Sturgis North has been canceled for 2013, according to the Salmon Arm Observer.
The Sturgis North rally has been surrounded by controversy since its beginning back in 2011. There were unpaid bills after the 2011 rally in Salmon Arm; for 2012, the rally moved to MotoPlex Speedway and Event Park in Spallumcheen, near Vernon.
While some rally attendees seemed to have a good time, other people derided the event as a pale imitation of the famous Sturgis rally in the US, and complained about disorganization.
It seems none of those issues are going to pop up in 2013, because the RCMP in Chase, BC, have told town council the rally (known by the hell-raising title of “2013 Sturgis North Motorcycle Jamboree and Music Festival”) won’t be running in Chase this summer, as planned.
Appaarently, the Neskonlith Indian Band informed the police the festival was canceled. Now, rumour has the party moving on up the road again, to Merritt, in 2014. But since there are still complaints about unpaid bills from the 2011 event, we’re guessing this could be the end of the ride for Sturgis North.
[…] Canada (previously known as Sturgis North). The BC-based motorcycle festival is constantly beset by problems, but the organizers don’t give up, even though the 2013 event ended up […]
Ian, glad you pointed that out. That explains how they posted about Merritt three weeks ago, and since then their website lists no ticket prices, no bands, no activities, and lists three advertisers, only one of which is remotely related to bikes. Yes, it’s running as smooth as a Swiss watch. So, with three weeks left to go, they are selling camping spots for an event with no inforation other than location on their website. They look even more disorganized than the first two years.
The event is happening again this year but in Merritt, BC… they have made a lot of changes in house and brought on some third party companies to make sure things run more smoothly and without incident!
Poorly run and poorly organized, in debt to vendor and suppliers, with a trail of ticked off people in the wake of SN 2011 and 2012, and no doubt now the Neskonlith band in 2013, knock off use of the name Sturgis, nothing original, boring venues, overpriced tickets. Why would any self-respecting biker go to another event run by these people? What vendor or supplier would even remotely think of working with them unless they get paid upfront, which SN can’t do because they owe so much to past creditors. This even just plain sucks.
good