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Nor-Cal Bus Fest 5
Nor-Cal Bus Fest 5 is now in the books, thank you to the attendees, sponsors and event helpers. The tree-shaded lawns of the Solano Fairgrounds were covered with over 120 buses and trucks of all years, models and conditions and 400+ enthusiasts, from as far away as Oregon, Nevada and one group from Montreal, Quebec. The Canadians drove their late-model camper down, easily winning the Long Distance Award. There were also 30+ assorted ?other? Volkswagens in the mix.
A new Bus Fest record was set with an impressive lineup of five (yes 5!) restored Barndoor Deluxes. Thank you to Dave, Mark, Eric, Matt and Drew for bringing out these beauties for everyone to enjoy. Justin from Kombi Haus brought two Barndoors of his own, including the now-famous Winnemucca Microbus and his Single Cab. Bus Farmer Todd led the Sacramento caravan with his slick Barndoor truck and Jim Bass drove his ?world?s fastest Barndoor? Microbus as well, I believe both of these vehicles have been to every Bus Fest.
The traditional Sacramento caravan also included JP?s Deluxe, Tom?s freshly-restored ?57 Single Cab, Thom?s early Single Cab, and two Barndoor Deluxes, owned by Eric and Dave, this combination of vehicles must have been quite a sight rolling down Highway 80. Greg from Santa Rosa's Vintage Warehouse led a group who caravanned from Santa Rosa in his newly-acquired right hand drive Microbus, which is very nice. Richmond's Jahnai got friends to drive all his early buses out once again. Like Greg and Todd, Jahnai has brought multiple buses to every Bus Fest, and it is definitely appreciated.
Bryan Hill from Carmichael took home the Best Display award with his decked-out '66 EZ Camper, Sausalito's Mark Merz won the Best Stock award with his immaculate '54 Deluxe and Tom Mink grabbed the Best Commercial Model award with his '57 Single Cab. The Best Passenger Model went to Angela and Josh Perry for their immaculate '63 fifteen window (Bus Fest 4 t-shirt model) and the Gardners from Carson City, NV picked up the Best Camper award.
The vendor/sponsor row and non-bus driving swappers extended well down the main concourse, and there were great deals to be had. I know of a least one bus that changed hands for a very reasonable price. The end-of-the-day raffle was amazing as always, with over 100 items from the very generous Bus Fest sponsors: Bus Boys, Lavere?s Restoration, Kombi Haus, Vintage Warehouse, Wolfsburg West, Honest Engine Midtown, Vintage Parts, Greg?s VW Service, West Coast Metric, Buggy House and Sun Bugs.
Thank you again to all those that attended, to the generous sponsors and to the Bus Fest crew: Marilee, Tony, Gen, Tom, Shannon, John, Diana, Greg and Eric. Stay tuned to www.busfest.net for details on next year's Bus Fest events.
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| 5 Barndoor Deluxes all in a row. Thank you Mark, Drew, Eric, Matt and Dave for bringing out these beauties for all to enjoy. There are at least two more in Nor-Cal...next time? |
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| The Deluxe lineup was just part of the Barndoor display. Justin from Kombi Haus brought two including the Winnemucca Microbus, Jim Bass brought his '54 Microbus and Bus Farmer Todd brought his ever-popular Single Cab. |
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| Super clean pop-top Westfalia. |
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| Swappers were eveywhere, and there were some good deals to be had. |
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| Greg from Santa Rosa's Vintage Warehouse (event sponsor) brought out his newly-acquired RHD Microbus and donated lots of raffle prizes too. Thank you Greg! |
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| Everything from Barndoors to Eurovans made it to Bus Fest 5. Nice to see everyone relaxing in the shade, what a way to spend a Sunday... |
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| Nice mix of splits and bays at this event. |
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| Tom Mink's freshly-restored '57 Truck drew a crowd all day. Looks great Tom! |
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