Atlantic Beach Bike Week draws thousands. Why is town just now getting money to promote it?

Promoting Atlantic Beach’s annual Black Bike Week has been a struggle over the years.

Although the annual event attracts tens of thousands of visitors to the area each year, the town has had a limited budget for marketing, relying mainly on social media and its website to get the word out, according to Atlantic Beach Town Manager Benjamin Quattlebaum.

The event is also looked upon negatively by surrounding communities, and several lawsuits have been filed in past years over the treatment of Black bikers.

Officially known as the 43rd annual Black Pearl Cultural Heritage and Bike Festival, the event brings bikers from all over the East Coast and Midwest to the area during Memorial Day weekend.

It happens a week before another large festival, Carolina Country Music Festival, which also brings thousands of people to the Grand Strand.

There is a difference, however, in how the two events are promoted and responded to by county and city officials. That includes sponsorship of the music festival by Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce.

Black Bike Week is not sponsored by the Chamber, but it has received money for the first time from the Chamber and Horry County to help in this year’s festival marketing.

Quattlebaum said the town is grateful for the money since they don’t usually have much to spend on marketing for the cultural event that will be May 26 through 29.

Money will help bring visitors to Atlantic Beach

Atlantic Beach received $20,000 from Horry County’s accommodation tax toward marketing for Black Bike Week and its new Gullah Geechee Festival, which will be in late June, according to Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce President Karen Riordan.

“We are the destination marketing organization for the county,” she added. “So, we’re responsible for working with the different areas of the county on different promotions.”

There was no application for the grant. But it does have to be used to promote events that are going to bring people to Horry County, which is economically beneficial, Riordan said.

Since Quattlebaum started in 2015, he said the town has never received money from the county. Usually, the town uses social media and its website to share information, hoping that’s enough.

But now, with a portion of the $20,000, they’ll be able to reach people 50 miles beyond the town’s limits, Riordan said.

She added that the funds ultimately come from the county, but the chamber matched Horry’s $10,000 commitment.

Riordan is not sure why this is the first year Atlantic Beach has received grant money, but she noted that the vision behind promoting specific events will bring visitors to Atlantic Beach and spend money.

Making money is not the reason to host Black Bike Week

Last year, Quattlebaum said the town made about $85,000 from the bike festival but operational expenses totaled nearly $50,000.

It doesn’t make the town a lot of money, he added. But that’s not the reason they do it.

“The primary purpose is to promote businesses and the community,” the town manager said. “They do very well during the weekend event.”

Quattlebaum said in the past, funds have been limited for the promotion. Since the festival is annual, they can rely on people to come every Memorial Day weekend because they have been for 20 years, he added.

Are bikers welcomed by the community?

Atlantic Beach looks forward to the bikers every year, Quattlebaum said. He said he can’t speak on how the surrounding area welcomes them.

But when asked if people have a negative perception of the festival, he said he thinks it’s lessening over time.

“I think people overall see the economic benefit to the region,” he added.

Since Atlantic Beach does not have hotels and major businesses, he said the surrounding area is tremendously affected by the influx of people.

He also noted that there have not been any big incidents within the town during the cultural festival.

“But what happens is that if there are any negative events outside of Atlantic Beach, (the town) is labeled negatively for anything that happens during that weekend,” he said.

He said the people that attend feel safe.

“There’s a strong police presence here in the town and throughout the county, he said. “So, in terms of safety, I don’t think it’s an issue. I think the patrons who come here have a very positive response to the event.”

Quattlebaum said he couldn’t provide exact figures for how many bikers travel to the beach town for the festival but said generally most people congregate at the nightly entertainment events, which sees over 15,000 people every night.

Black Bike Week among events promoted by Chamber

Black Bike Week is promoted on the Myrtle Beach area’s tourism site, which features happenings all across the county, including the Carolina Country Music Festival.

The chamber is using social media and other digital advertising tactics to reach people in places like Columbia, Florence and Marion, according to Riordan.

Marlane White, a spokeswoman for the Chamber, said the organization aims to support all events across the county.

It is no different than events in other municipalities, including Little River and North Myrtle Beach, which have received grants for some of their events.

What is Chamber’s relationship with CCMF, another big event?

The chamber has a different relationship with some outside companies that bring visitors to the Grand Strand, but the desire to bring more money to the city is the same.

The Carolina Country Music Festival, which follows the bike festival in Myrtle Beach, is one of those events. They do not receive grant money from the county, but the chamber is a sponsor for the event.

The concert series brings thousands of country music fans to the beach every year. This year, it will be from June 8-11.

Riordan said the chamber was approached when the music festival first started, and they immediately got on board.

“We were big supporters of it and thought it was going to be a great idea to bring more live music to Myrtle Beach,” she added.

The chamber works to get the event promoted in many local, regional, statewide and national publications as possible. They also share lineup updates when new artists are added or removed, Riordan said.

“We just really appreciate that they want to keep bringing the festival here every year, and we want to continue to sponsor it and use it as a way to promote Myrtle Beach to people far and wide.”

Crime, use of emergency services during both events in 2022

An after action report from Myrtle Beach’s Emergency Management Division for Memorial Day weekend, the same days as Black Bike Week is held, shows that about 600 officers were part of the 2022 operational plan. Of those officers, 232 were members of Myrtle Beach Police Department and 252 officers were from outside agencies.

Police officials have already said they plan to increase the number of officers this year.

Several state and local agencies participated and volunteered last year, including the South Carolina Highway Patrol, SLED and South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.

Grand Strand Health’s Emergency Operations Center reported that it saw a total of 332 patients per day over the five days, with 19 motorcycle accidents, seven car crashes and two wrecks involving pedestrians. There were also two reported assaults.

The report also showed there were 58 traffic collisions, 414 people arrested or cited and 689 citations or charges filed within city limits during that time.

It’s stark difference from the four-day concert series that happens at The Pavilion between 8th and 9th avenues in Myrtle Beach.

The 2022 festival occurred from June 9-12, and saw between 30,000 to 35,000 attendees every day, according to the report.

Outside departments also assisted the city of Myrtle Beach with operational duties over that weekend. Most of the extra hands were part of law enforcement.

The report said between 20 to 50 people were treated by hospital staff on-site everyday of the festival.

SLED reported about 150 citations for underage drinking during the event. Other arrests totaled 26.

Lawsuits filed in relation to treatment of bikers

There have been racial discrimination lawsuits filed in previous years regarding the treatment of Black bikers during Black Bike Week.

The NAACP filed a lawsuit against the city in 2018, alleging that Myrtle Beach used a 23-mile traffic loop during the annual Black Bike Week rally.

The issue was also in part about the additional police officers that are brought to the area during Memorial Day weekend.

In December 2020, a federal jury ruled that while the city’s actions were racially motivated, city officials would have likely reached the same decision even if race had not been a factor.

The City of Myrtle Beach agreed in October 2021 to pay $50,000 to the NAACP to settle claims that the city racially discriminated against attendees.

The jury’s ruling essentially meant the City of Myrtle Beach did not violate the Civil Rights Act.

The NAACP filed another racial discrimination suit in 2011 related to the treatment of Black bikers against Molly Darcy’s on the Beach, a North Myrtle Beach restaurant.

The Irish-themed restaurant agreed with the NAACP in October 2012 to dismiss the case the same week the trial was set to begin in Charleston.

The NAACP and four individuals - two from Loris and two from Ohio - sued the restaurant’s owners, claiming they regularly shut down their establishment during the Memorial Day holiday solely to keep Black motorcyclists attending the Atlantic Beach Bikefest from dining there.

The owners said the restaurant closes during the Memorial Day holiday because they use that period to do renovations before the peak summer tourism season.