NAHBS Postponed Due to Coronavirus Precautions
The North American Handmade Bicycle Show (NAHBS), an international convention for bike makers from around the world, has been postponed because of coronavirus precautions and will be moved from its originally scheduled March dates to August 21 through August 23 at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas.
Don Walker, NAHBS founder and president, released a letter on Tuesday that announced the postponement.
“As a global show that attracts people from all parts of the world, and in evaluating the current variables and public health risks, I feel this is in everyone’s best interest,” Walker wrote.
Though Dallas is not one of the so-labeled “hot spots” for the coronavirus, it’s a show attended by international vendors. Last year, the sold-out event was held in Sacramento and featured close to 210 exhibitors, some of whom were from Australia, Canada, England, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Japan, Russia, and Taiwan, and welcomed thousands of attendees.
“This was an extremely hard decision to make, as I know we’ve all been preparing throughout the winter and early spring for this gathering of our industry,” Walker wrote. “I understand all of the sacrifices and expenses that have been incurred and understand the inconvenience of this situation for everyone. But my primary priority is to protect the health and safety of our amazing community and feel postponing the show is in our best interest.”
The coronavirus—which has officially been named COVID-19—has reached a global death toll of more than 3,000 people, including the several people from Washington state.
Though NAHBS is a very cool and highly anticipated event, in the interest of public health this feels like the right call. Other events like the UAE Tour have been canceled after six people involved with the Tour tested positive for the virus.
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