The Long Island Volkswagen Club will hold its 2024 All VW show at Riverhead Bay Volkswagen at 1521 Old Country Rd in Riverhead on Sunday, September 15 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The show will feature both vintage and contemporary vehicles, including water- and air-cooled models such as beetles, things, squarebacks, rabbits, golfs and more.
The All VW show is free to the public and includes a car contest, a 50/50 raffle and food and merchandise vendors.
Danny Tichio of Baiting Hollow has been a member of the club almost since its inception 25 years ago. Currently, the group is holding monthly meetings in Bethpage. “I have an old Volkswagen, obviously, which I’ve owned since 1974. When I lived in Hicksville I used to see, every once in a while, a group of Volkswagens at the local Applebee’s. One day I stopped by and they said, ‘Oh, yeah, we have a club.’ And I said, ‘Oh, how do I join it?’ They said, ‘Just come to the meeting.’ So that’s how I met up with these folks.”
The club has been hosting an annual show for decades with the last few held at Riverhead Bay. “It’s just a chance for everybody to show off their Volkswagens,” Mr. Tichio said. “And it’s really interesting to see all the cars that show up, all the colors. Mine’s a nice bright yellow. We have every color in rainbow, and a lot of nice people. You meet people who don’t belong in the club, but they have a general interest in cars.”
Volkswagens, especially vintage ones, continue to attract broad appeal. The shape and size of the beetle made it unique; and the micro-bus will forever be associated with the hippie vibe. Both have become enduring symbols of pop culture.
Mr. Tichio has his own take on the the enduring popularity of the “people’s car.”
“They’re cute,” he said. “Everybody recognizes a Volkswagen Beetle or Volkswagen bus going down the road. I remember as a kid, you know, playing punch buggy … I always get somebody honking whenever I go by, recognizing the car.”