IndexOpinion ....................... A6View Point .................. A7Life & Times ............... A8Sports ................... B1-B4Arts & Events ....... B5-B8Time out ..................... B9Vol. 103, No. 40, 44 pages

This weekA Salmon Arm man fi nds his artistic niche in body-painting. See B5.

The ’Backs went 2-1 during a northern road trip. See more on B2.

WednesdayOctober 6, 2010

www.saobserver.net$1.25 HST INCLUDED

SALMON ARM

ObserverReady for releaseA worker with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans prepares to release a salmon back into the Adams River after it was checked for tags as part of a stock assessment. The Salute to the Sockeye event had a record-setting opening over the weekend with more than 14,000 people in attendance. It is expected that fi ve to eight million fi sh will return to the Adams River spawning grounds. For more, see pages A8 and B8.

Plans in place for Sturgis North

Horses of the iron variety will

be rounded up at the Salmon Arm

Fairgrounds in July for what orga-

nizers are hoping will be the fi rst

of many Sturgis North Motorcycle

Rally and Music Festivals.

Salmon Arm Fall Fair Society

chair Phil Wright and Summer

Stomp treasurer Steve Hammer,

who has partnered with Sturgis

North Promotions Inc. head Ray

Sasseville to bring the event to

town, told the Observer last week

that the fairgrounds have been

booked for July 10 to 20, with the

event slated to run Thursday, July

13 to Sunday, July 17.

The rally/festival is expected to

attract 10,000 people to the fair-

grounds daily, which is something

Wright anticipates with excite-

ment. He says he’s hoping Stur-

gis will lead to other new events

of similar size which, in turn,

would help the fall fair society

with its own ongoing capital proj-

ects (such as putting a new roof

on the active artisan building), all

the while benefi tting the City of

Salmon Arm.

“Seems to me like it’s a cross

between a trade fair and an enter-

tainment fair,” says Wright. “And

I think what it’s doing, or hoping,

is bringing money into Salmon

Arm and having the money stay

here in accommodation, meals,

shopping, rather than having the

money leaving.”

While the fairgrounds are

booked, Wright and Hammer say

the logistics of the event still have

to be worked out. Wright stated

up front that the lease agreement

contains language that gives the

fall fair society the right not to re-

new the lease if anything should

go awry – something that sits just

fi ne with Hammer.

“The agreement is weighted to-

wards the fall fair side so they’re

in control of it,” says Hammer.

“That’s the way it’s got to be. If

it’s a successful event, it carries

on. If it’s a problem event, it will

never happen again.”

To that regard, Hammer spoke

to a variety of statistics relating

to the famous motorcycle rally

in Sturgis, South Dakota after

which Sturgis North is named.

Figures provided by the Sturgis

City Rally Department show that

in 2008, the event saw 400,000

participants. There were three

deaths related to the rally, with

437 people jailed and 370 hospital

visits. There were 543 tons of gar-

bage hauled. Taxable sales from

temporary vendors totaled $10.45

million and the city of Sturgis

collected $217,213 in sales tax.

Hammer says he doesn’t expect

Salmon Arm will see anything

near the numbers seen in Sturgis

and, furthermore, he says Sturgis

North will not be an exact copy

of its U.S. counterpart. Instead,

he says, it’s intended to be a fun,

affordable, family-oriented event

attended by “grown adults with

nothing to prove,” adding there

will be more security onboard

than what is necessary.

By Lachlan LabereOBSERVER STAFF

See Organizers on page A2

IVY MILLS/OBSERVER

Motorcycles and music: Fairgrounds booked for July 13-17, organizers expect 10,000 a day.