Bikes, Blues & BBQ will donate to local charities following 2012 rally

Bikers cruise along Dickson Street during the opening night of the 2012 Bikes, Blues & BBQ motorcycle rally.

Photo: Todd Gill, Flyer staff

Bikes, Blues & BBQ organizers will once again donate proceeds from the annual motorcycle rally to local charities, event director Joe Giles announced Wednesday.

Rally officials will distribute the funds Jan. 11 during a ceremony for sponsors, volunteers, and representatives of the various charities chosen for funding.

Specific donation amounts have not yet been announced, but officials said the combination of donations and total funds raised during the 2012 rally will exceed $185,000.

Organizers did not hold a donation ceremony in 2011, but said local charities raised around $64,000 on their own during the rally using vendor space donated by the Bikes, Blues & BBQ board.

Officials said they’ve donated over $500,000 to local charities since the rally’s inception in 2000.

The 2013 Bikes, Blues & BBQ rally is scheduled for Sept. 18-21.