Winding out of the green and rocky mountains of Northern Vermont, the Winooski river has always played a vital role in fueling the nearby towns with mill power. Its rocky banks, steeped in history, provide a subtle backdrop to the town of Winooski. Founded before America by Ira Allen, brother of famous colonialist Ethan Allen, it’s obvious that the people in this town embrace their past. Yet, there’s a future here too. The town is lined with classy glass and metal apartment buildings, speckled in with converted mills, hip pubs, and most notably here, a variety of beautiful German cars that have been extensively customized to each individual owner’s personal taste. This was Wolfsgart 2017, where the attendees share the same respect for the classic past, while still always looking for the next new thing.
Every year since 2010, Wolfsgart organizers have made the call for all German cars to drive north to the outskirts of Burlington, VT for the show of the year. When I say show, however, it’s more than that. Because of the surroundings, Wolfsgart 2017 encourages going out and driving. Enjoy and use the cars for what they were meant, touring in style. While the show takes place in the Champlain Valley Exposition, if you are planning on going to Wolfsgart plan on getting the crew together (if you don’t have one, one will be provided) and rolling out to dominate the local foothill roads.
Off-campus events include the Cars & Foam pre-party show and photoshoot at Foam Brewery on the lakefront on Thursday. Friday is Brew Hop where show goers roll out to the Burlington art district and into Switchback Brewing Co for an exclusive gathering, which ended with a cruise through the city of Burlington.
On Saturday, much of the showfield leaves for the Wolf Run, which takes the scenic route over Smugglers Notch and ends in the Wolfsgart Air Out in downtown Winooski, which we were happy to attend. For those still around on Monday morning, there’s a Cars and Coffee for everyone to say their goodbyes.
This is the only show that we have attended at a fairground, and it is a shame. The organization of the buildings, campground, and vendors was interesting and unique to Wolfsgart 2017. The eEuroparts booth was located more or less in the featured showfield, which meant that we had a great view the entire time. A few things that showed up included a real 337 Edition GTI and a Procharged VR6. That and puppers, doggos…all forms of canine friends were out to visit and get all worked up over free water. Unfortunately, it did rain on Saturday, but that didn’t dampen the attitudes.
The umbrellas came out, the VW branded ponchos went on, and the limbo contest continued on. Many went indoors to check out the Alpha Class cars, which ranged from perfectly clean Audi 100’s to completely and utterly built BMW’s and Audi’s. We even noticed a Saab 900 that we shared on our Facebook page, a Trionic 5 8v with a remote DIC which is a pretty cool thing to do.
For a review, it’s gotta be said 10/10 would sponsor again. If you drive a European car, this is a great event to choose if you are looking to do a little driving. The commute is stunning, the food is stellar, and the people are friendly. Check out our photo gallery right here, and don’t forget to visit our Youtube page for event coverage in the future!
