Vee Dub Christmas Cruz 2024 – Saturday

The Vee Dub Christmas Cruz 2024 – Saturday Edition takes place on the 14th December and is dedicated to the memory of Phoebe Pring, the daughter of two of our club members and someone who always lit up wherever she was like a Christmas Dubs van, who sadly passed away earlier this year.

Our lead sponsor for this years Saturday Cruz is Prolectric of Clevedon – they have covered the costs for the Cruz packs and stickers so a massive thank you to them as this means that more of the money raised from the Cruz will be going directly to The Grand Appeal. Here is a small update from them for how your money will be spent this year:

“This year, ‘Shine Bright for Bristol Children’s Hospital’ is raising money for something very special – The Grand Appeal’s Patient Hotel.

This ground-breaking new facility will be a lifeline for families during their most challenging times, offering a comforting home away from home just moments from Bristol Children’s Hospital. As the first in the UK, the hotel provides a peaceful space for parents to stay close to their children and features dedicated therapy facilities. These vital services give families the emotional and practical support they need, helping them navigate their hospital journey.

Every penny counts. Your generosity this Christmas will ensure families stay together and children can access the care they need.”

Our ethos is simple – bring 150 festive VW’s out on the roads of Nailsea, Clevedon & Portishead to raise money for The Grand Appeal, the official charity of the Bristol Children’s Hospital and spread the festive cheer! Taking part is simple – just decorate your VW with tinsel, lights, baubles, Christmas trees, Santa Claus, elves, stickers, anything festive! Your imagination (and the laws of physics!) are the only limitations! We have a Just Giving page set up again this year, feel free to share this around when out and about – https://www.justgiving.com/page/xmasdubs2024. As always all VW’s are welcome to join us – vans, cars, air cooled or water cooled, as long as they have a VW badge! Please note that participation in our Cruz events is ticket only and you must register and purchase your ticket in advance – each Cruz has a limited amount of places available.

Our Saturday Cruz will be following the same route as last year, please remember there is a three hour limit on the start point car park with a no return clause too. Hooke Highways are back doing the traffic management for us at both the start and regroup points and have generously donated their time and resources yet again. Domino’s Nailsea (by the car park exit) will also be running a deal for any Cruz participants.

We will be leaving from the Tower House Car Park in Nailsea and heading out around the Trendlewood area of Nailsea, then cruising out to Clevedon where we will regroup at the Hither Green industrial estate behind Aldi, home to our sponsor Prolectric. Once we are all accounted for we will do a tour of Clevedon before finally heading over to Portishead where we will go along the High Street and finish up at The Lake Grounds for people to come along and see us at the end. Our team will be at the car park in Nailsea from 3:30pm onwards to allow you plenty of time to grab that Domino’s and the Cruz will be heading out at 5pm sharp. Vehicles must be checked in at the start area by 4:45pm. We will be aiming to arrive at Portishead at approx. 6:15pm.

After Portishead we will head into the centre of Bristol for an optional extra where we will do several drive-by’s of the Children’s Hospital – please note that anyone taking part in this will need to pay for the Bristol Clean Air Zone if applicable to their vehicle. After the drive-by we will head up to the Clifton Downs for some photos. There is no additional cost for this however you will need to purchase a free ‘After Cruz’ ticket to help us manage expectations with the authorities. Note the numbers on this part of the event are more limited.

Following the positive feedback from last year we will be posting out your event pack sponsored by Prolectric before the event. Each pack will contain your sticker, event information and the route map in advance. We will still be publishing the map and video on the Facebook event in due course. As with last year we will also be doing some great Christmas Cruz merch – hoodies, tees, mugs, travel mugs, lanyards and more, all printed with the Cruz logo of your choice and posted out in advance – just check out our Vee Dub Christmas section in the shop. A big thank you to LlamaPrint for making the merch possible!

If you lose the vehicle in front of you please refer to your printed map from your event pack, we will also be broadcasting a live tracker which you will be able to follow – this will be posted on the event page. We are delighted to have the motorcycle escort team from Midlands Bike Marshals accompany us again to help keep everyone as safe as possible – their time and services have been sponsored by Emma and her team from Nailsea Physio so a massive thank you to them! As with all events please understand that we will only go ahead if we have approval from the councils, Highways and the Police. In the event that we are not able to run, your Cruz ticket fee will be translated into tickets for a Christmas prize draw and the money will still be donated to The Grand Appeal.

Our Christmas Cruz’s would be much harder to run and less money would be donated to the charity without our sponsors – Prolectric, Howden’s Insurance, Nailsea Physio, GP Campers, Luccombe Garage, Avon Tuning, Simply Surf Bus, Bristol Detailing Supplies, Majestic Wood Design, Miles & Davey Motor Services, JDR Gardening Services, Central Garage Kingswood, Dinky Drivers, Ceilings & Interiors South West Ltd and LlamaPrint. A massive thank you to them for supporting us – please support them by liking and following their social media feeds where you will also find links to their websites.

Cruz FAQ’s

• Q) Is the entry fee per person or per vehicle?
• A) The entry fee is per vehicle.

• Q) I want to donate more than my entry fee to the charity, how can I do this?
• A) You can make extra donations to our Just Giving Page or we will have collection buckets at the start & finish points.

• Q) I don’t want to cover my Dub in lights, can I still join in?
• A) There are many ways to make your Dub festive – exterior festive lights are optional! Tinsel and a Santa’s hat are still festive.

• Q) Can kids come along?
• A) Kids of all ages are welcome to join in the fun but must be supervised by an adult at all times.

• Q) Do I have to wear a Santa suit / Christmas fancy dress?
• A) We encourage everyone taking part to get into the festive spirit not just with their Dubs but with their own clothes too – Santa suits, Christmas jumpers, reindeer hats are all optional but actively encouraged!

• Q) I don’t have a Dub but would still like to take part – how can I do this?
• A) The Cruz is only open to VW vehicles, however we would love you to still come along and spectate along the route. We are also looking for volunteers to help with bucket collecting along the route and marshals to direct the Cruz at key points (what better way to see every vehicle!). If you would like to volunteer, please email info@veedubfamily.org and we will get back to you!

• Q) I want to volunteer to help and hold a collection bucket along the route, what do I do?
• A) If you would like to volunteer, please email info@veedubfamily.org and we will get back to you!

• Q) Can I bring my dog?
• A) Yes, dogs are welcome providing they are kept on leads at the start and finish points and are safely secured in your vehicles whilst driving.

• Q) What happens at the end of the Cruz – do I need to hang around?
• A) When we pull up at the finish point it is totally up to you if you would like to park up or head off home. A lot of members of the public will come to see the vehicles at the finish point.