Promoter organizing bike week event in Florence

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (AP) — Organizers say what will be known as Myrtle Beach Bike Week West will be held in Florence in March.

The Sun News of Myrtle Beach reports (http://bit.ly/u6ZJ3D ) one of the promoters of Myrtle Beach’s May Harley-Davidson rally is starting the new event planned for March 2-3 at the Florence Civic Center.

Organizers expect as many as 100 vendors and 5,000 bikers.

Organizer Sonny Copeland says the new event is not to take anything away from the Grand Strand. Copeland hopes to draw bikers heading down Interstate 95 for a rally the next week in Daytona Beach, Fla.

He says details are being worked out but officials in Florence have made things easier than officials on the Grand Strand who put stricter rules on bike rallies in recent years.

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Information from: Morning News, http://www.scnow.com