Bristol VolksFest 2016

As the storm clouds rolled in from the Severn estuary, up the Bristol channel over Easter Compton.

The familiar grounds for Bristol VolksFest, the gates were opened and the campers flooded in‌ No rain was going to put off the dubbers’ at this action packed Volkswagen weekend.

Fridays are generally a bit of a slow starter at many shows across the county, they tend to be more of a chilled out, arrive, get your camp set up, have a few beer and get ready for the weekend!

But there is always plenty to see and do at Bristol Volksfest and this year was no exceptionn ...

All weekend you could watc all around the barn areas fro Upfest you say? Well Upfest val with its centre being 1.3k Bedminster (Bristol). The U at Bristol VolksFest with 30 d show, painting 5000sqft of s size replica NYC subway trai DJ booth throughout the wee 300 artists from 40 different each y

ch live artwork being created om artist at Upfest – what is t is multi-venue urban festikm stretch of North Street in Upfest crew were out in force different artists attending the surfaces including their full in – which was also used as a ekend. (Be sure to catch over t countries at Upfest in July year.)

Anyway back to VolksFest… The buggy track was open from Friday as the Volkswrecks team arrived and ensured their range of off road vehicles were suitably dirty and as always they were pushing them to the limits, which quite often ends up breaking them, but they’re a handy bunch and are able to fix any issues to get them back out and splashing through ‘the pit’ to please the crowds (and I think their selves perhaps even more judging by the looks on their faces!)

If you didn’t want to miss the Football you could catch the Euro games on the big screen at Mr.Whompy’s pleasure cone. During the days there was also entertainment for the kids as well as 4 table tennis tables from St George Table Tennis Club, with tournaments and advice and tips from the club. During the evenings and going into the night Mr Whompy’s ex ice cream van and sound system was providing the backbone to the late night entertainment at BVF. With DJ format headlining Friday night and DJ Yoda (hailed as ‘one of the top 10 Dj’s to see before you die’ by Q magazine) headlining on Saturday night.

If you still had energy once the DJ’s sets had finished at 1am the party didn’t have to end then, with a silent disco running both nights until the early hours.

With a variety of traders and caterers on site there was something for everyone on Saturday whether that was something a bit more adventurous or if you were nursing a bit of a hangover perhaps just a good quality coffee from the back of the Wheely Good Coffee Co’s T25 (or should I say T3?).

If you were really up for it there was rise and shine Aerobics in the morning at Mr Whompy’s.

Bath Ales were sponsors of the show and were on site in close proximity to the main stage with their own special brew for BVF the ‘BVF Pale Ale’ – a selection of ‘tables and chairs’ had been made out of old pallets and left around the main show area. But lets face it they weren’t used much in the afternoon and into the evening because the main stage was alive with the sounds of Troy Ellis, The Emperials and Neville Staple - the sun was shining, the weather was sweet, it made you want to move your dancing feet, the atmosphere was buzzing and music was pumping, ‘it wasn’t down-

town JA it was Skaville UK!’ Does that sound familiar? Well to kick Saturday afternoon off Bad Manners were on at 14:00 (you maybe thinking that’s a little early but as the show ground got strangely quiet you knew it was for one reason and one reason only, fatty fatty!

I think it’s safe to say ‘we really loved you Fatty Fatty!’ With the crowd pumped they were ready for backto-back performances through out the day on the main stage and into the evening, as the sun set behind the main stage at Bristol VolksFest its hard to say it was anything but the perfect ending to a great day!

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If you managed to get away from the main stage, you would find that their was another action packed day going on around the fields at BVF. On the show field there was a dog agility show and trailer towing lessons (these were not related but just both happened to be on the Saturday).

Matti Hemmings one of the UK’s top BMX flatland riders was showing off his skills and holding workshops in the Upfest barn.

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As you stepped out of the Upfest barn you maybe have been forgiven if you thought the fumes from all the spray paint had gotten to your head and you were imagining vehicles jumping a good 30” off the ground… But this was no hallucination – Just out side of the Upfest barn the UK Lowriders were out in force for the LowRider Nationals Competition, which is held annually at BVF. These guys push things to the limit with a number of vehicles bursting into flames during the competition! However they come prepared, fire extinguishers were nearby and used on several occasions, burnt out parts were stripped out and replacement parts fitted for the next round of the competition!

a ls n io t a N r e id r w o L Th e ed h s u p s le ic h e v e s e h se e t p ing t o t h e ir li m it s, h o p ! o ve r 30” in t h e a ir

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Sunday is all about the show and shine, the gates opened at 8am and with 23 different categories the show ground fills quickly.

Martyn Wilson picked up the award for the best T4 in his pink and black bagged bus. Ed Jukes picked up best T5 in his ICE filled bagged van from Celtic Motorhomes – there was a great selection of vans on show in the show and shine, which was great to see!

With such an action packed weekend it’s hard to fit everything into this show report, but if you take one thing away from this report it’s to book your tickets for next year as early as possible – with such a variety of things going on over the weekend it really is one not miss!

SHOW & SHINE WINNERS 2016

SPLIT SCREEN VAN - JON BICKLEY BAY WINDOW VAN - MARK AXFORD CLASSIC BEETLE TO 67 - CHRIS GEARY CLASSIC BEETLE 67 ON - CONNOR HAWKINS TYPE 3 - DAMIEN STAMPS BUGGIES - DEAN HEWLETT MODIFIED A/C - MARIO MIFSUD OTHER A/C - SHAUN WILLIAMS T25 - PAUL ENGLAND T4 - MARTYN WILSON T5 - ED JUKES GOLF 1 - ADAM ELVIN GOLF 2 - LUKE TOMKINS GOLF 3 - MARK ALDRED GOLF 4 TO 2004 - IAN GRABHAM GOLF 2004 ON - THOMAS TAYLOR POLO TO 94 - ALEX LAMBERT POLO 94 ON - JACK HEATH CADDY VAN - CHARLIE PEARCE MODIFIED W/C - DAN LEWIS OTHER W/C - SALLY MINCHIN RUST AND PRIME - RATTY PETE VAG VARIETIES - RICHARD HARRIS THE CLIVE ALLEN ‘SPIRIT OF DUBBIN’ AWARD’ WINNER - KYLE BOULTON