Wolfsgart car show event AirOut returns to Winooski after two years
Photo courtesy of Wolfsgart.
The annual Wolfsgart car show is returning to the area this week — and to Winooski after two years.
The four-day event highlights European car culture — particularly German vehicles — through car displays and various activities, including judged competitions. Now in its 12th year, the event will run from Wednesday, August 3 to Sunday, August 7, and the main show will be held at the Champlain Valley Exposition in Essex Junction.
Winooski will host one of the festival’s most popular events: AirOut, a gathering where enthusiasts can park and show off tricked-out rides in the city's center. It runs from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. this Friday and is one of several attractions planned across the Burlington metro area.
Anthony Fitzsimmons, the founder of the event, said Winooski has been a great place to include in the event.
“I feel that there is a very, very strong sense of community there,” Fitzsimmons said. “Some of the best restaurants in the area are in Winooski, and it’s situated in a beautiful spot.”
He added: “It's a great place to host an offsite event and also a place where we can kind of give back to the community and offer a free event to the local folks.”
Organizers in 2020 canceled the festival due to pandemic concerns, and organizers had to cancel AirOut in 2021 for the same reasons.
Wolfsgart focuses on European cars, but Fitzsimmons encouraged anyone interested in automobiles to participate.
“The core part of the event is also German cars,” he said. “But we do have classes, and we’re open to all foreign and even domestic vehicles that can come to the event.”
The festival offers space for camping, too, which begins Thursday. Tickets for the show and the campsite will be available that day.
“We have people from all over the country,” Fitzimmons said. “We get people from Canada, from the southwest, and especially from New England.”
The festival features several events in and around Burlington. Thursday night, people can come out for a “brew hop” — a beer and car show — at partner Switchback Brewing Company.
Friday will be the first of two show days, during which enthusiasts will display their cars for several judged competitions. That night, AirOut will take Winooski’s Rotary Park. Traffic is set to be closed down for the event.
Saturday will feature the “Wolf Run,” a nearly 90-mile scenic drive from Essex Junction, up on Route 15 to Jeffersonville, south on Route 108 through Stowe, then to Winooski via Interstate 89. A showcase of classic, old-school cars is slated for that night at the Champlain Valley Exposition.
On Sunday, the festival will give out awards for the car competitions. The weekend will also feature events like a car limbo — in which participants see whose car can drop the lowest.
Fitzsimmons said he is ecstatic to bring AirOut back after putting it on hold during the pandemic. The last time Winooski hosted the event was in 2019.
“We had to bring it back,” he said. “We’ve done it for years, and unfortunately, COVID (complicated things). You know how tough our world has been. Of course, people were really bummed that we couldn’t do it last year.”
In addition to the car events, attendees can also expect music, DJs, prizes, and brews.
Learn more about Wolfsgart and check out the full schedule here.