits for the rally: $1,500 for east of the waterway, $1,000 between the waterway and the river, and $500 west of the river. Last year, the permits cost $800, which included a $100 hawker’s license.

For the Atlantic Beach Bikefest, permits would cost $1,200 east of the waterway, $800 between the waterway and the river, and $400 west of the river. Most of the 36 vendors were also located east of the waterway last year, when the permits cost $500, including the hawker’s license.

The proposal would also reduce the time vendors can sell merchandise from 10 days to five days during the Harley-Davidson spring rally and from five days to four days during the Atlantic Beach Bikefest. Both rallies brought about 250,000 to the area last year.

Also up for discussion is a measure that would require bars and other establishments to receive special event permits from the county for wet T-shirt contests, pudding wrestling, motorcycle or car washes, stunt shows, burn-out pits and just about any outdoor event.

The vendor restrictions already received a preliminary nod from the council in November and need two more votes to pass. The new special event rules still require three votes to become law.

The city’s laws have prompted several lawsuits, including ones filed by Copeland’s business, other establishments and several residents. The laws, which include a helmet requirement, have yet to be overturned by a judge.

Mike Shank, a partner with Festival Promotions, which markets the Harley-Davidson rally, said the proposed restriction on vendors is more like a vendor ban because very few would pay twice as much for a permit that only allows vendors to sell for half the time.

“It doesn’t even matter the number east of the waterway if the permit is going to be so exorbitant,” said Shank. “It doesn’t matter if there’s 1,000 permits east of the waterway – if they’re $1,500, there won’t be any vendors.”

Council members appeared split on the two proposals.

Councilman Brent Schulz, who represents portions of Myrtle Beach and North Myrtle Beach, said one of his major concerns was drinking and other events that end up taking place in parking lots outside of bars. The new special event rules should help, he said.

“Rather than having a free-for-all in all these different parking lots up and down [U.S.] 17, we’re going to pick and choose which outdoor events don’t negatively impact the neighborhoods behind them,” he said.

But County Council Chairwoman Liz Gilland said she was unsure how she would cast her vote. She said she did not think restricting vendors would solve the problems with rowdy behavior during the rallies.

“If you don’t have vendors, what are folks going to do?” she said. “I don’t want to invite folks here to have a rally with our name on it when we don’t provide anything to do other than you come, you gather at the bars, and you drink all day.”