Myrtle Beach Harley-Davidson dealer applies for special events permits, leaders to talk bike rally Tuesday

Horry County and Myrtle Beach leaders will talk separately Tuesday about the spring Harley-Davidson rally, with the county considering whether to allow vendors in May, and Myrtle Beach considering a resolution urging the county not to allow the rally events to extend into late May.

Meanwhile, the Myrtle Beach Harley-Davidson dealership, which sparked controversy last month when it announced rally plans for May 18-28, is the first to apply for special events permits from Horry County for the upcoming rally, with plans for tent sales and fund-raising events for charities that will include vendors, prizes and autograph signings.

The dealer filed the request for a special events permit on Friday - with tent sales to start May 11, a week ahead of the dealership’s May 18 rally start - but county staff won’t consider it until planned discussions about the rally have taken place, including a talk Tuesday about whether to allow vendors in May and a special public safety committee meeting Feb. 23, county spokeswoman Lisa Bourcier said.

The County Council is set to talk about vendors during the Committee of the Whole meeting at 9 a.m. Tuesday in the council chambers at the Horry County Government & Justice Center, 1301 Second Ave., Conway.

The discussion about vendors and whether to allow them as planned surfaced after the Harley-Davidson dealer announced last month it had shifted its rally dates to May 18-28, which are later than usual and overlap the already busy Memorial Day weekend, Atlantic Beach Bike Fest and other holiday events.

The dates that the county -- which approves vendors during the rallies -- has set aside to allow vendors for the Harley rally are May 14-20.

Though the dealership is promoting later dates, other stores, bars and entertainment venues say they are sticking with the earlier dates, with events starting as early as May 11.

The Myrtle Beach City Council also is set to talk bikers Tuesday, though the item isn’t listed on the meeting agenda.

City staff, at the request of Horry County leaders, has written a resolution asking the county not to allow the rally to go longer and urging it to consider decreasing the number of days of rally-related activities by only allowing vendors and special events for three days. It also asks the Myrtle Beach Harley-Davidson dealership to not extend the rally with its new dates. A resolution doesn’t change anything, it’s just a formal expression of opinion by the council.

Myrtle Beach has successfully pushed the bike rallies largely outside of its borders with strict rules in recent years, including a helmet requirement that eventually was overturned.

The City Council will decide during its morning workshop whether to add the item on the agenda for its 2 p.m. meeting Tuesday.

“The expansion of the dates could have a negative effect on other visitors and other activities during the month of May, and other business during the month of May,” city spokesman Mark Kruea said.

The Myrtle Beach Harley-Davidson dealer’s request asks for the county for special events permits three events, starting May 11 with tent sales for licensed and discontinued Harley merchandise, according to the request. The permit request doesn’t say how many days the tent sales, which the dealer says in the paperwork it has done for 10 years, would last, but spokeswoman Denise Medlin said they would continue for eight days.

“That is just something that he has always done,” she said.

The dealership also requested a permit for two other events: Myrtle Beach Harley-Davidson Bikers Giveback to benefit Hope House and CASA. charities, starting May 17 and running seven days including setup and teardown; and events for Memorial Day weekend to benefit Wounded Warriors starting May 23 and lasting seven days including setup and teardown. If the request is granted, the dealer would have some type of tent sales or special events for three of the four weekends in the month.

“This year we want to lay a foundation for live music/entertainment to be incorporated into the festival,” Phil Schoonover, the local Harley-Davidson dealer, wrote in the materials submitted to the county and in an email sent Saturday to customers.

In the email, he explained why he shifted the dates, which has created confusion since the dealership posted the new dates on its website last month and even sparked a boycott of the dealership by the Horry County ABATE chapter, a motorcyclists rights association that stands for “A Brotherhood Against Totalitarian Enactments.”

“In an attempt to enhance business and restore harmony within all sections of our community it is our proposal to shorten the length of the existing May Motorcycle events duration from what has covered three (3) weekends to only two (2) weekends, by simply blending the events into one contiguous festival (ending Memorial weekend), sponsored by CASA. and the ‘Wounded Warriors’ charity.

“It is our intention to create different venues of entertainment throughout the Strand (and west of the waterway) to allow for a variety of activities rather than simply congregating.”

The dealer also is organizing an attempt to set a Guinness World Record for the “world’s largest motorcycle parade” that will leave the Grand Strand on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend for the Rolling Thunder Memorial ride in Washington, D.C., according to Schoonover’s letter.

More events are in the works, including pier parties, rides and possibly a golf tournament, Medlin said.

The special events permit request already doesn’t sit well with County Councilman Gary Loftus.

“He’s pretty well covered the month of May, hasn’t he,” Loftus said. “And they wonder why we get upset.”

Schoonover said in the letter that it will take a few years to transition to the new dates.

“As proposed, it will take three (3) years to totally arrive at a combined two weekend manageable festival in May,” according to Schoonover’s email. “Yet we believe these changes are in the best interest of/for all within our community.”