Black Bike Week, also called Atlantic Beach Bike Festival is an annual motorcycle rally held in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, during Memorial Day weekend.
From 1940 until 1980, Myrtle Beach had also hosted a predominantly white motorcycle rally, called Harley-Davidson Week, also called the spring Carolina Harley-Davidson Dealer's Association Rally. During the 1960s and 1970s, many black motorcyclists visited Atlantic Beach, South Carolina. During the segregation era Atlantic Beach was the only beach in the South where blacks were permitted.
Black Bike Week (Atlantic Beach Bike Festival) was Created Friday May 30, 1980 by the Carolina Knight Riders Motorcycle Club in the town of Atlantic Beach South Carolina to provide a motorcycle rally everyone of any race was accepted and welcomed.
The first event initially drew a crowd of 100 people. Over the year the event crowds increased exponentially. Each year more people would hear about the event, and spread the news of the event to their Motorcycle Clubs, and community.
By the 1990s the events had grown so large that it started to spread into larger South Carolina Cities including North Myrtle Beach, Myrtle Beach, Surfside Beach, Longs and Cherry Grove. The event took over the entire Grand Stand Area, and the crowds for Black Bike Week surpassed the Harley-Davidson Week crowds. During the late 1990 the number of visitor to the event were more then double the visitor of the older Harley-Davidson Week.
Thirty years later the event brings yearly crowds as high as 400,000 visitors.
Events that take place include motorcycle racing, concerts, night clubs, parties, pool parties, team football game, live concerts, celebrities and street festivals.
The event is considered the third largest motorcycle rally in the United States.
For more info about Black Bike Week visit http://www.blackbikeweek.us
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