Fewer registered vendors, smaller initial crowds, high gas prices and a struggling motorcycle industry have many wondering about the attendance for the upcoming Sturgis Rally.

Organizers of the 68th Sturgis Motorcycle Rally hope the event which officially starts today and runs through August 10th beats past years attendance numbers and are tempting rally goers with a full schedule of events. Rally attendance last year was an estimated 507,000. It was an estimated 457,000 in 2006.

John Fogerty, KISS, Kenny Chesney and Larry the Cable Guy are just some of the entertainment scheduled to appear. Attendees can also enjoy charity rides through the surrounding Black Hills, a motorcycle museum and custom motorcycle builders. Exhibits such as the Bush Bike, a custom chopper clone built by Desperado Motors in Houston for George W. Bush as well as the "First Ladies of Motorcycling" which highlights women who broke barriers in motorcycle racing, design and promotion have been arranged.

The rally even has appearance by a presumed presidential candidate when Senator John McCain appears at the Buffalo Chip on Monday, August 4th, just before performances by Kelly Pickler and Kid Rock.

The first rally was held in Sturgis on August 14, 1938 by the Jackpine Gypsies Motorcycle Club (who still own and operate the tracks, hillclimb, and field areas where the rally is centered). The first event was called the "Black Hills Classic" and consisted of a single race with nine participants and a small audience. The founder is generally considered to be Clarence "Pappy" Hoel. He purchased an Indian Motorcycle franchise in Sturgis in 1936 and formed the Jackpine Gypsies Motorcycle Club that same year.

Sturgis is a relatively small community with a year round population of about 6,700, in a state that has just under 782,000 people. But in August our numbers swell to 500,000 plus, almost doubling the size of the state and encompassing much of South Dakota’s Black Hills.