The rebirth of a spring rally mainstay, a concert by a 22-million-album-selling A-lister, and Harley at the Hard Rock highlight a jam-packed agenda for the 2008 Myrtle Beach Spring Bike Week.

You can find the full schedule of events right here. Among the highlights:

• H.B. Spokes has literally risen from the ashes, and reopened in time for the spring rally. A September 2007 fire gutted the former main building, but months of intensive rebuilding have paid off – much to the delight of its longtime regulars.
• All together now: Bawitdaba da bang a dang diggy diggy diggy said the boogy said up jump the boogy … That’s right – His name is KIIIIIIID … Kid Rock! And he’s coming to Hard Rock Park next week (Tuesday, May 13, 7 p.m.), joined by Rev Run of Run D.M.C. fame. They’ll be rockin’ the Hard Rock’s 10,000-seat ampitheater with a show that’s free with a paid admission.
• Speaking of Hard Rock Park, Harley-Davidson has now moved its entire Bike Week exhibition slate to the brand-new theme park. The “Harley-Davidson Road Tour at Hard Rock Park” runs May 13-17 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day, complete with free demo rides, free music and plenty of fun. Check out this link to see the lists of vendors and activities.

Get your motor runnin’, folks, ‘cause it’s almost here!

My view of Led Zeppelin The Ride, from the outside.

I can't wait ...

Two Myrtle Beach venues are bringing legendary rock group Queen to the forefront in the coming days, and beyond.

Carmike Cinemas at Broadway at the Beach is one of a select number of theaters nationwide that will showcase a digitally remastered version of Queen’s historic, November 1981 concert in Montreal. That show was to be the only concert by Queen that was ever shot on film, and will be shown at Carmike as part of one-night-only engagement on Monday, April 28.

Always a great live band, with arguably the greatest front-man of all time in Freddie Mercury, Queen excelled with the cameras rolling. The picture has been digitally restored from the original film and the sound has been newly mixed and mastered for DTS Surround Sound and PCM Stereo from the original multi-track tapes.

And well beyond next week’s engagement, Hard Rock Park is unveiling its “Bohemian Rhapsody” nightly show spectacular, featuring 1,000 pieces of pyrotechnics, 137 fountains and 70-foot-tall Gibson guitar icon, all on the Park’s nine-acre lagoon.

“Bohemian Rhapsody screams unconventional and we thought it would be the perfect ending to a visit to Hard Rock Park where we celebrate the essence and irreverence of rock music,” said Steven Goodwin, CEO of Hard Rock Park, in this recent release. “Nobody will want to miss this!”

Sources: PR Newswire, HardRockPark.com

Wanna be known forever more as “Led Zeppelin – The First”?

As of Friday night, the honor will cost you at least $600. That’s for Row 1, Seat 1 – right next to Hard Rock Park CEO Steven Goodwin – on the maiden voyage of the theme park’s eagerly anticipated “Led Zeppelin – The Ride.”

Here’s the cool part: All the proceeds will go to a very deserving charity.

Online agency Auctionwire is coordinating the auction through eBay, with proceeds from the sale of this and 14 other seats on the coaster’s first-ever run to benefit the Sarah Goodwin Memorial Foundation and its Rock My World Children’s Village.

Working with hundreds of established charities from across America, Rock My World Children's Village provides a once-in-a-lifetime, cost-free experience for young people to visit "The World’s First Rock 'n' Roll Theme Park" where they can live, learn, play and grow within the Rock My World Village.

Designed to accommodate kids of all ages and backgrounds, Rock My World Children's Village has facilities designed to cater to the needs of children with life-threatening illnesses, programs to help troubled kids who have lost their way or simply kids who have lost their loved ones. The Village gives them a helping hand towards a more fulfilling life by introducing them to the empowering energy of rock music and the rejuvenating pastimes of the surf, sun and sand.

Beyond their historic seats, the winning bidders also receive a signed Led Zeppelin poster; a commemorative certificate; and a photo taken at the event. Each of the 15 seat auctions ends Monday evening, April 7, and the first run of “Led Zeppelin – The Ride” takes place on April 15, the first day of the park’s soft opening event.

More than 9,100 views in three days. Think roller coaster enthusiasts aren't jacked up for the Hard Rock Park opening?

That corkscrew looks nasty ...

Hard Rock Park hasn’t even opened yet, and folks are already trying to emulate the Myrtle Beach concept three time zones away.

The Arizona Republic reported Thursday that a Phoenix-based investment team has announced plans to build a 240-acre, rock & roll theme park in Eloy, a desert town roughly equidistant from Phoenix and Tucson. The grand plan, according to the Republic, is for Decades Music Theme Park to rival the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando and Busch Gardens amusement parks across the country, and is “positioned as the West Coast counterbalance to Hard Rock.”

A big part of me hopes the Decades project comes through – if for no other reason than to create a bi-coastal rivalry that breeds a healthy game of one-upmanship, thus providing additional inspiration for the Myrtle Beach concept to grow and flourish.

But as local construction continues at a frenzied pace and legendary groups like Led Zeppelin and The Moody Blues announce feature attractions for Hard Rock Park’s spring 2008 debut, the Republic article indicates that the Decades project is still some five years from fruition. Meanwhile, it’s a safe bet that Hard Rock Park will hold this particular spotlight for quite some time – and fun to see the Grand Strand become a national trendsetter!

“If I shoot at the sun I may hit a star.” -P.T. Barnum

Even more than its sheer size, the signature attraction at Hard Rock Park has already given Myrtle Beach a visual landmark to define a new amusement era on the Grand Strand.

Drive north on U.S. 501, reach the peak of the Intracoastal Waterway overpass and look past the southbound side of the highway. With no other surrounding structures anywhere close in verticality, you can’t miss it. Neither will the kids in the back seat.

“Look, Dad, up in the sky! It’s the Loch Ness Monster!”

“It’s a super-duper ramen noodle!”

“No, it’s Led Zeppelin the Ride!”

[More]

We’ve heard lots of information about Hard Rock Park, but today we finally got a chance to see it a little more “up close & personal.” At 8 a.m., the gates of the Hard Rock Park Backstage Tour off George Bishop Parkway swung open, and gave us a sneak peek with all the bells & whistles they could muster.

Even though it’s a different genre, it seemed very apropos that Jay-Z’s “Show Me What You Got” was blaring over my car radio as I pulled into the parking lot. They showed us, alright.

This photo/video montage I compiled from my visit may not do it complete justice, but it’s a start - and it does include a brief video simulation of the park's signature roller coaster, "Led Zeppelin - The Ride." If you’re in the neighborhood, it’s definitely worth a stopover to see for yourself, in-person.

As I peered over the glass case containing one of the small-scale models of the entire park, a Hard Rock Park employee politely asked me if I had any questions. “Just one,” I replied. “Does this town have any idea what they’re in for with this thing?”

The young lady shook her head slowly and laughed. “It’s the biggest tourist attraction in South Carolina,” she said matter-of-factly. “And come next spring, we’re all in for one heck of a ride.”