Monthly Bike Fest Needs Organizer
By BILL RETTEW JR.

SEBRING — Although out-of-town visitors still show up, they often leave disappointed after finding that the Fourth Saturday Sebring Bike Fest officially fizzled out and needs an organizer.
Marge Davis, of the Sam’ich Place, said that people still ask about the future of the bike fest, which at its peak, attracted hundreds of motorcyclists to the downtown Circle.
Theresa Gutekunst, Davis’ daughter, helped organize the event from the Sam’ich Shop, but has not yet returned to the popular Circle restaurant due to surgery.
Dan Andrews, Greater Sebring Chamber of Commerce president/CEO, hopes to re-establish the bike fest as a “viable” downtown event.
“We’re looking for a group of individuals to help organize and facilitate to make it a successful event,” said Andrews on Tuesday. “No group of people is yet willing to put it together.”
Davis said no one had stepped up to volunteer and Gutekunst is unable to do the needed work, but might still help to organize the event at a later date.
“Everybody wants it, but they don’t want to do it,” said Davis. “Every day somebody mentions it, but nobody will start it and keep it going for a while. It’s a lot of work and you don’t do it alone.”
The bike fest suffered from its own success.
Visitors complained that downtown merchants shuttered their doors to bikers – and in turn local businesses complained of lost parking to hundreds of motorcycles – which merchants said prevented regular shoppers from supporting downtown shops.
During a public city council meeting, Mayor George Hensley bemoaned the possibility that Sebring was perceived as a place where hundreds of bikers met to drink beer on the streets.
Andrews still maintained that the bike fest could again become successful. He looked at a similar event in Winter Haven and suggested designating only a portion of the downtown to public alcohol use.
“We hope to get a group together to work with the chamber, work with the city, law enforcement and the merchants for a viable plan,” said Andrews. “The event can serve as a magnet for those who have yet to see the beautiful community that is Sebring – then shop and return – possibly even as future residents.
“It’s valuable exposure for our community,” he added.