Myrtle Beach: something is always happening

Twenty-five years ago, Carolina Knights planned a motorcycle rally on the beach.

They were only five in number.

The event attracted a hundred visitors in 1980.

The occasion of the weekend is now a week-long gala with around 400,000 visitors and thousands of cyclists.

This year (May 24-29, 2006), it will become a city-wide festival.

Yes, we were talking about Atlantic Beach Bike Fest.

Another famous bike rally is the Carolina Harley-Davidson Dealers Association Myrtle Beach Rally. It is the longest continuous rally beginning May 17 this year at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center.

Tourists from all over the country and abroad plan their Myrtle Beach vacation for this season specifically to join the party with over 100,000 bikers, food and fun. Authorities estimate that around 375,000 visitors will join the party this year.

Black Bike Week is also a popular bike festival, around which a good number of people plan their Myrtle Beach vacations. The slogan “make it bounce” bounces off almost every corner of the city, wild and extreme, during the festival. One can easily guess the rest of the story.

There’s always something going on there in Myrtle Beach. The 55th annual Sun Fun Festival has just knocked on doors with the agenda of breaking the record for the tallest sand castle in the world. The entire sandcastle will be 60 feet wide at its base and 35 feet tall with 1,200 cubic tons of sand and the theme is “Summer Starts Here.”

The 9th Annual Sea Doo Surf and Turf Championship will be held June 3-4, behind the Spring Maid Resort on the beach. Summer sports, fitness camps, swim teachers, Myrtle Beach Biathlon, and others always push each other.

These high-energy events with professional participation, great racing, and lots of crowd participation attract large numbers of visitors throughout the year.

Traffic congestion of four hours or more is common throughout the Grand Strand on Memorial Day weekend, although there are additional law enforcement officers. A little traffic information will help visitors enter and move around the city during festival seasons.

In Myrtle Beach, traffic on Ocean Boulevard is one-way, southbound, from 29th Avenue North to the southern city limits, with no parking allowed. Traffic heading north toward the city of Atlantic Beach on Highway 17 will enter a turn-only lane.

Whatever your reasons for being by the sea, a

Myrtle Beach vacations always have something new to offer and fun for you. Be there once to believe it.

The city is the heart of the Grand Strand, a 60-mile crescent of beach on the north coast of South Carolina.