Welcome to VolksfestCentral Ohio's biggest and best Volkswagen car show and swap meet.
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When?Always held the second Saturday in August, rain or shine. This years show will be held on August 10, 2024. We will NOT be doing pre-registration this year.
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Where?The Ohio History Center located at 800 E 17th Ave,
Columbus, OH 43211. This will be our first year at this venue and we are excited to start a new chapter! |
Special Announcement!
Its official, Volksfest 33 is moving to an exciting new location! The new location is The Ohio History Center located at 800 E 17th Ave,
Columbus, OH 43211. Conveniently located in the middle of Columbus, Ohio, directly off 17th Avenue. With numerous hotels, restaurants and other activities located minutes away, you can make your next Volksfest a weekend getaway if so desired. Not to worry though, there will be camping the night before on site just like in years past!
With plenty of room for show cars, vendors, and spectators, this promises to be the beginning of the next great Volksfest events! The date will be August 10th , 2024. Stay tuned to the COVVC website and our Facebook page for ongoing updates.
A big thanks to everyone that has been with us through this amazing journey, and we look forward to continuing the great Volksfest tradition of being the largest single day vintage Volkswagen show in the state.
Its official, Volksfest 33 is moving to an exciting new location! The new location is The Ohio History Center located at 800 E 17th Ave,
Columbus, OH 43211. Conveniently located in the middle of Columbus, Ohio, directly off 17th Avenue. With numerous hotels, restaurants and other activities located minutes away, you can make your next Volksfest a weekend getaway if so desired. Not to worry though, there will be camping the night before on site just like in years past!
With plenty of room for show cars, vendors, and spectators, this promises to be the beginning of the next great Volksfest events! The date will be August 10th , 2024. Stay tuned to the COVVC website and our Facebook page for ongoing updates.
A big thanks to everyone that has been with us through this amazing journey, and we look forward to continuing the great Volksfest tradition of being the largest single day vintage Volkswagen show in the state.
Pictures and winners lists from past Volksfests!
History of Volksfest
(Recorded in celebration of the 25th Annual Central Ohio Vintage Volkswagen Club's Volksfest held Saturday, August 8, 2015)
For the founding members, this will certainly be one for the record books. When the original twelve members sat around the table at the Goodwill Industries on 5th Avenue in Columbus, Ohio, we never conceived that, twenty-five years later, we would still be hosting the biggest single day vintage VW event in Ohio. We were focused on all the details of starting the club. What would the name be? Would we have a newsletter? Would we have monthly meetings? What day of the week would they be, and where? What would our club logo look like? What would be the annual focal point of the new club?
As we worked through the details, it was decided that we would host an annual car show, and a portion of the proceeds would go to the Goodwill organization. The site of the first show was the Dublin, Ohio recycling (trash!) plant. The day dawned overcast and COLD. In spite of the less than perfect conditions, we managed to attract about 70 show cars and several swappers. Just as the awards were being handed out, the sun broke through the clouds!
Wanting nicer surroundings for Volksfest 2, Mike Young procured the site at the corner of Kenny and Kinnear. We almost doubled the show car count, and the swap section was up substantially. Of all the shows we have done, this is still one of the favorites from a visual standpoint--pretty location and perfect weather.
For Volksfest 3, we were on the move again. Fearing we would outgrow the Kenny and Kinnear location, we found the 40 East Drive-In Theater. It seemed to be a perfect location, with that vintage look and lots of room for show cars, swappers and spectators. The site worked out well. It was an easy location for out-of-towners to find, and space was never really a problem. The only problem (and it was a big one!) was the gravel used for the parking areas. As the show cars continued to be of a higher quality, there was no tolerance for the dust that was kicked up throughout the day.
After two years at the Drive-In, it was decided we needed to find a location that would afford better show car parking with no dust and gravel. Ted Chaney had been in contact with the folks at Watkins Memorial High School. A deal was worked out with the Athletic Boosters, and as they say, the rest is history! So in additional to celebrating the twenty-fifth anniversary of Volksfest, we also will be celebrating twenty years of shows at Watkins! We also aligned ourselves with the Childhood Cancer Family Connection as our charitable group. We have been blessed to be able to contribute close to $70,000 since our first donation. Let's keep that tradition going! As you walk about at Volksfest, take a few moments to thank the numerous volunteers that help make this day so special.
This year's show will feature all the things you've enjoyed in the past. Besides the best collection of high quality VW show cars in the region, all three of the local VW dealers are back. Hatfield, MAG and Byers will have lots of goodies for sale and all the latest VW models to check out. Need a part for that ongoing restoration? Be sure to check out the huge swap area. If you can't find it there, you haven't looked hard enough! After all that walking around, you'll need some food and a cold drink. The Watkins Athletic Boosters will take care of that with the best show food around. Impressed by the show cars and inspired to own a VW? Don't miss Bruce Amacker's presentation on "How to Buy a Vintage VW". Throw in another gigantic 50/50 drawing at the end of the show and very special 25th annual show awards, and it promises to be a fantastic day of catching up with old friends, making new ones, and taking in all the sights and sounds that only Volksfest can offer.
For more show or swap information, contact Stark Hughes, covvc42@earthlink.net, 614.843.0751 .
For the founding members, this will certainly be one for the record books. When the original twelve members sat around the table at the Goodwill Industries on 5th Avenue in Columbus, Ohio, we never conceived that, twenty-five years later, we would still be hosting the biggest single day vintage VW event in Ohio. We were focused on all the details of starting the club. What would the name be? Would we have a newsletter? Would we have monthly meetings? What day of the week would they be, and where? What would our club logo look like? What would be the annual focal point of the new club?
As we worked through the details, it was decided that we would host an annual car show, and a portion of the proceeds would go to the Goodwill organization. The site of the first show was the Dublin, Ohio recycling (trash!) plant. The day dawned overcast and COLD. In spite of the less than perfect conditions, we managed to attract about 70 show cars and several swappers. Just as the awards were being handed out, the sun broke through the clouds!
Wanting nicer surroundings for Volksfest 2, Mike Young procured the site at the corner of Kenny and Kinnear. We almost doubled the show car count, and the swap section was up substantially. Of all the shows we have done, this is still one of the favorites from a visual standpoint--pretty location and perfect weather.
For Volksfest 3, we were on the move again. Fearing we would outgrow the Kenny and Kinnear location, we found the 40 East Drive-In Theater. It seemed to be a perfect location, with that vintage look and lots of room for show cars, swappers and spectators. The site worked out well. It was an easy location for out-of-towners to find, and space was never really a problem. The only problem (and it was a big one!) was the gravel used for the parking areas. As the show cars continued to be of a higher quality, there was no tolerance for the dust that was kicked up throughout the day.
After two years at the Drive-In, it was decided we needed to find a location that would afford better show car parking with no dust and gravel. Ted Chaney had been in contact with the folks at Watkins Memorial High School. A deal was worked out with the Athletic Boosters, and as they say, the rest is history! So in additional to celebrating the twenty-fifth anniversary of Volksfest, we also will be celebrating twenty years of shows at Watkins! We also aligned ourselves with the Childhood Cancer Family Connection as our charitable group. We have been blessed to be able to contribute close to $70,000 since our first donation. Let's keep that tradition going! As you walk about at Volksfest, take a few moments to thank the numerous volunteers that help make this day so special.
This year's show will feature all the things you've enjoyed in the past. Besides the best collection of high quality VW show cars in the region, all three of the local VW dealers are back. Hatfield, MAG and Byers will have lots of goodies for sale and all the latest VW models to check out. Need a part for that ongoing restoration? Be sure to check out the huge swap area. If you can't find it there, you haven't looked hard enough! After all that walking around, you'll need some food and a cold drink. The Watkins Athletic Boosters will take care of that with the best show food around. Impressed by the show cars and inspired to own a VW? Don't miss Bruce Amacker's presentation on "How to Buy a Vintage VW". Throw in another gigantic 50/50 drawing at the end of the show and very special 25th annual show awards, and it promises to be a fantastic day of catching up with old friends, making new ones, and taking in all the sights and sounds that only Volksfest can offer.
For more show or swap information, contact Stark Hughes, covvc42@earthlink.net, 614.843.0751 .