Posted on April 24, 2012
Main Street El Dorado, Murphy USA and El Dorado Festivals & Events are proud to present its annual Bugs, Bands & Bikes Weekend Friday and Saturday, May 11 and 12 in the Union Square Entertainment District in historic, Downtown El Dorado. Over the years, the annual event has become the region?s largest Motorcycle themed event filled with hundreds of bikes, the best in live music and the region?s best crawfish!
Bugs, Bands & Bikes Weekend will kick off Friday night beginning at 5:00 p.m. with crawfish, bike-games, vendors and more. Also, for the first time, Bugs, Bands & Bikes will welcome the Riverbank Products Frog Giggin? Tournament by hosting the events registration between 5:30 and 6:20 p.m. inside the Rialto Theatre. The Arkansas Game and Fish will be on hand to conduct a Night Time Boating Safety Presentation to tournament participants.
Hamilton Stone will perform on the Main Stage beginning at 6:00 pm and at 8:30 pm, Grammy Award-winners The Kentucky Headhunters will take the stage by storm with a free, outdoor concert. When the Kentucky Headhunters hit country music with a low rumble and those loud guitars, people weren?t sure what to make of them. Looking like hillbilly cavemen, they sing and speak with a drawl so thick you can slice it and seem to merge the sounds of Bill Monroe and Don Gibson with Freddie King and Muddy Waters. Twenty years after Pickin? On Nashville turned the music-word upside down, the band earned multi-platinum certifications, a wheelbarrow full of Grammys, CMA Album and Group of the Year designations and opened for both the Academy of Country Music Awards and the Greek Amphitheatre in 1991.
The action kicks off on Saturday, May 12, with the annual Main Street Poker Run. Registration begins at 8:00 a.m. at El Dorado Glass, 117 East Locust, or participants can pre-register during the Friday night events. Poker Run entry fee is $25 (and includes a free t-shirt) and $15 for an additional passenger (if playing a hand). First Place will receive $500 with $250 going to 2nd Place and $100 for 3rd Place. The last bike is in at 12:00 p.m. and the route is approximately 2 hours long.
Weigh-in for the Riverbank Products Frog Giggin? Tournament will take place at 9:00 a.m. on the BBB Main Stage. Winners will be announced and prizes to be given for the Biggest Frog and the Biggest Total Bag Weight. Other activities include the Rev?s Cycle Baggo Tournament, arts and crafts, food vendors, a bike parade, the Kidz Zone with inflatables, the best in live music and, of course, the region?s best crawfish prepared by Mel?s Seafood.
The highlight of the day will be the appearance of the Bugs, Bands& Bikes Celebrity Grand Marshalls, Jay Paul and RJ Molinere from the History Channel?s hit TV show, "The Swamp People." Due to the overwhelming crowds that gather to meet the Swamp People, tickets for a special SWAMP PEOPLE VIP EXPERIENCE are being sold for $10 in advance and are available by calling the MSE office at (870) 862-4747. Those ticket holders are guaranteed a personal experience with the Molinere?s inside the comfort of the historic Rialto Theatre. The VIP Experience begins promptly at 1:00 p.m. with doors opening at 12:30 p.m. The Molinere?s will take part in a question and answer session with those attending, and then each ticket holder will have a professional photograph taken with the Molinere?s as well as an autograph opportunity. Once the VIP Experience is complete and time permits, the Molinere?s will then sign autographs at no charge at a table within the festival grounds.
Sponsors for this year?s performances include Murphy USA, El Dorado Festivals & Events, KLBQ, Mel?s Seafood, All State ?Telano Agency, LLC, KTVE NBC 10 & Fox 15, Milam Construction, El Dorado Federal Center, KARK NBC 4, Union Power Partners, L.P., El Dorado News Times, F. Mattison Thomas 111, Attorney at Law/South Arkansas Legal, Lawrence Electric, K-104, First Financial Bank, Apex Redi Mixed Concrete Company, Country Village Sporting Goods, Comcast Spotlight, Hepco, El Dorado Printing, Hays Rental, Simmons First Bank,the City of El Dorado, Noalmark Broadcasting and the El Dorado Advertising & Promotion Commission.
The entire Bugs, Bands& Bikes Weekend is free and open to the public with the exception of the Swamp People VIP Experience. For more information, contact Main Street El Dorado at (870) 862-4747 or (870) 863-7879.
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