Despite last-minute financial difficulties, bushfires and road closures, the recent Walcha Motorcycle Festival was deemed such a success, it will become an annual event.
Walcha Tourism manager Susie Crawford says they have already set a date for next year’s event on 20/21 November 2020.
“An estimated 700-plus attended the weekend (15/17 November 2019), with possibly everything thrown at us in the lead-up – fires, road closures etc, so we were over the moon with the attendance considering the circumstances,” she says.
“Thank you to the local businesses, community and to all the wonderful riders who made the weekend such a great success.
Among the many highlights will be the chance for riders to hear Harley-Davidson’s LiveWire electric motorcycle and even go for a “demo ride” on their Jumpstart Experience.
Harley offers non-licensed people a demo ride with their JumpStart
Harley-Davidson Australia spokesman Keith Waddell says they have been “working closely with Walcha Council to support their plans to host riders with music and food options over the weekend”.
The company will set up at the Walcha Showground and will run demo rides over the weekend.
Meanwhile, he says the liquidators of the two axed events are “working through the required processes on asset and refund retrieval for all involved”.
“As this process may take some time, Harley-Davidson will refund the $99 HOG ticket cost directly to members,” he says.
“All HOG ticket holders have been contacted directly to arrange those refunds.”
The liquidators have not yet provided any details on refunds for Freak Show ticket holders.
Walcha Motorcycle Weekend program
There is a host of other entertainment across the three days, including stunt shows, a rodeo, guided rides, Harley demo rides, a Steampunk motorcycle gallery, markets, music, food stalls, a billy cart derby show and shine and more.
Freak Show Festival organiser David Rollins sent us this formal statement:
The organisers of the Freak Show Festival of motorcycles regret to inform that the event has been forced into voluntary liquidation due to difficulties maintaining ongoing support from sponsors
The organisers are personally and financially devastated by this outcome, having poured considerable money into the event as well as time.
A liquidator has been appointed. All ticketing and trade enquires should be addressed to Wexted Pty Ltd, Level 12, 28 O’Connell Street, Sydney NSW 2000. E: [email protected]
He says there is “not much I can add to it for legal reasons”.
More than 1000 tickets had been sold and they claimed they were expecting about 5000 to attend.
Freak show
The Freak Show Festival was to include a flat track, a dirt hill climb, custom motorcycles, the Globe of Death, wheelies, stoppies and burnouts, a ride-in cinema playing motorcycle-themed movies, live music and food and beverages.
It was scheduled for one weekend after the Australian Motorcycle Festival (formerly the Sydney Moto Expo) in Wollongong from November 8-10.
The show and rally were also sponsored by NSW Tourism Department who expected it to deliver more than $1.7 million in visitor expenditure to the region.
More than 5000 are expected to attend theFreak Show Festival of Motorcycles run alongside the return of the national Harley Owners Group (HOG) rally in Walcha, NSW, from November 15-17, 2019.
Freak Show Festival organiser David Rollins says more than 1000 entry tickets have been sold so far.
“To have had such a large number of entry tickets snapped up in the dead of winter, so many months out from the event, is remarkable,” David says.
“We are expecting around 5000 enthusiasts will roll into Walcha in November and reaching this milestone mid-July means we’re well on track to achieving those numbers.”
If these figures are accurate, the population of the small New England High Country town of Walcha will almost triple over the extended weekend.
Freak festival
Freak Show Festival features include a flat track, a dirt hill climb, custom motorcycles, the Globe of Death, wheelies, stoppies and burnouts, a ride-in cinema playing motorcycle-themed movies, live music and food and beverages.
Harley Owner’s Group will have guided rides and HOG members will lead off the Thunder Rally.
Punters will be invited to have a go at the flat track like Brisbane’s Dust Hustle event on a purpose-built track on vacant land next to the town’s racecourse.
“We have motorcyclists making the trip from all over NSW, and also as far afield as Perth, north Queensland, South Australia, and even New Zealand,” he says.
David Rollins
The NSW Tourism Department estimates the motorcycle event will deliver more than $1.7 million in visitor expenditure to the region.
“With the region being in the grip of such a prolonged drought, this event is just what Walcha needs,” David says.
Walcha welcome
Walcha Mayor Eric Noakes says the town is “100% behind the Freak Show Festival of Motorcycles”.
“We’re welcoming it with open arms,” he says.
Walcha was chosen for the event because it sits at the crossroads of some of the best motorcycling routes in NSW taking in the Oxley Highway, New England Highway, Waterfall Way and Thunderbolts Way.
The rally will be held in the Walcha racecourse and sale yards with various levels of camping right up to five-star “glamping”.
“All accommodation has been booked out in Walcha already, but there is still heaps in Armidale and Tamworth. Plus we will have on-site camping options from standard tents to Lawrence of Arabia style,” David says.
Shuttle buses to and from events, accommodation and the town centre will be provided.
Harley Owners Group spokesman Andrew Kidd says Walcha is a “reasonable size town with good facilities”.
“Much like the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, the surrounding towns will be more than able to handle the volume of riders coming to the event,” he says.
“The local roads are renowned as some of the best riding roads in the country so come along and enjoy a great event and some fantastic roads.”
Riders in Walcha at the Royal Cafe
The whole HOG
The last HOG national rally was last held in 2015 at Tamworth and followed by open Harley Days rallies at Wollongong in 2016 and 2017.
HOG members were unhappy with the open format so there was no 2018 national rally. Now it returns at the Walcha festival.
David says the one ticket will gain access to all areas and sites.
Tickets are now available for the Freak Show Festival of Motorcycles which is being run in conjunction with the return of the national Harley Owners Group (HOG) rally in Walcha, NSW, from November 15-17, 2019.
Founder David Rollins says those events have not been completely shelved, but they have given birth to this new event.
“We developed a good relationship with the people of Walcha in that time, we’ve earned their trust and now we want to repay it,” he says.
“The town is providing us with first-class facilities so that we can stage an event to remember.
“We’ve had a lot of interest in pre-launch registrations.”
Among the attractions for the weekend will be a “Hell Climb” hillclimb, custom show, flat-track exhibition racing, stalls, music, outdoor cinema, trade show, globe of death, donuts and burnouts in a closed-off arena.
HOG will have guided rides and HOG members will lead off the Thunder Rally.
Punters will be invited to have a go at the flat track like Brisbane’s Dust Hustle event on a purpose-built track on vacant land next to the town’s racecourse.
“The Freak Show of Motorcycles will be like the Summernats for motorcycles,” David says.
“We’re expecting about 5000 attendees a day for the three days of the event.”
HOGs and more
Thunder Run at the last National HOG Rally in Tamworth
HOG members may be glad to see the final return of their national rally.
It was last held in 2015 at Tamworth and followed by open Harley Days rallies at Wollongong in 2016 and 2017.
HOG members were unhappy with the open format so there was no 2018 national rally.
Now the national HOG rally will return at Walcha to run as an open event alongside the Freak Show which is described as a festival of motorcycles of all types.
Harley-Davidson Australia customer experience manager Gaz Luxmore says the partnership between the Freak Show Festival of Motorcycles and Harley-Davidson is “a perfect way of bringing together different riding communities and incorporating the national HOG Rally”.
“The lovely, motorcycle friendly town of Walcha and the fantastic roads of central NSW will create a magnificent backdrop for a truly unique and spectacular event,” he says.
Walcha crossroads
Walcha was chosen for the event because it sits at the crossroads of some of the best motorcycling routes in NSW taking in the Oxley Highway, New England Highway, Waterfall Way and Thunderbolts Way.
Member for Tamworth Kevin Anderson says Walcha is “known for being popular with motorcycle tourists”.
The rally will be held in the Walcha racecourse and sale yards with various levels of camping right up to five-star “glamping”.
“All accommodation has been booked out in Walcha already, but there is still heaps in Armidale and Tamworth. Plus we will have on-site camping options from standard tents to Lawrence of Arabia style,” David says.
Shuttle buses to and from events, accommodation and the town centre will be provided.
Harley Owners Group spokesman Andrew Kidd says Walcha is a “reasonable size town with good facilities”.
“Much like the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, the surrounding towns will be more than able to handle the volume of riders coming to the event,” he says.
“The local roads are renowned as some of the best riding roads in the country so come along and enjoy a great event and some fantastic roads.”
Riders in Walcha at the Royal Cafe
David says the one ticket will gain access to all areas and sites that Freak Show Festival of Motorcycles has to offer.
Tickets go on sale at the end of March and David says they will be “competitively priced”.
David says they have major sponsorship support from Harley-Davidson Australia and the NSW Government’s major events agency, Destination NSW.
Minister for Tourism and Major Events and Member for Northern Tablelands Adam Marshall says the motorcycle event will deliver more than $1.7 million in visitor expenditure to the region.
Founder David Rollins says those events have not been completely shelved, but they have given birth to this new event.
“We developed a good relationship with the people of Walcha in that time, we’ve earned their trust and now we want to repay it,” he says.
“The town is providing us with first-class facilities so that we can stage an event to remember.”
Among the attractions for the weekend will be a “Hell Climb” hillclimb, custom show, flat-track exhibition racing, stalls, music, outdoor cinema, trade show, globe of death, donuts and burnouts in a closed-off arena.
HOG will have guided rides and HOG members will lead off the Thunder Rally.
Punters will be invited to have a go at the flat track like Brisbane’s Dust Hustle event on a purpose-built track on vacant land next to the town’s racecourse.
“The Freak Show of Motorcycles will be like the Summernats for motorcycles,” David says.
“We’re expecting about 5000 attendees a day for the three days of the event.”
HOGs and more
Thunder Run at the last National HOG Rally in Tamworth
HOG members should be glad to see the return of their national rally.
It was last held in 2015 at Tamworth and followed by open Harley Days rallies at Wollongong in 2016 and 2017.
HOG members were unhappy with the open format so there was no 2018 national rally.
Now the national HOG rally will return at Walcha to run alongside the Freak Show which is described as a festival of motorcycles of all types.
Harley-Davidson Australia customer experience manager Gaz Luxmore says the partnership between the Freak Show Festival of Motorcycles and Harley-Davidson is “a perfect way of bringing together different riding communities and incorporating the national HOG Rally”.
“The lovely, motorcycle friendly town of Walcha and the fantastic roads of central NSW will create a magnificent backdrop for a truly unique and spectacular event,” he says.
Walcha crossroads
Walcha was chosen for the event because it sits at the crossroads of some of the best motorcycling routes in NSW taking in the Oxley Highway, New England Highway, Waterfall Way and Thunderbolts Way.
Member for Tamworth Kevin Anderson says Walcha is “known for being popular with motorcycle tourists”.
The rally will be held in the Walcha racecourse and sale yards with various levels of camping right up to five-star “glamping”.
“All accommodation has been booked out in Walcha already, but there is still heaps in Armidale and Tamworth. Plus we will have on-site camping options from standard tents to Lawrence of Arabia style,” David says.
Shuttle buses to and from events, accommodation and the town centre will be provided.
Harley Owners Group spokesman Andrew Kidd says Walcha is a “reasonable size town with good facilities”.
“Much like the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, the surrounding towns will be more than able to handle the volume of riders coming to the event,” he says.
“The local roads are renowned as some of the best riding roads in the country so come along and enjoy a great event and some fantastic roads.”
Riders in Walcha at the Royal Cafe
David says the one ticket will gain access to all areas and sites that Freak Show Festival of Motorcycles has to offer.
Tickets go on sale at the end of March and David says they will be “competitively priced”.
David says they have major sponsorship support from Harley-Davidson Australia and the NSW Government’s major events agency, Destination NSW.
Minister for Tourism and Major Events and Member for Northern Tablelands Adam Marshall says the motorcycle event will deliver more than $1.7 million in visitor expenditure to the region.
