Hundreds of vintage Volkswagens will roll onto the grounds of a former Civil War-era military post near downtown Columbus on Saturday, as Volksfest 35 marks its milestone anniversary with a brand-new home at Fort Hayes Career Center. Vehicle registration begins at 8 a.m., with the spectator show opening at 10 a.m. and wrapping up at 3 p.m.
The show is the 35th annual edition of Volksfest, hosted by the Central Ohio Vintage Volkswagen Club and described by organizers as the largest single-day vintage Volkswagen car show and swap meet in Ohio, according to the Central Ohio Vintage Volkswagen Club. As reported by WSYX, the event will feature Beetles, buses, Karmann Ghias and other classic and unique Volkswagens, alongside restored and customized examples that owners have poured years into bringing back to life.
Beyond the vehicle display, Volksfest 35 includes a swap meet offering hard-to-find automotive parts, Volkswagen toys, memorabilia and vintage advertising, per the same station's report. Admission for spectators costs $5, and organizers say everyone is welcome to attend. Spectator parking is accessible from 680 Cleveland Avenue.
A New Home Steeped in Columbus History
This year's move to Fort Hayes represents a notable shift for an event that has bounced between venues for more than three decades. Volksfest was hosted at the Ohio History Center in 2024 and 2025, and before that at Watkins Memorial High School, a drive-in theater, and a Dublin recycling plant for its inaugural show, according to the Central Ohio Vintage Volkswagen Club. The club itself traces back to the spring of 1991, when 12 local enthusiasts met at Goodwill Industries on Fifth Avenue in Columbus to pool parts and technical resources, per the club's own history.
The new venue carries its own deep local history. The 70-acre campus at 546 Jack Gibbs Blvd was created by Congress in July 1862 as the Columbus Arsenal, renamed Fort Hayes in 1922, and converted into a public school campus in 1976, according to Wikipedia. The adjacent boulevard and career center take their name from Jack G. Gibbs, a former Ohio State University football player and educator who took over the Metropolitan Career Center in 1972 to help build the educational complex, per the West High Alumni Association.
A Father's Karmann Ghia and a Lifelong Hobby
Among the show cars will be Kurt Ludlow's 1962 Karmann Ghia convertible, a car that once belonged to his father and the very vehicle Ludlow learned to drive in. Ludlow restored the convertible himself and said he enjoys driving and showing it, per WSYX. The Karmann Ghia line, produced between 1955 and 1974, combined Italian body design by Carrozzeria Ghia with Beetle mechanicals hand-built by coachbuilder Karmann in Osnabrück, Germany, according to the model's own history.
Angee Vezdos, who owns a 1969 Type 3 Fastback she calls Gertrude, told the station she began liking Volkswagens in the 1990s to impress a man. She said Volkswagens are fun to drive and that the community built around them is a major attraction of the hobby.
Celebrating 50 Years of the GTI
This year's show carries an added thematic hook: a feature celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Volkswagen GTI, which debuted in Europe in 1976, according to Hemmings. Registration runs $20 for show cars and passengers, $25 for swap meet vendor spaces, and $5 for general spectators, with the first 150 registered show cars receiving commemorative dash plaques, Hemmings reports.
Organizers have also widened the field beyond Volkswagens this year, opening registration to other air-cooled and European vehicles, including vintage Porsche and Audi models, with food trucks and vendor raffles rounding out the day, per Hemmings. The quality of cars that show up has been high in recent years; at the 2025 event, the Best of Show Air-Cooled award went to a rare 1949 Hebmuller after a restoration that took more than 20 years, according to the Central Ohio Vintage Volkswagen Club.
