NEWS RELEASE
GREAT LAKES HOG RALLY
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SAULT STE MARIE, MI - The first-ever Great Lakes HOG Rally will come to Sault Ste. Marie on Aug. 17, but don’t expect to see curly tails or rooting snouts. The Harley Owners Group (HOG) will bring an estimated 2,000 people to the Eastern Upper Peninsula for a motorcycle-lovers celebration.
Rally coordinator Scott Rhuland explained that HOG is the largest factory-sponsored motor club in the world, with U.S. membership approaching one million people. Individual HOG chapters exist all over the world, but this summer will mark the first time a more regional approach will be taken and the selected destination is sure to please.
“Most states have had their own individual rallies for the last 20 years, so this year Harley Davidson decided to focus in geographic areas around the country. Michigan was chosen to host the Great Lakes event because this region has always had a great turnout for state rallies,” Rhuland explained.
Rhuland and his team have worked extensively with the Sault Ste. Marie Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) and Kewadin Casino, Hotel and Convention Center to formulate plans for the three-day event. The result is a mix of planned rides on the area’s more scenic roads to special destinations during the day, followed by nightly entertainment.
In order to participate in the full schedule of events, one must be a member of HOG. This includes live music and catered food stations provided under a tent for two nights in the Kewadin parking lot.
Community members and the general public, however, will be able to participate in some portions of the weekend’s events.
The entire rally will start with a kick-off celebration in downtown Sault Ste. Marie on Thursday, where live music and food trucks will be set up at the corner of Portage Avenue and Ashmun Street.
A bike parade will take place on Saturday afternoon. Parade-goers will see chapter flags on display as somewhere between 300 and 500 motorcycles follow a short route that includes crossing the International Bridge before concluding downtown on the Michigan side.
Those who only dream of owning a Harley will also get their chance to climb aboard, provided they have a motorcycle endorsement on their driver’s license. Harley Davidson Motor Company will bring its demo fleet to the rally, allowing the public and registrants to test drive one of 17 different models.
Linda Hoath, executive director of the Sault CVB, said the city has hosted motorcycle clubs before, but this is the first time for an official HOG Rally. Hoath and her staff have worked with Rhuland to showcase the area’s scenic drives and notable destinations as planners were putting together an itinerary.
“We have beautiful drives in this area, which will be awesome for the riders. We are excited to have them here because they bring a lot of money into the community and it brings what may be some first-time visitors to our area,” she explained. “We know that after they visit once, they’ll be back and that is one of the ways we help our region to grow.”
For more information about the Great Lakes HOG Rally, visit Facebook or saultstemarie.com.