14 CMA
THE POLK COUNTY
Pulse
October 18, 2023
CMA returns for Changing of the Colors Article and photo by Ethan Nahté You may have noticed an influx of motorcycles this week along with the cooler weather. The Christian Motorcyclists Association (CMA) has returned to their world headquarters for the annual Changing of the Colors Rally. The roadways will be busy with a predicted few hundred motorcyclists, especially in between Mena and their camp on Iron Mountain, just outside of Hatfield. Although some riders are already touring the highways, visiting local stores and restaurants, the activities officially begin Wednesday morning, Oct. 18 and continue through Sunday morning, Oct. 22, ending with their early morning service with evangelist Jay Wilber. The conference is an annual meet-
ing for the CMA USA state leadership teams to receive updates on the latest developments in the ministry, review CMA’s vision, grow skills and increase knowledge. The Colors Rally will consist of
meetings, religious services, live music that anyone can livestream (see the CMA ad on p. 14 for details.), riding safety and educational courses, vendors and more at the Iron Mountain location.
Local residents should keep an eye out for the bikes as they go out on a variety of rides. There will also be a potential increase in RVs and travel campers. As one CMA member said, many of the riders are getting older and it’s getting too difficult to sleep on the ground in tents, especially with cooler weather affecting some of the riders. Saturday will be the annual parade, lining up to leave Iron Mountain around 12:30 and entering Mena around 1 p.m. If you never seen the parade, it’s quite impressive as a sea of motorcycles of all shapes, sizes and colors comes roaring into town. The bike games continue afterwards in downtown Mena from 2-4 p.m. for bikes, trikes, and people. Cyclists will show off their skills for the opportunity to win great prizes. This is a public event. Many of the bikers love to talk about their rides, their travels, and what CMA is all about. It’s fun for all ages. Of course, the events are weather permitting, but at press time the weather shows to be relatively pleasant and mild for the week. The full schedule of planned events can be found at https://cmausa. org/Events/GetEventSubMenuPage?EventType=CC
