DuneFest Article

On the right track

World Photo by Lou Sennick An ATV driver leaves the starting line kicking up sand as he starts his run down the drag strip. Behind, more racers wait their turn to race.

By Drew Atkins, Staff Writer

They came in SUVs with shining silver trailers attached, and in pickup trucks rolling on seven-foot-tall wheels. They came from nearby towns and states, and from countries an ocean away. But regardless of where they arrived from and how, they all came for the same thing: sand. Lots of sand.

Those involved with DuneFest, the annual weekend-long ATV extravaganza at Winchester Bay's Umpqua Dunes, have deemed this year's event a precedent-setting success.

Joe Mirvis, events coordinator for the Reedsport-Winchester Bay Chamber of Commerce, said that while receipts haven't been counted yet, the event undoubtedly garnered a record turnout.

“This year was the best ever,” said Mirvis. “There should be no more focus on the skeletons of the past, of the crazy parties and alcohol bans. ... We're a family event now. We're looking forward to 2007, 2008 and 2009.”

Mirvis said this year's DuneFest was notable not only for its record turnout, but also for the new campground opened for the event and for the unprecedented ATV stunts performed on the dunes. According to Mirvis, this year featured a performance by pro ATV freestyle group The Bomb Squad. One of the squad members performed a backflip on a quad in the sand, the first time such a feat has ever been performed.

According to Scott Anderson, chief of Winchester Bay Fire Department, the number of injuries at this year's event was slightly lower than recent years. Anderson said the DuneFest typically attracts more ATV aficionados than most local cities have people - between 20,000 and 30,000- and any year that goes by without much incident is a good year.

“Don't get me wrong, ‘cause we had some bad accidents this time around,” said Anderson. “Any injuries you get are tough but, overall, fewer people were hurt this year.”

Sgt. Scott Fray, of the Douglas County Sheriff's Office, who headed up security at the event, said underage drinking at DuneFest “has always been a problem and always will be,” but that this year's festivities were relatively behaved.

“At (Saturday night's) bonfire party, we could've kept writing the MIP tickets till daybreak if we wanted to,” said Fray. But overall, he said, the number of arrests was low and participants in the final fiesta were relatively behaved.

“There were a ton of people at the Saturday night party, but we didn't really have many problems,” said Fray. “I credit the DJ with some of that, doing a good job keeping the crowd controlled. A lot depends on what music they play.”

The success of this year's event boded well for the Winchester Bay area, Mirvis said, as the event brings in more money than any other time of the year, and “when it does well, the community does well.”

“The week of Dune Fest is the week the hotels, the shops, and lots of local businesses make the money they need to stay open the rest of the year,” said Mirvis. “The ATV industry and tourism is extremely important to the area's economy, and DuneFest is the main event of all that. If next year's is as good as this one, then we're really on the right track. ”