Familien Fest 9
One of SoCal's Favorites VW Car Shows Finds a New Location
By Stephan Szantai
Photography: Stephan Szantai
At first it seemed like a major bummer. The 9th Familienfest would not be held at Deer Park Winery in Escondido, near San Diego, one of the best settings for a VW show you can imagine with plenty of shady trees, and even an automotive museum on site. Unfortunately, the winery's management decided not to renew any car related event contracts for 2003. The very active Strictly Vintage 2s (SV2s), the Bus club which promotes this great get-together, was therefore facing a dilemma... They had a successful family oriented Volkswagen festival, but no location!
After some serious searching, they finally came across a suitable place named Rancho Guajome Adobe, in Vista, another city close to San Diego. This park welcomes a 20-room hacienda--a National Historic Landmark incidentally--from the mid-19th century that depicts a unique example of Anglo-Hispanic architecture. And most importantly for us, it also offers a large grassy area, ideal for a car extravaganza! SV2s obviously invited a bunch of Type II owners to join the festivities, but also welcomed other VWs as long as they were aircooled. Over 140 participants entered the Show & Shine, and plenty of others parked their Vee Dubs on the lawn to simply enjoy a beautiful day in sunny California.
SV2s made sure nobody would starve, offering a breakfast as well as hot dogs in exchange for a few bucks. New parts vendors and swap meeters also came en force. We drooled for a while over a set of rare ET mag rims from the '60s featuring a price tag of 1200 Dollars. Thanks to the donations of many sponsors, the raffle went on forever and a few lucky winners came back numerous times to pickup their goodies! Visitors could also check out a display of vintage bicycles. Kids loved it.
The 10th Familienfest will likely be held once again at the Rancho Guajome Adobe next year. Our friends of SV2s said they will improve the layout of the event--there is still plenty of room for it to grow. In the meantime, feel free to browse through their website (www.sv2s.com) to find out the latest news about the August 2004 show!
CAR SHOW -
Sponsored by VW Paradise, Wolfsburg West, Stuff Transaxles, Cal Pacific/JBugs (as well as Vintage Parts, West Coast Classics, Bill & Steve's, OVW, BFY, VW Gear Heads)
OVAL WINDOW - Robert Peters (1957);
BUG 58-67 - Michael Ellis (1960);
BUG 68-UP - Justin Meinung (1968);
GHIA - Steve Clark (1959);
TYPE 3 - Neil Bledsoe (1969);
TYPE 34 GHIA - Tom Reay (1965);
CONVERTIBLE - Mike Miley (1965);
THING - Robert Cosh (1973);
BAJA - Gary Hough (1969); BUGGY - Lynn Christy (1957);
T2 SPLIT CAMPER - Tommy & Julia McDonnell (1961);
T2 SPLIT PASSENGER - Mark Peck (1958);
T2 SPLIT COMMERCIAL - Tony Christina (1964);
T2 BAY CAMPER - Mark Shedenhelm (1970);
T2 BAY COMMERCIAL - Jay Josephson (1974);
CAMPER DISPLAY - T & J McDonnell (1961);
SPECIAL INTEREST - Alfredo d'Escrag'nolle (1973 Puma);
DAILY DRIVER - Rolando Alvarado (1965);
ORIGINAL/UNRESTORED - Rose M. Vardanian (1965 T34);
BEST OF SHOW - David Henry (1967 Kombi)
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Rose Vardanian purchased her Type 34 brand new in Germany back in 1965, and sent it shortly after to the U.S. Thanks for joining the Familienfest, Rose!
Red steel wheels, hubcaps with large VW logo, luggage carrier... We liked J. Avendano's very low '66 Cabriolet.
This trick '66 Crew Cab with 2017cc power belongs to Jerry Poole. It features Type I IRS, Porsche 944 trailing arms, disc brakes, in addition to unusual 15x6 Roh wheels.
You like them smooth? Danny Boyd got rid of all the door handles on his way cool 1966 15-Window Bus.
A few off road Beetles made the treck to Vista, California, including the winner of the "Baja" class--the blue turbocharged dust-mover of Gary Hough.
A body lift kit can be right at home on a Dune Buggy as well.
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