Van Nationals

At the end of Tuesdays County Council meeting (the subject of a future post), Steve Jordan mentioned that the Fairgrounds was almost as busy this week as it was last week. There is a national van convention that has rented the facility. Several Council members encouraged me to go out and see what was happening. They said that my blogger credentials would make me welcome.

 I took their advice. No cars are allowed in the event, so I used a two-wheeled vehicle. I stopped at the registration check point and asked it if would be OK if I rode around and took pictures for a blog and received permission. I also could not resist asking if the reason the convention came to Rensselaer was because our town was named after VAN Rensselaer.

 This is the 46th annual convention and each year it is held in a different part of the nation. Next year it will be in New England. The Jasper County Fairgrounds was not the first choice of venue for this year. The group was negotiating with another fairgrounds but decided that the price was too high. The Midwestern group of vanners (can I call them that?) has annually met at the Jasper County Fairgrounds in May (Memorial Day weekend), and they told the national group that our fairgrounds would be ideal. So VAN Rensselaer had nothing to do with the selection.

There were not as many vendor booths as there are during fair week, but I was impressed with the number that were there.

 I rode around the campgrounds looking for interesting vans.

 New Jersey was represented. I was told that there were several people from Europe attending. They rent vans after flying to the U.S. I do not know what the 2% refers to but saw it in several signs.

 I have a hard time believing that this van was driven from Texas.

 More vans.

 The carnival people still had not removed all of their equipment as of Wednesday morning.

 A group from Pittsburg had their sign up.

 Someone who owns a van is a fan of the Wizard of Oz.

 I did not meet the Bad Girls from New York.

 I would have liked to have heard the Long Story.

 This van looks like it began as a pick-up truck.

 There were port-a-potties scattered throughout the campgrounds. Many campsites had children and I saw two pools for the kids.

 The Diamondback van had sleeping quarters in the back. One of the people I talked to said the feel of the encampment was much like a hippy event from the 1960s.

On Saturday the public is invited to come out to a van show from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm. Vans on display will in the parking area near the highway and from the way it was described, not all the vans will be from those attending the convention. The one person who seemed to know what was happening with the event said that visitors are encouraged to bring a donation of dog or cat food and that entry and parking will be not at the main gate but at the gate to the east. The dog and cat food will go to two different groups.