POTTSTOWN — Thousands filled downtown streets on Sunday for the fifth and largest L’oe Show auto extravaganza to date.
This year’s show — which celebrates German auto excellence in the form of the Volkswagen, Audi, and Porsche brands — stretched along High Street from Evans Street to all the way across the bridge over Manatawny Creek, as well as filling up spaces on North and South Hanover streets and on South Charlotte Street as well.
“The vibe on this show is so laidback,” said an enthusiastic Adam Baker, who interrupted a phone call during which he gushed about the cars to a fellow VW fan to speak with a reporter.
“I can’t believe how Jamie (Orr, the show’s primary organizer) has transformed this town and made it a Volkswagen town; it’s amazing,” said Baker, who drove up from Greenville, S.C., to attend.
“Volkswagen people are nerds, they’re the most respectful people and this show is even better now that they stopped inviting BMWs,” said Baker.
He explained to a nonplussed reporter that “because BMWs are rear-wheel drive, they can drift and slide, which means they’re trending on TikTok and places like that, so that means a lot of young people doing stupid stuff,” said Baker, himself a wizened 29-year-old.
Baker has owned four Volkswagens over the years and said the three companies support one another. He stood next to an Audi RS and said, “So Porsche was having financial trouble, so Audi said to them, ‘build this car for us’ to help them out, pointing out the Porsche logo on the exhaust manifold.
“It’s only built in Europe, so it’s so cool to see it here,” he said. “You see that kind of stuff at this show, which is why I come back every year.”
Brooklyn native Ryan McKenzie, on the other hand, was in Pottstown with his Audi for the first time ever. As a co-founder of the group FRS, which stands for the ‘Four Rings Squad,’ he was looking forward to meeting other members for the first time in person. Four rings are Audi’s symbol.
“It’s my first time, and I think this is great. I am definitely coming back,” he said.
It was also the first time for Zack Tomascik and Charlene Heywood, who came down from Wilkes-Barre for the event. Asked her opinion, Heywood said simply, “10 out of 10.”
“This is the show I look forward to every year,” said Justin Murphy of Pequannock, New Jersey. “It’s now rowdy, it’s very laid back.”
Remarks like that are music to Sheila Dugan’s ears.
Co-owner of Grumpy’s Hand-Carved Sandwiches, Dugan said, “Jamie really markets this event, and he works with the merchants. After last year’s show, he came to see us and asked if we had any problems or anything they could do better. We’ll always work with people who work with us.”
She said L’oe Show is much better for downtown merchants than the car shows that close down High Street one Saturday a month during the summer.
“The people who come to those shows live around here. They feed the kids beforehand, bring their own coolers, and maybe have an ice cream while they’re here,” Dugan said. “The people who come to this show are literally coming from around the world, and they need a place to sleep, to eat and go to the bathroom, so it’s really helping all our new restaurants.”
Just ask Jose Castillo, the owner of the recently opened El Volcan Mexican restaurant. Not only was his restaurant full, but he was busy on the porch outside mixing up piña coladas and margaritas and selling them inside, topped off with pineapples for $15 each.
“I’m seeing non-stop business, Castillo said as he handed a newly filled pineapple to Brittany Parham of Pottstown. “Oh my God, this is so delicious she said after taking her first sip through a straw.
Business was also good for the “Pop-up” shops, which are specific to L’oe Show and the car culture it celebrates. Alexis McGuire was manning a booth for Players, which puts on its own car show called “Track Day” in a place called Goodwood in the United Kingdom. “We did one show in California, but then COVID shut everything down.”
“But basically, yeah, we’re here at this car show promoting our car show,” McGuire said with a laugh.
Promotions were also the name of the game for the trio of Moisses Munez, Diego Gonzalez and Jaden Lee. All three are from Florida and were in Pottstown to create some “social media content” for one of the vendors, USP Motor Sports.
Not all those appreciating a good European car show walk on two legs. Some have four, like Nugget, a car-kitty who Jacob Conrad brings to car shows all the time. “We’ve trained him up since he was a few months old. I drive an Audi, but he likes Volkswagens,” he insisted.
And, this being the 21st century, now we camp on the roof of a car.
Well, at least that’s what Eric Cutlip and Mary Jump of Sutton, West Virginia, do. And of course, it’s on top of a Volkswagen.
Among the more unexpected accessories on display during Sunday’s show was a system for attaching your tent to the roof of your VW, so you don’t have to sleep on the ground.
“It’s easy, and very convenient and you don’t lose any trunk space,” Jump explained.
The couple owns five dogs and three Volkswagens and comes to L’oe Show “every year. “It’s such a great show and a great way to connect with the Volkswagen community,” Cutlip said.
The License Plates of L’oe Show
Source: Berkshire mont
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