68-year-old Ken Corey, a retired chronic respiratory disease nurse, form the Finger Lakes Region of New York had at least one Volkswagen since he was 15-years-old. By the time he retired 5 years ago, he had 27. In his retirement, Ken spends his time restoring old Volkswagens.
Ken is one of hundreds of Volkswagen enthusiasts who came to Effingham for the VW Fun Fest, an annual event put on by Mid America Motorworks. The weekend-long festival features a car show, swapfest, and VW Seminars. According to Abbey DePoister, of the Effingham Tourism and Visitors Bureau, some 300 unique vehicles would be in town this weekend.
Firday night kicked off with a downtown welcome fest on the Old Courthouse Lawn featuring local band Tequila Mockingbird, vendors, and of course, the big parade of Volkswagens heading down Jefferson Avenue.
Effingham Radio News spoke to Conner Andrjeski of Morris, IL who just bought is first Volkswagen, a 1973 Beetle, just six months ago. Conner first became interested in Volkswagens because of how the iconic cars looked.
Conner purchased his Volkswagen from a couple restoring it. They wanted to sell if because they already too many others to restore.
Colby Thompson, A New Hampshire resident, said that he hadn’t even heard of the VW Fun Fest until the Thursday before the event. He and friend were travelling in their Volkswagen Buses when they bumped into another enthusiast in Indiana.
Colby’s Bus is a 1975 model named “Dharma.” He said he was interested in Volkswagen Buses because of their iconic role in the hippy movement of the 1960s and 1970s.
Fun Fest activities continue through Sunday at Mid America Motorworks in Effingham. The Fun Fest originally began as “Bug Fest” in 1999 and has continued to grow and expand since then.