Don’t turn down any invitations because you want to spend a weekend at the Goat Style Bike Festival. It’s not likely to happen in Creston again, according to organizer Wesly Graham.
“It’s 99 per cent certain it won’t be held in Creston,” Graham said on Friday. “The government funding we’ve received in the past is drying up and we can’t attract enough of an audience to attract large corporate sponsors.”
For five years, a growing number of cyclists have entertained local residents and visitors by flying off steep ramps installed temporarily on the hill between Rotacrest Hall and the Creston and District Community Complex. Performers from all over North America have descended on Creston, some sponsored by corporations who want to identify their products with teens and adults.
“Last year we had about 1,350 people watching,” Graham said.
But the volunteer organization has concluded that the event is no longer financially feasible in a town of 5,000 with no larger urban population close by. Negotiations are underway with a group that would move the event to Vernon.
“There’s no agreement yet, but it would be nice to see it carry on and continue to grow,” he said. “At least we could look at it and say, ‘It all started right here in Creston.’ ”
The Creston town councillor said the event costs “a minimum of $140,000” to put on, despite a large contingent of volunteers who donate their time. Dozens of truckloads of dirt have to be trucked to the site, wooden jumps constructed and crowd control is a priority. The temporary site is then dismantled in a matter of days to allow parking to return to normal at the recreation complex.
The event has run at a loss each year, with expense overruns covered by the volunteers, Graham said.
“It’s officially not done yet, but it can’t be saved,” he said. “We hit capacity last year.
“We had a great five-year run. It’s helped put Creston on the map.”
Some Creston town councillors aren’t happy with the prospect of losing an event the Town of Creston has supported since its inception.
Coun. Jerry Schmalz made a motion at Tuesday’s council meeting to request the bike festival organizers provide an accounting of what taxpayer funding the event has received over the years and how it has been spent.
Expressing concern about rumours that the event is “being sold” to Vernon has councillors concerned that moving it out of the Creston Valley will result in a profit for some and the loss of a popular attraction to many more.
“I’ve been getting calls asking about the Goat Mountain bike jam being sold and I haven’t been told anything about it,” Coun. Tanya Ducharme said. “We asked the organizers about the event’s future last year before we agreed to provide some funding and we were told, straight out, that it wasn’t going anywhere.”
Ducharme also works for Columbia Brewery, which has been a key sponsor of the event.
The motion to request the financial information from the organizers passed unanimously. Graham was in Vancouver on municipal government business and did not attend the meeting.