Is it 2013 yet? Well at the time of writing, no, but we’re certainly looking forward to a year of shows which we seriously hope aren’t dominated by memories of floods, rain-offs, and generally bad weather! We’ve been promoting shows for 26 years now, and 2012 was the most difficult year we can remember for having the slightest clue whether it would be sunny or slashing down come the weekend!

The first ‘Shows-UK’ event of 2012 was the Rod and Kustom kulture SPRING BREAK … which was sunny enough, but jeez was it cold! The best value, by far, and the best experience of SPRING BREAK was to take advantage of two nights camping, two evening’s entertainment and the daytime activities, a complete bargain, even cheaper than the venue’s normal overnight tariff. Yet some who made that choice to stay for the weekend, drove home and came back, if it was in striking distance, rather than suffer the bitterly cold nights in a tent or caravan.

This year, we’re praying for a milder April, and certain that good though SPRING BREAK was in 2012, SPRING BREAK#2 will be just a stonker of an event.  Bands, DJ’s and Burlesque are not restricted to the evening, there will be plenty to keep you entertained and amused throughout each day, and it just steps up a gear during the evening. Full details are available on the SPRING BREAK page (here) but the enthusiasm which greeted the first show can’t be overstated, and if you weren’t there for the first year, don’t miss “The Hot Rod & Kustom Kulture SPRING BREAK’ in 2013. The best new event for years, and already becoming a ‘must go’ show!  . 

The second Shows-UK show at Stonham Barns in 2013 is Suffolk Volksfest. It is the only ‘all types’ VW show in the Stonham Barns calendar. In a sense it is the ‘original’ Volksfest… a show which started way back in 1988, and has been staged at Avon Park, Santa Pod, the sadly lamented NAS (National Auto Showground, Peterborough), at North Weald Airfield, and now the Mid Suffolk Showground, Stonham Barns. Since 1988 Brett Hawksbee has is some guise or another staged an event called ‘Volksfest’. The event has been promoted by Streetstyle Promotions, NAS Events, and now Shows-UK. Time was when this was the only Volksfest  event, but the name is now shared with several regional shows around the UK. Having accepted the ‘regional’ tag during the event’s time as ‘London Volksfest’, the aim and ambition now is to make Suffolk Volksfest a truly National event. You’ll find more details on the Volksfest page (here).

Why it took Brett 25 years to follow ‘Bug Jam’ with ‘Bus Jam’, a camper and commercials only event, is anyone’s guess… but when it finally happened it was universally acclaimed as a truly great new addition to the VW camper calendar. (That’s not strictly true… at least half a dozen people complained that they heard too much Ska and Reggae over the weekend… ) But apart from that, Bus Jam hit the ground running, and the show got of to a fantastic start on probably the best weekend’s weather in the whole of 2012. The 2013 event is set to be even more fabulous, and still one of the cheapest weekend events on the calendar. More information (here).