Thoughts on the biggest show in the UK VW Calendar....
Vanfest is without doubt the pinnacle of the VW festival season. It may not be the wildest or the warmest or even the last of the year, but it is quite simply the largest. Largest in the world that is.
Vanfest is without doubt the pinnacle of the VW festival season. It may not be the wildest or the warmest or even the last of the year, but it is quite simply the largest. Largest in the world that is.
It is the cause of excited chatter at vdub clubs, on forums and amongst enthusiasts in the weeks running up to it.
No surprise then that the strict 10am gate opening time is pushed to the limit as folk are keen to get their favourite pitch or have simply driven a long way to get there and need to park up and recharge for a few hours.
This year for the first time the Friday is a full day event with trade stands open for business. Something to do once your pride and joy has parked up and your various encampment accessories put in place. The trade area felt bigger this year but with perhaps fewer individual traders than may have been seen previously. The indoor craft and trade hall tends to have a few more individual items for sale.
It's difficult to describe the appeal of vanfest and it will be different for everyone I'm sure but the number of vdubs is amazing and watching them drive in all day one of my favourite aspects, spending time with friends sharing a beer and BBQ, bumping into fellow enthusiasts you only see at vanfest is all part of it. For some, wandering along carrying a large body panel their show will have been made by finding just the bit they need to keep their resto going.
Along with the trade stands, craft stalls there are food stalls, bars, van exhibitions and entertainment. The van exhibition this year included most travelled vans which quite frankly embarrassed our T25s recent 2500 mile jaunt to Europe. There were also an emergency vehicle display fresh from their success at Camperjam in July. Let's face it a bright red VW van with a blue light and siren is hard to beat.
In terms of entertainment the funfair was back along with the bucking bronco. Nothing quite as funny as watching someone with an alcohol impaired walk thinking they can stay on a bucking bronco. Except perhaps me trying to get on one in the first place.
For the first time there was an additional charge for the evening entertainment. I have never really done more than pop my head in the entertainment tent but I did hear the strains of lip up fatty from Bad Manners as I dozed off!. The Saturday night brought the X Factor to Vanfest and going by some of the tweets thy night it must have been a great success to those who paid their £15 to see it. I know the charge caused a stir initially but it maybe was a perfect solution to putting prices up across the board.
Considering this was now a 3 day event, and I didn't have to leave early to head back to Scotland I'm not sure I saw everything. I've never seen cooking in a camper and this year did not even wander round the show and shine. I did have a walk round the for sale area where we either marvel at the gorgeous interiors or wonder at the asking price. My favourite time for looking at vans is early morning as the sun comes up. The weather wasn't as good as last year but we were lucky enough to have a fresh but sunny Sunday morning. I was able to look at an amazing selection of vans and remains of partying in gorgeous Malvern light.
So we left like many others, with more flags, tshirts and vdub related items than we really need. Looking forward to doing it all again next year.
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