Atlantic Beach Bikefest makes a comeback in 2022. Here are the details

Bikefest is returning to Atlantic Beach on Memorial Day weekend after it was canceled two years in a row over COVID-19 concerns.

The Black Pearl Cultural Heritage and Bike Festival will run from Friday, May 27, through Monday, May 30, according to town documents. Council members first approved the event in December.

During a council meeting Monday, leaders also decided to ban the open carrying of weapons at town events, which includes the bike festival, WBTW-TV reported.

They also discussed COVID-19 concerns and agreed to let doctors administer COVID-19 vaccinations, according to the TV station.

In 2018, the NAACP filed a lawsuit against the City of Myrtle Beach and its police department, saying black tourists face discrimination during Bikefest.

The lawsuit focused on a 23-mile traffic loop put in place in 2015 during the Memorial Day weekend.

The loop turns Ocean Boulevard into a one-way road and funnels traffic out to George Bishop Parkway and then back to Ocean Boulevard.

That loop was implemented after the 2014 violence which left three dead and seven injured. In all, eight shootings were reported along Ocean Boulevard.

A judge ruled in 2020 that the city’s decision was discriminatory but legal.

Festival schedule

• May 27- 3 p.m. to 3 a.m.
  
  
• May 28- 9 a.m. to 3 a.m.
• May 29- 9 a.m. to 3 a.m.
• May 30- 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.