MountainFest, the motorcycle rally held near Morgantown for the last 15 years, was postponed for 2020 so organizers can put together a blueprint to ensure a viable event going forward.
On its website, festival organizers wrote “MountainFest Motorcycle Rally will officially pause in 2020 to re-evaluate facilities and organizational priorities. Our team will take this opportunity to ensure quality experiences for you all, our long-time supporters. Post event survey information and all attendee feedback will be carefully considered in the evaluation of the event’s future.”
Susan Riddle, president and CEO of the Greater Morgantown Convention and Visitors Bureau, said one of the reasons MountainFest will not occur next year is the cost of musical entertainment. The most recent event featured Peter Frampton, Cheap Trick and the Charlie Daniels Band.
“Significant changes in the music industry changed the cost of entertainment,” Riddle said, adding that less people are buying motorcycles as well. “It’s at a point that we need to take a pause.”
Riddle could not say when a decision will be made to revive the festival — the largest motorcycle rally in the state — or cancel it.
The three-day rally, held over a July weekend at Mylan Park, included outdoor concerts as well as motorcycle-themed entertainment and attracted as many as 50,000 people each year. Attendance this year was slightly down from previous years, but did not factor into the decision to put the event on hold, Riddle said.
Because of the success of MountainFest, other weekend festivals such as The Wild and Wonderful Country Fest are now being held in the Morgantown area. That event, held in August for the first time, attracted 25,000 people, Riddle said.
“Because of MountainFest, there has been tremendous interest in our region,” she said.
“People are looking at our region as a destination.”
