The North American Handmade Bicycle Show (NAHBS) has cancelled its 2020 event and will not reschedule the event for this year.
Instead, they are considering the next location for the 2021 show. This year’s event would have taken place in Dallas.
NAHBS was first scheduled for March 15-17 and then changed to August 21-23, because of the coronavirus outbreak. Don Walker, the NAHBS founder and president says he felt comfortable about the change, but things of course kept changing.
Even though Texas’ reopening is well underway, large group gatherings are still not an option.
“While Texas is currently in Phase 3 of its “reopening” plan, COVID-19 cases in Dallas are still on the rise. And unfortunately, the Governor hasn’t made any plan to allow large groups and events to take place. With NAHBS scheduled to take place in less than three months — and based on what we currently know and predictions for the summer — we’re making the difficult decision to cancel NAHBS 2020 and focus our efforts on 2021.”
Walker says that most of his exhibitors still don’t feel comfortable being in large, indoor crowds this summer, and neither does the cycling community around Texas.
“I’m certain that even if we held the show this August, attendance would be extremely low — which none of us want. Throw in the current difficulties of international travel and limited domestic travel, and the challenges of putting on a successful show this summer are insurmountable.”
Rather, NAHBS will be rescheduled to the third quarter in 2021 instead of the first, to allow more framebuilders to exhibit that might be tight for time in the spring, and it’s easier to fit in the fall now that Interbike is gone.
NAHBS is considering the following dates and locations:
Chicago, IL // Sep 9 – 12 2021
Hartford, CT // Sep 29 – Oct 3, 2021
Dallas, TX // Sep 16 – 19, 2021
Indianapolis, IN // (awaiting dates)
They plan to send out a survey to get feedback on the possible locations and times.
At this time, NAHBS says they can’t offer refunds, but will rollover registration to either the 2021 or 2022 event. For more information, see the NAHBS website.
