WAUPUN — The Waupun Truck-n-Show Committee held their final meeting Saturday morning to prepare for the 35th and final Truck-n-Show taking place this weekend.
Founded as the Waupun Truckers Jamboree in 1990, the weekend-long event was started to celebrate the contribution that the trucking industry makes to the region and country as a whole.
“It’s been a great thing for the community,” said Duey VandeZande, one of the event’s organizers. “Beginning as a small idea turned out great, even though it’s a lot of work involved, the people that put the time and effort in it all have their heart in it.”
This year’s show will be the last one organized by the current committee, and with no new volunteers to take up the mantle it may be the last one that Waupun ever sees.
“We hate to see it go, but we’re all getting older and volunteer help is harder to come by,” Duey said. “One thing about it; we made new friends. It made a lot of memories. It’s gonna be sad, not to see some of the people, but it’s like a family reunion. We just hope this is a good year.”
The Waupun Truck-n-Show Committee first discussed dissolving the organization in August 2022, putting out a call for new members. This came after the passing of one of their founders, Ron Vande Zande, in December 2021.
Emotion was visible on the faces of members and volunteers who helped organize the ‘Show, some for decades.
“It was a bittersweet decision to be made,” said Nancy Kutschenreuter, another one of the event’s organizers. “But like Duey said, the help that we needed we just don’t have, and we’re all getting older. But we’re all here, we all want to be part of the last show. We’re going to have good memories, and when people come through Waupun, we just want them to always remember the Waupun Truck-n-Show.”
The 35th Annual Waupun Truck-n-Show will be held on August 9th and 10th, 2024. This year’s ‘Show has been titled “Our Last Ride Thru Waupun” and will include both parades, exhibitor displays, fish fry, pancake breakfast, live music, and more.
