CARIBOU, Maine – Spud Speedway’s first BikeBowl will celebrate motorcycles and encourage festival goers to join the action.
After launching two highly successful events last year – the SnowBowl and DustBowl – speedway co-owners Troy Haney and Jim Gamage created two more “bowl” festivals: the MudBowl, held in June, and the BikeBowl, slated for Aug. 9-11.
While the earlier three festivals celebrated snowmobiling, ATVs, grass drags and monster truck mud runs, the BikeBowl is all about motorcycles.
“It fits naturally with what we’re doing,” Haney said. “The idea is to be more than a racetrack and attract different crowds with a variety of events.”
The BikeBowl will kick off Friday, Aug. 9 with a variety of music and food vendors. From 5:30 to 10 p.m., attendees can take part in the “food truck face-off.” As they sample food from 10 food trucks, they can scan a special QR code into their phone and vote for their favorite. The top three winners will receive $1,000, $500 and $250, respectively.
The food truck face-off will also happen from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday. Trucks will include Minnie Winnie’s, Smokey D’s BBQ, The Food Dudes, Mimi’s Smashing Food Truck, Nacho Mama’s, Northern Spice, Cheri’s Weiner Wagon, The Maple Moose and Fuel ME Nutrition. Northern Spice will only be at the Speedway Aug. 9.
Throughout Friday and Saturday, six local bands will be competing in a Battle of the Bands for a chance to win the $500 People’s Choice Award. On Friday, Busted will perform at 5:30 p.m. and Wally and the Virginian at 8:00. Saturday’s bands include Roy Tweedie and the Creamers at noon, Dirtbag Jenkins and The Dustpans at 2 p.m., Subject to Change at 4 p.m. and The Echo at 6 p.m.
People’s Choice Awards for the bands and food trucks will be given at 8:30 p.m. Saturday. Following the awards, Boston AC/DC tribute band AD/HD will perform at 9 p.m.
Saturday will be the day of motorcycles. At 1:30 and 5:15 p.m., New Hampshire-based stunt rider Joey Charron will bring his Joey Bananas Harley Davidson Stunt Show. From 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. that day, folks can test their riding skills in a motorcycle competition featuring the categories of slow ride, double rider, tennis ball challenge and burnout.
A cornhole tournament will take place Saturday from 1 to 6 p.m. Registration will be noon to 1 p.m., with a limit of 40 teams.
“We want to give people a lot of food options, some good music and a chance to participate in some of the events,” Haney said.
The BikeBowl will close Sunday with the Brian’s Ride Cancer Fund motorcycle trip from Spud Speedway to Madawaska’s Four Corners Park and America’s First Mile in Fort Kent. Riders will leave the speedway around 10 a.m. and return around 2 p.m. for a barbecue, which will be open to the public. Folks must register for the trip before the check-in period at 9 a.m. Sunday.
