Planning already underway for next Wharf Rat Rally

Next year’s event will be the 15th gathering

The Wharf Rat Rally has wrapped up for another year and organizers are already planning for the 15th annual rally in 2019.

The multi-day event in Digby finished on Sunday, Sept. 2 and most of the bikers rolled out of town that evening or on Monday, Sept. 3.

Laura Simmons, executive director of the Wharf Rat Rally, was impressed with the increase in participation in the show and shine event and the rat bike show.

“Everything went well for us and the weather was perfect,” she said.

The rally had more than 5,000 Wharf Rat Rally pins for bikers who registered, and they ran out throughout the weekend.

“We’ve never not had any pins left over,” she says.

When bikers register at the rally it gives them access to bring The annual wharf rat rally finished on Sept. 2 for another year. their bikes downtown and park throughout Water Street all weekend.

Rally organizers have been busy counting ballots from those who registered, tracking where visitors came from.

Numbers were still being calculated last week but so far they’d accounted for visitors from all over Canada including as far away as British Columbia and the Northwest Territories. Japan, South Korea, Germany, Portugal, England and Amsterdam were other areas visitors came from.

Nadine Lauren, the office manager for Wharf Rat Rally, thanks all the volunteers who helped make the rally possible. She also noticed a number of new volunteers this year.

“Everyone seemed to be having a great time. Volunteering for us isn’t hard work, if you like to talk to people and help them out, then you’ll enjoy it,” Lauren said.

There were fewer vendors at the rally this year. Organizers made sure there was more room in the walkway between vendors and gave each booth more space.

“From what we’ve heard the vendors had good turnouts,” she said.

Digby RCMP said they didn’t respond to any collision calls throughout the event in Digby, but there were arrests relating to public intoxication.

“With the weather as gorgeous as it was, we were busy on Saturday especially, but we felt there was a higher turnout that day than in previous years,” said Digby RCMP’s Cst. Colin Helm.

There was an accident in nearby Clementsport, Annapolis County, on Sept. 2 where a car hit a motorcycle head on, which resulted in the motorcycle driver being airlifted to the hospital with serious injuries. A 44-yearold woman from New Germany was thrown from her bike in the crash. The RCMP say her leg was amputated below the knee. A 23-year-old Granville Ferry man is being charged with dangerous driving causing bodily harm. At the time of the incident it was not immediately known if the motorcyclist had been participating in the rally.