Run to the Sun
Run to the Sun is a showcase of custom cars and Volkswagen vehicles, held in the style of a dance festival each year in Newquay. The event has been going since 1987, when seventy cars were displayed, but has grown into one of the largest VW and custom car festivals in Europe, with thousands of car enthusiasts taking part each year.
It is a three-day event and whilst the main attraction for most people is clearly the vehicles on show, there is also a lot more to do and see. There are four main different entertainment arenas, with a rich variety of live and recorded music from bands and DJs. Previous events have seen Marco V, Freestylers, Lisa Lashes, LTJ Bukem, Goldie, and many more. There is a comedy club as well, with top comedians from London's comedy circuit. For those in need of a break from the entertainment, there is a chill-out lounge with a bar and room to chat.
VW vehicles flock to the event in large numbers. Thousands join up to cruise to Newquay en-masse. The cruise is organised formally by Volksworld, a VW magazine, and starts at Heston Services on the M4. More Custom Car and VW enthusiasts join the procession from various service stations on the journey down to Cornwall. The line of traffic can reach over eight kilometres, with more than a thousand cars present.
Over the course of the three-day festival, visitors can take their time to view all the vehicles and to chat to their owners, as most people will camp at the event site. The event is held at Trevelgue Holiday Park, a campsite where accommodation of three hundred caravans and unlimited tent space is available. The campsite is large enough to house all the entertainment arenas at the festival as well.
A local car park hosts an event called Show 'n' Shine on the Sunday of Run to the Sun. This event, in Tregunnel car park in Newquay town centre, is an opportunity for all custom and VW car enthusiasts to display their vehicles. More than 25,000 people attend this show of some of Europe's finest cars. The editors of Volksworld magazine and the National Association of Street Cars judge the vehicles present and award a prize of money to the winner.
Run to the Sun is normally held over the late May Bank Holiday.
