by Jay Petrequin from https://www.news10.com
LAKE GEORGE, N.Y. (NEWS10) — The 2020 Americade motorcycle rally, a yearly staple event for the village, announced Wednesday that they would be moving their date for the year back by a couple months as a response to COVID-19.
The event, originally set for June, is now being planned for July 21-25.
“The health of our community and our guests is paramount, but it is our sincere hope that by late July, it will be possible to bring Americade back to Lake George as long as there are no federal, state or local regulations that would preclude it,” wrote Americade organizer Christian Dutcher in a news release. “We will be very sensitive to public health concerns. We will conduct Americade 2020 in a manner that is respectful of the terrible ordeal this pandemic has caused.’’
In addition, this year’s Americade will employ a variety of safety procedures in order to ensure safety in the event that coronavirus fears are still active in the region. This year, the motorcycle event is going “touchless.”
In accordance with guidance from Warren County, Americade will be enforcing a restricted number of attendees in a given space; removing certain events based on usual crowd size; asking attendees to register online instead of in-person; facilitate unguided rides; and encourage riders to use a variety of local restaurants for lunches while riding, in order to avoid anywhere being inundated by crowds.
‘’Americade’s decision to postpone rather than cancel is a welcome decision for our region’s economy,” wrote Lake George Mayor Robert Blais. “Our great family resort has the ability to host a wide variety of events successfully and cooperatively. We look forward to working with Americade and blending them into our busy season.”
Americade is also reaching out to hotels and other hospitality partners to make sure enough accomodations will be availible to bikers in town for the event.
“My Dad founded this event, and my Mom gave it its patriotic name,” Dutcher wrote. “As a family, we’ve seen it as a celebration of the American spirit of freedom and independence. This year we will pay tribute to the heroic work of our local first responders and frontline hospital workers and, in their honor, organize a special fund-raising effort among our visitors, vendors and participants.”
