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Laconia council approves Biketemberfest and Wake the Lake with extended sound hours, removes fee waivers
Summary
The City Council approved Temporary Traffic Orders for Biketemberfest (Sept. 11–13) and Wake the Lake (May 15–17) to extend outdoor sound to 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday; councilors voted to remove organizers' requests to waive licensing and special-event fees, passing both motions 5-1 with Councilor Haynes opposed.
Laconia’s City Council on March 23 approved permits for two large summer events — Biketemberfest (Sept. 11–13) and Wake the Lake (May 15–17) — and agreed to extend allowable outdoor sound to 11:00 p.m. on Friday and Saturday nights for both events.
The council considered Temporary Traffic Order 2026-02 for Biketemberfest and 2026-03 for Wake the Lake. Both organizers requested extensions to the city noise ordinance (Section 161-4) to allow bands to play until 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and asked that licensing and special-event fees be waived. In discussion, Councilor Soucy said he was concerned about waiving fees for what he described as regular businesses and moved to remove the fee-waiver language from both motions. The amended motions passed 5-1 in each case; Councilor Haynes voted no on both items.
Councilor Conant moved the original Biketemberfest approval and Councilor Bogert moved the Wake the Lake approval; both motions were amended to omit fee waivers and to allow alcohol consumption only in designated areas on city property, pending Special Events Review Committee approval. Manager Kirk Beattie confirmed that parking meters on Lakeside Avenue are not active until Memorial Day.
Anthony Santagate, who identified himself as the event organizer for both Wake the Lake and Biketemberfest, asked whether he could charge admission for events held on city property; Manager Beattie said he would look into the question and report back to Santagate.
The council’s decisions allow the events to proceed with extended sound hours but preserve city licensing and special-event fees when an organizer does not receive a waiver. The Special Events Review Committee had previously recommended approval of both events.
