It's time for a festival in the valley to celebrate what many people love most about summer—biking and live music. The debut of the Rhythm & Ride Bike & Music Festival begins today with the third annual Ketchum Cruiser Criterium from 6-9 p.m., at Ketchum's Forest Service Park with live music by The Shims.
Any bike in any condition is acceptable for racing and there will be races and rides for all ages. The event will raise money for the Wood River Bike Coalition and the Bald Mountain Rescue Fund. The event cost is a $20 donation for adults and $5 for kids, with food and drinks available to purchase.
The festival kicks off its Hailey addition with the fourth annual Sheep Town Fat Tire Festival. Event organizer or "dis-organizer" Greg Randolph is excited to be able to do the creative races and rides again in Hailey. All events for the annual Sheep Town festival are free.
"It's a grassroots event in every sense of the word," said Randolph. "People are fired up for the drag races and the city of Hailey is also very excited and gave us a permit this year to close down River Street between Silver and Spruce."
Randolph said it's great that Sun Valley is looking into fun and cool things for young people to do, and it promises to be a great weekend of fun.
Will Caldwell, event organizer for the festival, is particularly excited about the festival's evolution, which originally started as a music festival and added biking as an extra bonus of attraction.
"The bands are fantastic," said Caldwell. "They will get people on their feet dancing and nothing will be like dancing in a meadow with bare feet."
Headlining band Sambada has a Brazilian influence with lots of percussion and style. The Pimps of Joytime are a funky and groovy band that plays on the larger festival circuit. The House of Quist is a brother and sister act who come from a family of musicians including Rob Quist, who was a headliner for the Northern Rockies Folk Festival in Hailey. Molly Venter is a valley favorite whose lyrics and voice capture followers regularly.
The event is accessible, affordable and will feature vendors for food, drinks, biking apparel and equipment, as well as energy drinks and bars.
"All of this talk about marketing and bringing the valley back to a healthy economy needs to follow a model from the more successful mountain resorts," Caldwell said. "This is it—have festivals."
For details, visit svrhythmandride.com.
Ketchum schedule of events
Wednesday, June 23
Friday, June 25
· Mountain bike Poker Ride from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Riders will travel to 5 (or more) of 7 checkpoints in any order to earn their hand. All riders are due back by 4 p.m. and the best hand wins. Route distance will be 15-30 miles depending on the route and the number of checkpoints reached. Start and finish at Festival Meadow on Sun Valley Road.
· Yoga on the lawn in Sun Valley at 5 p.m. Donation accepted for the Hunger Coalition.
Saturday, June 25
· BCRD Sawtooth Century Ride from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Begin at Elephant's Perch and end at Festival Meadow.
· Dollar Mountain 10K Trail Run starts at 8 a.m. at Dollar Mountain in Sun Valley, presented by Sun Valley Running.
· Yoga on the lawn in Sun Valley at 10 a.m. Donations accepted for the Hunger Coalition.
· Bike Exposition from 12--9 p.m., at Festival Meadow on Sun Valley Road. Offerings from local bike shops, bike organizations, and nonprofit groups. Refreshments served.
· Scott USA Bike Demo at 2 p.m. at Ketchum Pump Park with 2010 demo fleet from Scott USA.
· Rhythm & Ride Concert from 3-8:30 p.m. with headlining bands Sambada and Pimps of Joytime with opening bands House of Quist and Molly Venter. Tickets are $20 and $5 for kids 12 and under.
Sunday, June 26
· Idaho Pump Track State Championships from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. at the Ketchum Pump Park. The first annual Idaho Pump Track State Championship features timed racing with separate courses flagged for juniors and adults on Ketchum's premier public pump track.
· Ride the Harriman Trail and lunch at Galena Lodge from 2-5 p.m. Galena Lodge is 23 miles north of Ketchum off Highway 75.
Hailey schedule of events
Thursday, June 24
· Sheep Town Fat Tire Drag Races from 5-10 p.m. at Powerhouse restaurant. Registration from 5-7 p.m. Races at 8 p.m. Barbecue at Powerhouse.
· Open Range days through Friday at the Bike Ranch, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the Idaho Smoky Mountain Lodge near Fairfield. For details, call 720-2908.
Friday, June 25
· Pump park open all day for open riding located on Fox Acres Road.
· SheepTown Fat Tire Hot Dog Hill Climb One-Handed World Time Trail Championship at 6 p.m. at Hop Porter Park. Registration at WiseGuy Pizza at 5 p.m.
· Zap Mama performs at 7 p.m. at Hop Porter Park, presented by Sun Valley Center for the Arts.
Saturday, June 25
· SheepTown Fat Tire Epic Mountain Bike Ride, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Meet at Powerhouse. The course is a secret but "greatness is guaranteed."
Sambada will headline the Sun Valley Rhythm & Ride festival at the Sun Valley Festival Meadow on Saturday, June 26. Photo by
