VW’s in the Valley
This event has finished for now. It runs again each year, and this page will be updated once the next dates are announced.
This is the fourteenth running of the fall show, and it is the bigger of the two VW weekends the Maggie Valley Festival Grounds hosts each year. Every model and year is welcome, which means split-window buses end up parked beside late Golfs, and a concours-level Beetle sits three spaces down from something its owner is still arguing with. It lands the week after the motorcycle rally clears out, so the town is still geared up for a crowd but the traffic on Soco Road has thinned.
What Fills the Field
Two things run side by side. The judged show takes the main field, with trophies and cash prizes for best of show winners, each of them handed a custom piston trophy. The swap meet occupies its own block of 25 by 25 foot spaces stocked with new and used VW parts, and a separate run of vendors sells shirts, signs, toys and the rest of it. If you are chasing a specific part for an air-cooled project, Friday morning is the reason to come, because the good stuff moves before lunch and does not come back out on Saturday.
A DJ plays across both days, door prizes are drawn every hour, and show t-shirts go on sale Friday.
Admission and Entry Fees
- Spectator weekend pass: $10, covers both days
- Kids 15 and under: free
- Show car space: $20, includes one weekend pass
- VW for sale space: $20, includes one weekend pass
- Swap meet space, VW parts only: $25 for 25 by 25 feet, includes one weekend pass
- Vendor space for shirts, toys and similar: $50 for 25 by 25 feet, includes one weekend pass
Spectators pay at the gate, no advance ticket needed. Show cars, sellers and vendors can pre-register and pay online through the organizer’s site, which the organizer asks for and which saves a wait on Friday morning. Prices are from the official show page and can change, so confirm before you travel.
Camping on the Grounds
Bus camping is $25 per night and RV spots with electric hookup are $100 per night, both on top of gate admission. You are not committed to both nights. Individual campfires are not permitted, but there is a community campfire, and the grounds are under security around the clock.
Getting There and Parking
The festival grounds sit on Soco Road, the main road through town, roughly an hour west of Asheville and about forty minutes from the Blue Ridge Parkway entrance at Soco Gap. Parking is on site, and car hauler parking inside the gate is free, which is worth knowing if you are trailering something in.
Outside food vendors are not permitted, so you are eating from the concession building or driving out to the restaurants along Soco Road. Mid September at valley elevation is usually still green, with real fall color a few weeks out and higher up, so plan the weekend around the cars rather than the leaves.
