Air-Cooled and Feeling Good: MERGE4 Rolls Into VDubs in the Village

There are a lot of car shows out there. And then there's VDubs in the Village.

VDublicious brought it to Capitola Village this year, and man, it did not disappoint. It never does. Two hundred-plus vintage Volkswagens tucked into those narrow little village parking spaces, chrome bouncing off the water, the salt in the air, that unmistakable putt of an air-cooled engine rolling past the ice cream shop. If you've never seen it, picture the coolest beach day of your life and then park a bunch of perfectly restored Bugs and Buses in the middle of it. That's the one.

MERGE4 was there. We set up our tent, kicked it for the day, and soaked up every bit of it.

The Cars Never Miss

The whole day is about the VWs. And these things have soul.

Every one is a little different. Somebody's split-window Bug they've been fussing over for a decade. A Bus painted in colors that don't exist anymore. Ragtops, safaris, the occasional Ghia that stops you dead in your tracks. Air-cooled Volkswagens have this personality you just can't fake, and the folks who bring them out clearly pour their whole hearts into them. Walk the village, check out the builds, wander down to the sand, grab something cold, catch a set from the bands playing the beach stage. It's the kind of day that doesn't ask anything of you except to slow down and enjoy it.

Big shoutout to the whole VDublicious crew for putting it together and reserving the village so all these classics have a home for the day. Not easy to pull off. They make it look easy.

The Part We Care About Most

Here's the thing that keeps us coming back.

VDublicious gives back to the Tim Brauch Foundation, and that's a name that's close to MERGE4's heart. Real close. If you don't know the story, Tim Brauch was a Santa Cruz–connected pro skater with a huge spirit, and after he passed way too young, the foundation carried his name forward. These days it sends kids to skate camp on scholarship, mentors young people, backs community art projects, and throws one heck of a benefit skate contest every year. Skateboarding and art. Two things Tim loved, two things this town runs on.

MERGE4's been involved with the Tim Brauch Foundation for years, so seeing VDublicious back it too means a lot to us. It's a community taking care of its own. Cars, skateboarding, art, kids getting a shot they wouldn't have had otherwise, all connected by the same handful of people who just want to give back. You don't get that everywhere. You get it here.

So when a car show we already love turns out to support a cause we already believe in, we're not passing that up. We're bringing the tent.

Same Time Next Year

We left Capitola sunburnt and grinning, which is pretty much the goal any given weekend.

Big thanks to VDublicious for another great one, to everyone who rolled their VW out into the sun, and to the Tim Brauch Foundation for the work they do every single day. If you missed it this year, do yourself a favor and mark the calendar for the next one. Bring the family, bring your camera, and come say hey if you see the MERGE4 tent.

Want to rep some of that give-back energy on your own two feet? Our socks are at merge4.com. Art that walks, causes we actually care about, and comfort built to go the distance, same as every mile these old Volkswagens have logged.

See you in the village