Fans of the Devil’s Half Acre Motorcycle Rally will be in for even more of a treat when the third edition of the popular event hits the streets of Kentville June 15-16.
According to organizer Harlon Wood, the rally will be “bigger and better” this time around, with a handful of new events.
“We’ll have a mechanical bull this year (Saturday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.), a Parade of Lights on Saturday night, pyrotechnics Saturday night at 10 p.m., and music all day until 10 p.m. Saturday,” he said.
Another new event this year will be Biker Games - according to Wood, this iis “a skills challenge for bikers” - and which will take place at various times over the weekend.
“We’re looking for a good crowd,” Wood said, adding that he’s hopeful it will match or even exceed the 3,000-4,000 that attended the event in 2018.
But, he acknowledges, a lot of it is dependent on the weather.
“Good weather is a must for any outdoor event like this,” he says. The rally will go ahead, rain or shine, but “we really need two nice days” to guarantee a successful weekend.
The organizers, he added, are trying to make the event friendly to everyone, not just motorcyclists, although the bulk of the activities are aimed at bikers and motorcycle enthusiasts.
Plenty of events
Registration will be open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on June 15. There will be a biker breakfast both Saturday and Sunday from 7-10 a.m. The Biker Games will be at 11 a.m. and again at 3 p.m. on Saturday, and at 11 a.m. and noon on Sunday.
Other June 15 events include military vehicles from Camp Aldershot between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m., a show and shine in Centre Square from noon to 3 p.m., stunt team demos at 1 p.m. and 5 p.m., a burnout competition at 2 p.m. and a beard competition at 4:30 p.m. All events will be held on or near Aberdeen Street.
Music will be provided by the Matt Millett Project starting at noon, and by Broken Circuit at 3:30 p.m. and again from 7-10 p.m. Saturday evening, which will wrap up with the Parade of Lights on Aberdeen Street beginning at 9 p.m. and pyrotechnics at 10 p.m.
On June 16, the schedule gets underway at 8 a.m. and goes until 4 p.m. Events and activities include a biker breakfast, military vehicles from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., two sessions of Biker Games at 11 a.m. and 12 noon, music by Broken Circuit from 1-3 p.m. and a Stunt Team Demo beginning at 3 p.m.
A highlight of Sunday’s schedule for the motorcyclists in attendance will be a group bike ride along Highway 359 to Hall’s Harbour, then across the top of the North Mountain to the Lookoff near Canning before returning to Kentville. This popular event was also held in past years.
All weekend long, there will be a wide range of vendors, food trucks, 50/50 draws at regular intervals, as well as a motorcycle dyno.
“You can put your bike on it and check the horsepower,” Wood explained.
‘Buzz around town’
Interest in this year’s event is already building, he added.
“We’ve been trying to make this bigger and better every year,” Wood said.
Speaking on June 2, Wood said there was already “a real buzz around town, and a lot of people talking” about the rally, which is likely to have downtown Kentville hopping for the entire June 15-16 weekend.
The band stage will be set up in the middle of Aberdeen Street just north of the intersection with Webster Street. Both Aberdeen and Webster Streets will be closed off for the duration of the rally, making events very central to the downtown core.
Wood acknowledged the help and support of the Town of Kentville, without which the event could not take place.
“The town has been great,” he said. The town, Safety Service Nova Scotia and Kustom Creations in Coldbrook are platinum sponsors.
“We really appreciate all our sponsors, platinum or otherwise. It really wouldn’t happen without their help and support.” He made a special shout-out to Paddy’s Pub “which is playing a much bigger part this year,” including providing a room to serve as the event headquarters.
Did you know?
The event takes its name from The Devil’s Half Acre, a popular nickname for Kentville in the early 1900s.