Serving Boone, Blowing Rock, Banner Elk, and other towns of the North Carolina High Country | Founded 05-05-05

July 10, 2008 issue

High Country Bus Festival in Crumpler July 24 to 27


Story by Sam CalhounNo, the Grateful Dead is not touring again—it’s the annual High Country Bus Festival, planned for July 24 through 27. More than 100 Volkswagen buses will putt around the High Country in two weeks, and most will gather for a caravan on the Blue Ridge Parkway on Sunday, July 27. Photo courtesy of the Full Moon Bus Club

Volkswagen Bus owners are easy to stereotype as aging hippies or Grateful Dead heads, but VW Bus enthusiasts actually come in all shapes and sizes and from all walks of life.

They love their travel wagons and getting together to talk shop—mostly about how they got out of a tight situation when their bus broke down in the middle of nowhere. So every July, VW Bus enthusiasts arrive en masse in the High Country for the annual High Country Bus Festival.

The 13th annual High Country Bus Festival takes place from Thursday, July 24, to Sunday, July 27, at the Twin Rivers Family Campground in Crumpler. The cost is $7 per person per night for the campground, and a $5 registration fee for every bus. All fees are collected when campers check in.

This is the first year the festival will take place at Twin Rivers Campground. Since 1996 when “Buddha”—a local VW Bus fanatic—started the festival, it has been held at Grandfather Campground on Highway 105 near the entrance to Seven Devils.

Bus owners from up and down the East Coast make the trek annually to the High Country for the festival. More than 150 buses attended last year’s event.
On Thursday and Friday, attendees arrive, set up and socialize. At the new location, attendees will also get a chance to enjoy the New River. Twin Rivers Campground rents tubes for the river all weekend.

On Saturday, the day begins at 10:00 a.m. with a breakfast potluck. Attendees are asked to bring food, help cook or help clean up. At 1:00 p.m., it’s time for the High Country Bus Festival annual Bocce Ball Tournament, and at 2:00 p.m. kid’s activities begin. At 7:00 p.m., door prizes and awards are handed out, and at 8:00 p.m. Boone bluegrass outfit Upright and Breathin’ takes the stage.

On Sunday, all the VW Bus owners gather to take a caravan—or “cara-bus”—on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

“Where else can you find hundreds of people who know the difference between air-cooled and water-cooled buses and the implication that has on climbing mountains?” asked David Barbour, annual festival participant.

For more information, click to www.highcountrybusfestival.com.

Want To Go?
Date: Thursday through Sunday, July 24 to 27
Time: All day
Location: Twin Rivers Family Campground, Crumpler
Cost: $7 per night per person plus $5 per bus activity fee