EBENSBURG — The Cambria County Fairgrounds will be a campground and party spot for this summer’s Thunder in the Valley motorcycle rally, with Ebensburg officials loosening the borough’s noise control ordinance.
Some residents in the Elderwood neighborhood bordering the fairgrounds are opposed to the Johnstown event coming to their backyards.
But borough officials say they are satisfied with the biker group’s plans for security and safety.
“The fairgrounds are an amusement area, and from time to time you may have to tolerate what you might normally not have to,” Ebensburg Mayor Charles Moyer said. “We want Ebensburg to be open to all types of entertainment. After all, you can’t have the ballet every night.”
The Cambria Summit chapter of ABATE – the Alliance of Bikers Aimed Toward Education – has leased the fairgrounds from the Cambria County American Legion Recreation Association, which owns and operates the fairgrounds, for June 26-29.
Calling it “Wheels & Wings Campground” on one Web site – in reference to Ebensburg’s annual car, truck and motorcycle show combined with a wing-off – organizers say they’ll run a tight ship.
“At midnight, the band quits, and we won’t allow motorcycle noise after midnight,” said Dave Lydick, president of Cambria Summit ABATE. “We will have on-site security provided by us. We’ll carry walkie-talkies, wear security shirts and have a constable on site. There will be a zero-tolerance policy for trouble.”
Thunder in the Valley has grown steadily since it began in 1998. Ebensburg’s Wheels & Wings event began four years ago as a way to participate in Johnstown’s celebration, and, like Thunder, has gotten bigger each year.
Lydick stressed that his motorcycle chapter members are looking for fun, not trouble.
“I’m taking reservations for the fairgrounds campground from people bringing in motor homes worth a quarter of a million dollars. They’re not going to bring that somewhere there could be problems,” he said.
“I have a professional job, and some of the Harley-Davidsons people drive cost over $20,000,” he said. “Most of these people are professionals who just want to camp out and have a good time.”
The party will start at 6 p.m. June 26 with a show by the band “Beyond Reason”; “Kings Ransom” will play June 27; and “Ozone Rangers” will play June 28.
ABATE describes the fairgrounds as having more than 100 hookups for recreational vehicles and unlimited tent sites.
The event will feature bike games, a T-shirt contest, food, merchandise, an on-site tattoo artist and beer sales.
William Brown, vice president of the American Legion Recreation Association, said there have been no problems in the planning.
“We had a meeting with our solicitor, with ABATE and the borough chief of police. We require insurance coverage, and we’re covered by our own insurance. Everyone’s satisfied,” he said.
One ABATE chapter had used Greenhouse Park in Somerset County as a campground and party spot during Thunder in the Valley. This year the parties will continue, but not the camping.
Cambria ABATE will host a party there on June 27, and Somerset ABATE will host a party there on June 28.
Greenhouse Park’s gates will open at 1 p.m. and close at midnight, according to Thunder in the Valley organizers and township officials.
Conemaugh police Chief Louis Barclay said there were few problems in past years at Greenhouse, considering the size of the crowd.
Records show that in 2006, the last year Greenhouse Park was used as a campground, Conemaugh Township police issued nine citations for disorderly conduct, one for public drunkenness and had one person transported to Memorial Medical Center due to alcohol poisoning.
“ABATE people pretty much police their own,” Barclay said.
“For the volume of bikers who were there, there’s been very little trouble.”
Lisa Rager, director of the Cambria County Visitors Bureau, which sponsors Thunder in the Valley, said she welcomes such complementary events.
“It’s always good to have new opportunities for those who attend each year,” she said.
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Ebensburg to loosen noise rules for Thunder in the Valley
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