3/9/2010 1:34:00 PM Big events on the way HOG Rally set to return along with Railhead shooting event and more
Photo/WGCN
Over 1,000 motorcycles are expected to line the streets of Williams June 10-12 when the Arizona State HOG Rally returns. Below, the Arizona Cowboy Shooting Competition will return July 1-4.
WILLIAMS - Weekends this summer are packed with events designed to bring visitors, and dollars, into the Williams community.
The Harley Owners Group (HOG) Arizona State Rally will return to Williams June 10-12. Williams-Grand Canyon Chamber of Commerce Events Coordinator Sue Atkinson said the event brings hundreds of riders to downtown Williams.
"We're expecting the numbers for the HOG Rally to exceed what they were in 2006, which was about 1,110 registered riders," she said.
Atkinson went on to say riders will attend the event from all over the southwest region with HOG chapters possibly traveling to the event from Nevada.
Event organizers plan to run shuttles all weekend to and from local hotels to the downtown area where many of the event's festivities will take place. Cruisers is sponsoring this year's street dance and a bike show will take place on Third Street. Prescott Valley Battle of the Bands 2008/09 winner Not Quite Dead along with Distant Fury will provide musical entertainment.
"The big party is going to be downtown," Atkinson said, going on to say improvements at the Williams Rodeo Grounds were a crucial to bringing the rally back to Williams.
"The HOG committee is working on getting a mesh shade structure put up at the grand stands at the rodeo grounds," she said. "That was one of the key things that helped to bring them back. They like to have the motorcycle games at the rodeo grounds, but it's so hot in the summer time that they wanted some kind of shade put up. So, the HOG committee is purchasing one for the games and it will also be used for other events and rodeo events that are out there. It will hold up better in the wind."
National Train Day coming
A National Train Day celebration hosted by the Grand Canyon Railway and the Grand Canyon Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society will be held May 8-9.
The event will feature a full weekend of train related activities for the whole family and train buffs of all ages.
"This is a celebration first started by Amtrak a few years ago and it's to raise awareness of the vital role that the rail has played in our nation's transportation system," Atkinson said. "It's focusing on everything train and rail."
Train lovers will have the opportunity to ride aboard a historic Harriman coach car pulled by the Grand Canyon Railway's No. 4960 steam engine. The 45-minute trip will run hourly from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. both days with a sunset photographer's run at 6 p.m. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for children.
Besides the steam train ride, all other events are free.
Model train layouts will be featured throughout the Grand Canyon Railway Hotel.
"There are four or five clubs coming to the event with trains from itty-bitty N scale to huge G scales," Atkinson said. "There will be model trains set up and live entertainment as well."
Tours of GCR and BNSF train cars including train engines and a caboose will be available and historic railroad artifacts from the Arizona Railroad Museum will be on display.
Multi-Cultural Arts, Crafts & Antiques Expo
Presented by the Williams Alliance and Inspirations, Inc., the juried Multi-Cultural Arts, Crafts and Antiques show will be held June 18-19. The show will feature interactive art booths, crafts, antiques and live entertainment while showcasing the cultural diversity of area artists and crafters.
Railhead Single Action Shooting competition
The Arizona Cowboy Shooters Association's Railhead shooting competition returns to Williams July 1-4. Held at the Williams Shooting Range located along Highway 64 just south of Kaibab Lake, the event attracts historic shooting enthusiasts who dress in full 1800s period clothing.
Last year's event attracted approximately 160 shooters. Organizers expect even more in attendance this year.
Vendors selling period authentic wares will be located at the Wild West Junction where the event's organizers plan to hold their banquet as well.
Fireball Run Adventure Rally
The Fireball Run and Its Race to Recover America's Missing Children will roll through Williams Sept. 25. The nine-day, 18 city, 75 team tour plans to make its first stop in Williams. The 3,500-mile road rally, headquartered out of Universal Studios Orlando, partners with the Children's Network to help locate missing children.
"Each team is assigned a missing child," Atkinson said. "They put up posters all throughout the country during this rally. It's also kind of a great race event. The teams have tasks or certain things in each town that they need to accomplish. The whole thing is getting filmed."
Atkinson said she hopes to put on an evening reception/street party. There will be a vehicle staging area to view all of the cars involved. The rally is open to any and all motorized vehicles.
"They've had Ferraris, Bentleys, Jaguars. Some guy entered his semi one year," she said. "There are classic cars and beyond. There are going to be movie cars. The event organizer said the Delorean from Back to the Future will be here along with the Kit car from Night Rider."
For a complete list of chamber-sponsored events scheduled throughout the summer months, visit
