Volkswagens of all shapes, sizes and colors filled the Narayan Ranch grounds this past weekend as the Iron Cross VW Club hosted its first ever Volkstoberfest in Escalon. For those that love a cute VW Bug or an awesome VW Bus filled with everything from surfboards to sleeping lofts, the Volkstoberfest had them all on display.

Volkswagens were created in Germany in the mid 1930’s and marketed as the People’s Car due to their affordability and accessibility. As time went on, the relatively low manufacturing costs appealed to many countries including the United States and the first VW Beetle came to the U.S. in 1949. Though the first Beetles were greeted with a somewhat lukewarm reception, as time went on and new models including the VW Bus and the Karmann Ghia were added, their popularity grew immensely. Now there are hundreds of VW Clubs across the nation that honor the history, unique aesthetics and cultural impact that Volkswagens continue to bring to admirers of all ages.

Denny Keeler, member of the Iron Cross VW Club in Modesto, brought his 1971 Super Beetle, complete with rectangular headlights, custom seats and a unique tail end to the show. A longtime VW enthusiast, Keeler has owned Volkswagens for many years and the license plate on his current VW reads HERB3RD after the most famous VW of all, Herbie the Love Bug, which was featured in many Disney movies once upon a time. This is Keeler’s third Beetle, hence the HERB3RD license plate.

Keeler shared that with the help of the Narayan family, who hosted the event at their ranch in Escalon and some sponsors like Central Valley Volkswagen, the event was a huge success. Throughout the day, hundreds of VW enthusiasts of all ages stopped by to enjoy some refreshments, cool VW swag and of course, listen to the histories of the various VWs and their journeys.

In addition to their love of Volkswagens, the Iron Cross VW Club also works in various ways to help local communities such as their Toys for Tots Drive, which will be coming up soon. Though this was the first Volkstoberfest in this neck of the woods, based on the amount of folks that came out to enjoy these classic cars over the weekend, organizers – and attendees – hope there will be many more Volkstoberfests in the future.

For more information about Iron Cross, visit facebook.com/IronCrossVWClub/