Our Regular Columnist, Chester Winchester, Shares His Thoughts On Waterfest 12.
I remember the first Waterfest held at SUNY Purchase in New York. We're talking something like 1995 here, so those were exciting times for watercooled fans. You see, back then watercooled enthusiasts had to make do with shows called Bug Jam, Bug Out, Bug In and... well, you get my point.
Watercooled VWs were just a curiosity when they first began attending established aircooled events, and at first most promoters figured they qualified as extra money in their pockets. So why not just set aside a bit of room off to the side and let them show? Aircooled cars were still king, so the watercooled folks got a tiny space and were expected to be happy.
By the time the Mk3 VWs hit the streets, we watercoolers were beginning to make waves at some of the Bug events. More and more entrants required more and more space, and soon the aircooled people were crying foul. Rather than everybody simply sharing a common interest in VWs and getting along, a rift occurred between the two factions. And it wasn't long before it was painfully obvious the watercooled crowd had run out of room and worn out our welcome.
So Waterfest 1 was a big deal simply because of the name. The first part had nothing to with the weather (in fact, I don't remember rain at Waterfest until more recently) and everything to do with the liquid coursing through our engines. This was our show, and it was about damn time.
Since the first show, Waterfest has been the biggest watercooled VW event in North America. And for those paying attention to such things, it's also served as something of a barometer regarding the growth and overall health of the new-generation VW and Audi enthusiast scene.
As far as I can tell, minus a few ill-advised changes of venue, each successive Waterfest has signaled a healthy growth regarding our beloved hobby. More spectators, more show cars, and more vendors have certainly advanced our hobby from a statistical point of view. And this growth has also added a more diverse group of enthusiasts whose fresh perspective pushes the scene forward.
With Waterfest 12, what can be said about the state of our union? The more things change, the more they stay the same. And by this I simply mean that most things in VAG-land are looking good.
This year's event seemed bigger than last year's and what's significant is that there seemed to be more vendors than ever. All the big names in the industry were there, and this included VWoA itself.
Unfashionably late as usual, VW has finally recognized Waterfest for its amazing marketing potential and joined the festivities in a massive way. I won't say I understand what their booth was about or why they chose to display the cars they did, but I did see Helga riding around on a golf cart, so at least somebody at VWoA knows what's up.
As big and bold as this year's event was, a few things worried me. The show car field was overflowing with shiny cars, but to me most of the shiny cars looked like all the other shiny cars. Some were truly notable, such as Tiffany Walter's Mk4 GLI with its smoothed and filled Votex kit and Mercedes wheels, and Joe Fekete's extra-clean Mk5 GTI, for example; but the truth is I didn't see much that made me go, "holy crap!"
Few people were pushing the styling envelope in either direction, and that's a bit troubling. Waterfest is typically the big debut show, so I was expecting to see more killer projects. I guess there's a bit of a lull right now, but I hope somebody decides to turn things up a notch soon.
Since they've been on the market for more than a year, I had expected to see a lot of modded Mk5 Jettas at Waterfest, but only a handful showed. It might well be time to call the J5 a flop in the eyes of enthusiasts, and it appears VW has finally managed to bestow the US J5 with the same appeal it has in the rest of the world - which is basically none.
Older Dubs are disappearing much too quickly for my tastes, and even though some truly nice examples made it to Waterfest 12, I'm afraid it won't be long before we start thinking of the Mk3 as old school. Or maybe the older cars aren't really going away, but are just deterred by the new cars taking over?
Maybe the old cars need their own show? Should they team up with (what's left of) the aircooled crowd and start their own big show? Would that qualify as irony?
Like I said, the more things change, the more they stay the same...