The roar of motorcycles starting to be heard in and around Bainbridge announce the coming of the 15th annual Bainbridge BikeFest.

The bike rally officially gets under way on Wednesday, Sept. 12. The gates open at 8 a.m. at the BikeFest grounds, located on Pond Town Road north of Bainbridge, where most of the events and entertainment take place. Vendors and campers will begin setting up then.

Some activities are still held in the city of Bainbridge, but the 5:30 p.m. Friday evening Veteran’s Appreciation service, once held in Willis Park, is now held at the BikeFest venue.

Saturday’s Bike Show will begin at 9 am. at the Charter House Inn parking lot. The Poker Run leaves from there at noon and terminates at 3 p.m. at Spring Creek Resort.

Games and field event competitions are held on the grounds on Friday and Saturday, beginning at 2 p.m. each day.

The bands strike up the music nightly at 8 p.m., and the lineup includes a wide selection of country and rock bands.

Saturday night also sees the drawing for a 2012 Harley Davidson Sportster at 11 p.m., as well as the annual quilt raffle drawing.

Sunday services at 9:30 a.m. conducted by the Christian Motorcycle Association, will close out the official schedule.

BikeFest is organized and conducted by a group of volunteers, mostly bikers, and supported by many corporate, community organizations and individual sponsors. Proceeds all go to charities, such as the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Shriners’ Hospitals and the Salvation Army, as well as locally identified individuals in need. To date, nearly $750,000 has been donated to various charities, with over $32,300 distributed from the 2011 event.

Weekend passes are $40 and Saturday only tickets are $20. No one under 18 will be admitted.