After three years, the Flowerdome was finally once again the stopping place for a colorful collection of everything that had to do with classics. On 26 and 27 November, many visitors passed the cash registers in Eelde. They could enjoy a wide range of products in a pleasant atmosphere in the old-fashioned way. The fair was bigger than before, but much remained the same in a positive sense.
The exhibited offerings did not lie. And that actually started after the entrance to the Flowerdome. Visitors with an Opel heart were immediately well catered for in the first hall. This was exclusively filled with often very beautiful classic cars with the Blitz on the forecourt. The diverse range of yesteryear showed once again why that beautiful brand has a ditto history.
Around the corner, after passing the AMK stand, the DAF Club had a nice spot. The stand was beautiful, with a DAF 600 demonstrated on a mirroring and rotating platform in top condition. And that condition actually applied to all specimens that we saw there. That love for the historic Dutch passenger car brand is only growing. And every lover of national heritage with that special technique should do well.
That's how Eelde knew one kickstart on the way to many familiar elements. Folks, what a wonderful fair. Four halls full of commercial and non-commercial classic offerings, club stands, parts, automobilia, miniatures, clothing and other classic items offered something for everyone. And there was plenty of opportunity to take care of the inner man, that was well done. This created a wonderful atmosphere in which the smell of cones of fries was imaginatively pleasantly mixed with the aroma of petrol and diesel. It reinforced the atmosphere at the fair that needed no pretense, but proved itself.
We return to the classic motor vehicles. In Eelde you saw a mix of beautiful trucks, beautiful fire engines, classic motorcycles, mopeds and scooters, beautiful buses (courtesy of the National Bus Museum Hoogezand) and exclusive brands (Rolls-Royce and Bentley, with the overwhelming Bentley Blue on the stand train). There was also, for example, a British square with stands from Mini, MG and Singer adepts, among others. Other clubs (BMW Classic had an impressive exhibition with open models) also unpacked. There was much more to see. Special was the Eastend Classics stand, where an insight was given into exclusive material (such as a very beautiful classic 911) and the world of restoration. And on the other end of the spectrum, we saw a Honda S800 barnfind. Furthermore, we stuck with one patina Triumph Spitfire. The mentioned classics got under the skin in their own way.
We will of course not leave the DKW Club unmentioned, they are regular guests in Eelde. During the traditional cup of coffee from the always hospitable DKW devotees, we heard that the club of the long-lost brand is doing well. The club warehouse is growing in such a way that Auto Union and DKW enthusiasts can benefit from the stock of parts for their classic cars and motorcycles for years to come. We're going to take a quick look at Ruinerwold, where the warehouse has moved to. And now we saw, among other things, a beautiful and late-delivered Auto Union 1000 Sp, with rounded wings and Frischölmaschine. Also special: the DKW Monza of the company Bourguignon from Leeuwarden, which was given a place on the stand of garage De Basis from Leeuwarden.
Well, the mentioned is just a sample of what we saw. Eelde is overwhelming, the fair is well organized while you have the pleasant idea that the loose pulse has also had an influence on that. This way you can move freely over the concrete floors and under the many rows of fluorescent lighting that pleasantly illuminate the range. Most visitors apparently thought so too, the atmosphere was very relaxed, people offered each other space.
Probably every fair visitor had his or her fair favourite. And we cannot rule out that the visitors' favorite lists were quite different in nature. Because the variation within the range was great. And was enhanced by a casual and relaxed atmosphere. Enjoying and feasting without frills is a wonderful way to experience and absorb classics. After three years, this was finally possible again in Eelde.
Below you can see a number of photos that we took in Eelde. More impressions of the successful event can be found on our Facebookpagina.
What a super fun fair, with motorcycles, mopeds, caravans, trucks, buses, etc. Last Sunday, November 6, I went to the oldtimer fair in Rosmalen, which was really disappointing, there was one hall with classics, I even missed the key pro , dirty toilets, we wanted to have lunch in the restaurant and at 12.30 there was almost nothing left except coffee and cream cheese sandwiches, I will never go here again, a pity this used to be a nice fair with a large outdoor area with offerings of cars, and a large tent tied to the hall where everything was done with excellent catering.
Good afternoon, I have also been to Rosmalen, but I got a completely different impression. 2 large halls filled with all kinds of goods, more than the thickly filled upper floor. You see Loek Sleutelprof at fewer and fewer events.
Toilets, although dated, I was greeted by a cleaning lady who was on duty. In terms of catering I can't say much about it, I was there on Saturday. For my feeling much fuller than before corona.
So you see... perception can differ quite a bit from visitor to visitor 😉
As a regular visitor you see that there is little new under the sun over time.
It is indeed a pity that no real special classics and French cars were shown.
Opel stand was a nice eye opener but otherwise little surprising, as well as the Daf presentation, there must be more of that..
As a cozy meeting place and a lot of automobilia / parts shops and an attractive entrance rate.
successful fair, finally something -in the neighborhood-, report of the inside of the fair was nice to read, but outside on the div. P-areas had almost as many classics, precisely the cars that were not inside now…. Well organized and the fries were delicious too!
Next fair will be in Bremen, as a Renault fan….
Nice fair, but unfortunately hardly seen a French classic…..
And that Dauphine? As French as it gets!
Very nicely written Erik, and indeed Eelde was super again
Enjoyed it very much, great weather. Certainly one of the much better and especially wonderfully relaxed classic events. It is a pity that Appelscha (open air) disappeared years ago (somewhere 2018 0fzo).
But this was so much fun again!