Columnist Issac Bailey to talk Bikefest at Myrtle Beach church

Mark your calendars and join me for a discussion about issues related to the Atlantic Beach Bikefest.

I’ll be speaking at 1:30 p.m. on Feb. 7 at Sun Coast Christian Church at the corner of 44th Avenue North and Little River Road in Myrtle Beach.

I’ve had one-on-one discussions about Bikefest with officials and residents and have written about the event in this space several times.

I plan to continue doing such things when the opportunity arises.

I also want to engage the public in larger group settings, which is what will happen on Feb. 7, and maybe a few other times before May. I’m trying to keep my schedule as free as possible between now and then so I can accept other invitations to not just speak, but listen to people’s concerns and frustrations.

If you are interested, let me know: (843) 626-0357, ibailey@thesunnews.com or via Twitter at @ijbailey or Facebook.

Sun Coast has asked me to focus on ways individuals, local churches and other groups can grapple with issues as complex as Bikefest and become a part of the solution and not simply complain about the problems.

That’s a tall order, but I’ll do my best.

I hope to share insight I’ve gleaned from covering Bikefest since the late 1990s. I’ve experienced the event from just about every angle, including riding with law enforcement, walking with Friendship Teams, listening to frustrated business owners who say the event ruins their bottom line, interviewing businesses who couldn’t be happier with the amount of money they make, speaking with residents who have witnessed untoward things and those upset that seemingly only negative things about Bikefest ever get any real attention.

I’ve been on Ocean Boulevard in the middle of it, late at night when it was little more than a boring, though noisy, street party, and at times when it felt like chaos and was extremely uncomfortable.

I sat in a car for more than three hours to drive maybe 5 miles on U.S. 17 to get to Atlantic Beach during the year Bikefest traffic choked most of the area’s main traffic arteries.

I’ve been there to see Bikefest participants try to bring people to Jesus through gospel songs and other means, and when other participants had everything except morality on their minds.

And I’ve heard from countless readers who have exaggerated the ugliness of Bikefest, pushing second- (or third-) hand rumors, treating them as fact, and others who have conveyed legitimate concern about what they personally experienced.

I will talk about that background to give people a good sense of what we are dealing with, to get beyond superficial, over-wrought debates, as well as what I learned about human behavior last year during my studies in Boston.

And I’ll try to put the eight shootings and three killings from last year’s event, which captured everyone’s attention, into context.

No matter how you slice it, the issue is complex, and how we talk about it in advance will likely have a great effect on the event in May, setting the tone for how Bikefest participants experience the Myrtle Beach area, and how residents view the 2015 version of the event.

To that end, let’s talk.

This story was originally published January 31, 2015 at 10:00 AM with the headline "Columnist Issac Bailey to talk Bikefest at Myrtle Beach church."