As to young members going to a the rally-We raised three sons at our house & going to a M/C rally in July wasn't a priority to child rearing. How many of those that you want to attract to the rally have kids & thats the reason they don't go, no matter the month held? I didn't choose to leave my wife & kids @ home so I could ride around a lot in the summer. You cannot talk about attracting younger set w/o looking at ALL the reasons they don't join/attend. While I don't fault anyone with kids for taking some "family time off" for a rally, I do fail to see the connection with younger members raising children getting to a rally because schools out. For working age adults the summer is mandated vacation time for many, heat or no heat.I agree completely, I can't believe school age children are the driving force/reason for Rally scheduling! Where does this come from? Is it another survey where less than 3% of the membership responded?
Ride Safe,
It's a fact, people vote with their "feet", so lower attendance is a reality for various reasons. I/we go to FB games & attendance is down these days at places that were automatic sellouts in recent years.
Is the rally a "cash cow" that has to answer to the most attendance or a date variable activity that can try for pleasing a majority of members over time?
The best riding time in my E KY location is spring & fall, hands down. Not so hot & humid and the scenery is at it's prime time. Many of the smaller rallies revolve around these seasons. As an e.g., craft shows are also frequently held at these same times-some for many decades on the same dates each year, in fact. They revolve around attendance, period. Not a criticisim, but time for a fresh approach to date selection, I think.