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!

ReserveAmerica has released its 2008 lists of America’s “Top Outdoor Locations,” resulting in two Myrtle Beach-area landmarks being selected among the country’s elite.

Huntington Beach State Park in Murrells Inlet was included in two rankings – first, among the “Top 25 Park Beaches," drawing these accolades:

"This wide, sandy beach is the best preserved beach on the Grand Strand of South Carolina. The beach includes a well-developed dune system, and provides a habitat for diverse wildlife. There are walkways to provide access to the beach for visitors to crossover the dunes. There are also great restroom facilities for beachgoers."

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

I can't wait ...

... You've seen a sellout. And at last week's Monday After the Masters Celebrity Pro-Am at The Dye Club at Barefoot Resort & Golf in North Myrtle Beach, Hootie & The Blowfish lead singer Darius Rucker saw a media throng waiting to greet him at the first tee.

Rucker's six-person team, led by LPGA great Annika Sorenstam, survived a one-hole chip-off to take home the 2008 title. Rucker and his band mates hosted the tournament, which over the past 13 years has donated more than $3.5 million to the Hootie & The Blowfish Foundation - supporting the educational needs of South Carolina and the South Carolina Junior Golf Foundation.

Beach Blog photo by Frank Endres

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

In a press conference held earlier this week, Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday and the National Prostate Cancer Coalition (NPCC) announced that former Cincinnati Reds outfielder Ken Griffey, Sr. (pictured, right) will serve as the honorary chairman of the “Know Your Score” campaign. Griffey will help spread awareness about the importance of prostate cancer research and testing through national and regional interviews and by participating in “Know Your Score” events throughout the year.

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What golfer wouldn’t want this gig?

Golf Digest recently assigned five of its writers a “star-laden” destination each (i.e., a golf market full of highly rated courses within its “five-star” scoring system). The magazine told them to collect the best possible itineraries, with a goal of “collecting” as many stars as they could in four days.

The task complete, here’s how the markets fared:

1. Myrtle Beach, 27.5 stars
2. Southern Alabama, 25.5 stars
3. Florida, 25.5 stars
4. Phoenix, 22.5 stars
5. Orange County, California, 19.5 stars

Myrtle Beach and the Southeast U.S. destinations also fare exceptionally better than their Southwest counterparts in terms of value:

1. Southern Alabama, $17.02 in greens fees per star
2. Myrtle Beach, $20.21 greens fees per star
3. Florida, $24.90 greens fees per star
4. Orange County, California, $37.43 greens fees per star
5. Phoenix, $44.22 greens fees per star

Boosting the Myrtle Beach market’s scores was the inclusion of three Waccamaw Golf Trail courses in writer Mike Stachura’s itinerary: Caledonia Golf & Fish Club (4.5 stars), True Blue Plantation (4.5 stars), and TPC Myrtle Beach (5 stars).

Check out Stachura’s article, and see how his views of the Grand Strand golf scene compare to yours!

It’s like that eight-year-old pair of Birkenstocks you’ll wear with just about anything in your closet. Doesn’t matter that they’re a little beat up, or that you might have a different pair or 10 on the shelf that would go better with those new khakis. Those shoes just feel right.

And that’s probably the best analogy I can use to describe my first up-close experience with The Market Common.

Except it’s not worn-out. It’s brand-spanking-new.

It’s already popular, as evidenced by the crowds that defied the rainy weather and flocked there the first few days after last week’s soft opening.

It’s unfamiliar, and unlike anything else you’ve seen along Ocean Boulevard or throughout Myrtle Beach.

But you know what? Like that pair of your most comfortable shoes, it just feels right.

To me, it doesn’t scream commercialism. It just says, “Hey, you can hang here any time … (more pics after the jump)

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