The Backroad Ball 2017 was a rainy, windy, magical weekend of female bonding, motorcycles and mind-melting entertainment. Over 175 female-identifying motorcyclists and moto-curious women gathered in the (usually) quiet town of Penobsquis, NB with engines roaring and hearts soaring from the camaraderie they found there.
For some, it was their first time exploring the picturesque back roads of New Brunswick, coming from as far as Pittsburgh, Edmonton, and other more eastern provinces and states. For others, it was their second time gathering there—many of them even booked their motel rooms for the following year before leaving town in 2016, then awaited for dates to be announced and for registration to open.
For the founders of the Backroad Ball, Heather d’Entremont and Kristin Munro, it’s always been about creating the best environment for female-identifying motorcyclists to forge bonds, let go of insecurities and have fun.
“You’d be hard-pressed to find an attendee who doesn’t think we did just that,” says Munro. “From biker games, to karaoke, to yoga and belly dancing workshops and incredible entertainment, this year, for lack of better phrasing, kicked ass!”
Musical entertainment included not only local band ‘Womb to Tomb’ but also New York based female G’n’R tribute band ‘The Rocket Queens,’ who were accompanied by competitive pole dancers Christine Johnson & Anneke Russell with choreographed routines to some of their greatest hits. Port City Circus brought the fire and belly dancer Nawal Doucette who, as Munro puts it, has “hips that didn’t lie.”
“Needless to say, we needed to slap each other in the face a few times (dunkaroos anyone?) to make sure it was all real by the end of the night.”
Munro says that next year they hope the festival gets even bigger and better. The founders are looking to branch out and create a committee or board to help manage the event as it grows in years to come. They hope to inject life into the motorcycle community here in the Maritimes and continue to encourage more women to find passion in unfamiliar places.