Blackpool Breeze 2012

Claire Griffiths heads down to Blackpool Breeze 2012 to find the next Herbie and checks out the VWs, graffiti makeovers and all the rest of the weekend’s activities.

At the weekend Blackpool was lucky enough to welcome Blackpool Breeze Volkswagon Show back for its second year. Last year the show was held at Blackpool Rugby Club, but this year it has moved to the larger site of Ditchfield Glass Factory, Singleton, a 28 acre site which packed in enthusiasts from across the UK. Scheduled to run over 3 days falling in line with the established VW shows the entrance fee was really reasonable with a day pass at £7.50 or a weekend pass including camping at £15. As well as helping to fund the event, the entrance fee also went towards supporting a number of local charities Such as NW Air Ambulance.

I attended on the Saturday and as VW widow I am pretty used to trailing after my better half, whilst he looks at rusty bits of old car with the same vigour as a girl who has stumbled across a Jimmy Choo sale. So you understand that some VW shows can be pretty dull, missing out on catering to the females buying power; but at Blackpool Breeze there were a number of girlie stalls selling bags, jewellery and other chick stuff.

All the things you come to expect of a VW show were also present including The Fair, Auto Jumbles, a compliment of stalls and the obligatory food outlets, including Blackpool’s very own Original Pizza Bus. The site was well organised and as there had been rain,
the ground had been prepared so as to avoid a “mud fest” and with the sun in and out, a typical autumnal Blackpool day in September.

There was a good buzz as you would expect from any VW Show throughout the day. We arrived quite early to appease my VW geek boyfriend and the site was already full of people and bustling with activity. There was camping still available but no on site car park so we were assigned to the road and walked a little to get on site. We had a good walk round the site and untypically there were some graffiti artists offering a custom built service for VW decoration – which was pretty cool.

Over the course of the day I noticed a lot of dogs on site and sure enough there was a dog show on the Sunday for people wanted to show off their pampered pooches. The bands scheduled to play were the ever popular: Skaface, The Heat and Last Breath. VW events tend to be very family friendly and there were lots of children happily running around the site plus the events tent also catering to their needs with childrens entertainment.

It would have been great to see a few more of our local creatives and crafters in attendance – but maybe next year? If you do get the chance to check out Blackpool Breeze next year, do attend and support this event, VW enthusiasts are really friendly and who doesnt enjoy looking at a Beetle or a cool Camper Van, especially if its a “Herbie”.

For more information about Blackpool Breeze visit their website at www.blackpoolbreeze.co.uk. Images courtesy of CJGriffiths Photography.