Alpine Volks Fair - What You Missed

ALPINE VOLKS FAIR 2021

If you read up on the last blog about Alpine Volks Fair (AVF) then you have the general idea of what the event is all about. Alpine Volks Fair is an event that takes place in Helen, GA. The event spans across almost 4 full days starting on Thursday and wrapping up on Sunday. For many, this show is a getaway to a foreign land from their normal home towns. With the alpine village located in the mountains of North Georgia, this landscape is unlike many across the United States. This blog is more about what actually happened, what you missed and what to look forward to next year.  

THE MEETS

With some people arriving Thursday, May 20th, some were able to enjoy the quiet before the storm. Paul, the coordinator of the event and the Euro Tripper Show in Fort Myers, FL had hosted a "Early Birds" meet up near the river for those who came up early. The meet was nice and quiet with some amazing cars that had made the trek up to the Alpine Village of Helen. Cars rolled in from as close as Tennessee and Georgia, to as far as Texas and New York. Everyone was settling into the town and this small meet exploded quickly with many cars rolling in after a good wipe down prior to the weekends events taking place.

Friday, May 21st, was the day of the main events it seemed. The way the event was planned out was to take advantage of the entire town and surrounding areas to host several different meets to include Air-cooled cars, diesels, wagons, and all the generations of Golf/Jetta with Mk1's all the way to the UroTuning hosted Mk7/MQB Meet. Starting as early as 9AM, you could venture out into the town and visit each of these meets at different locations with activities to do at each meet up. Not only can you drool around all the amazing cars at each meet, but you can also take advantage of the local attractions and restaurants. Go tubing down the river, ride the alpine coaster, enjoy some amazing local brews, or challenge your friends in slot car racing like at the UroTuning MK7 meet!

Overall, the meets were setup in a way that every enthusiast could enjoy their car or generation of choice, or see all of them! The other advantage of this style of event is the ability to enjoy what's around you. Other car shows or events lock you into a venue that is set up as a field and you're trapped in a location without enjoying what is around the cars. There is something to do for everyone even those friends and family that are not necessarily car fanatics like you! YES - you can still drag them along and they WILL have a great time!

THE SHOW

During the meets, each meet organizer was tasked to choose 4 cars from each to be showcased at the show venue up in the Unicoi State Park Beach House. Among those chosen were also cars pre-selected during the Mutts Nutts selection process during the show registration for those that wanted to be showcased. Booth cars, insane builds, custom engine setups and air trunk setups were among those that flooded the Beach House parking lots!

The venue was set up in a three-tier type layout. Not figuratively, literally. In the topmost parking lot, there was a sea of show cars that filled the lot from the latest Audi RS6 Avant to the oldest MK1 Cabby with its survivor styling. In the second parking lot next to the Beach House building, there were many vendors and the UroTuning Tent with all sorts of Swag and tunes available for on site sale from Unitronic. In this area, there were also booth cars for each brand such as Rotiform, Euro Fed, Liqui Molly and more. Also in this mix, was the Volkswagen GTI Showcase showing off the new MK8 GTI. The bottom tier on the actual beach, Volkswagen setup their display with the newest models from the Enthusiast fleet including the new Base Camp Taos.

THE DRIVE

One of the final highlights of this event that is unlike any other is the drive that takes place on the final day. Drivers can choose to end their weekend on Saturday and pack up to leave Sunday Morning, orrrr... they can opt in to one of three amazing drives to some of the most iconic locations in the North Georgia Mountains! What better way to enjoy Helen and these mountains than a group drive into some of the most scenic roads in this country. The drives were led by volunteers from local driver groups and Wookies in the Woods. Destinations included Brasstown Bald, Lake Burton/Chop House at Laprades, and the Tallulah Gorge State Park. This is the ultimate way to end an amazing weekend with friends, family and a passion like no other car community!