More than a dozen Volkswagen buses packed the parking lot during the VW Bus Mob show last year at The Hut, 305 N. Fourth Ave. The retro buses were on display for enthusiasts vote on. $1 votes chose winners in categories such as “Best in Show,” “Best Hippie Bus” and “Best Ugly Bus,” with proceeds going to benefit the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona.
Members of the Tucson Bus Mob return to The Hut on Saturday to share their classic Volkswagens with the general public while raising money for a good cause.
Admission to the show is free. But votes for the best in show, among other categories will cost $1 apiece.
All proceeds will go toward the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona.
One of the key ingredients to any good VW Bus show is the stories that are shared, according to spokesman and bus owner Bruce Hilpert.
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Every VW fan has at least one favorite tale to tell.
Hilpert’s fondest recollection revolving around his vehicle, a 1971 Volkswagen, was on a camping trip in the Chiricahua Mountains in 1988.
Hilpert, his wife at the time, Barb and his daughter, Morgan were attempting to listen to the Arizona Wildcats take on the University of North Carolina during the March Madness basketball tournament, while making their way from Portal to Whitetail Canyon.
“We had two things we loved to do when my daughter was growing up; camping in the bus and watching the Wildcats basketball team,” Hilpert, 64, said.
As the bus rolled deeper into the mountains, radio reception began to fade.
Things began to unravel.
“Tensions were running high,” he said. “We were screaming and yelling with every play.”
It was only when they reached their destination, a spot free of signal interference, that the situation began to calm down.
“We sat in the bus and listened to the rest of the game together,” Hilpert said. “At the end of it all, we celebrated their win and their first ever trip to the Final Four.”
Catch more of Hilpert’s stories, his bus and more than 15 other VW buses at the benefit show, Saturday.
