Yes, it’s a thing: National Boogie Van Day 2021

At a time not too long ago, in a land not too far away, there were three van buddies who were hanging out and turning wrenches on one of their vans.

It was just a casual day, doin’ what dudes do. Havin’ a couple cold ones and listening to a local radio station. The place was Rosemead, California. The buddies were Perro and Wowie from “The Vanmily” van club and me. We were listening to FM 95.5, KLOS, a local Los Angeles rock ’n’ roll radio station, when the DJ came on the air with his list of announcements at the top of the hour. He went through the news, the weather, and was wrapping up his spiel when he announced that it was National Pizza Day or National Shih Tzu Day or something off the wall like that.

We all sorta chuckled when Perro looked up and said, “Why isn’t there a National Boogie Van Day?” Well, we all looked at each other at that exact moment, pondering the idea. It was one of those “Things That Make You Go Hmmmmm” moments.

Last month, with more than 120 vans in attendance, the Southern California van community celebrated the second annual “National Boogie Van Day” at the Whittier Narrows Recreational Area, just off the 60 FWY in Rosemead. Set to start at 10 a.m., a few of us got to the Narrows early to make sure we’d be ready to welcome everyone as they arrived, even the early birds. You can bet your buns that a little after 9 a.m. we started seeing rows of vans cruising down Rosemead Boulevard and turning into the park entrance. One group after another, after another, after another.

The vans came from all corners of Southern California. All of ’em ready to start celebrating and having a good time. The rigs were getting parked and BBQs were setting up. The smell of charcoal was filling the air. There were folks on bikes and skateboards—young and old cruising around. Things were in full swing.

The park filled up quickly. It was mag wheels and shiny chrome from ear to ear and bumper to bumper. Late-comers were parking on the sides of the access roads, trying to get as close to the action as they could. This caused the park workers some alarm and ultimately earned us a friendly little visit from the local law enforcement. They did their walk and showed their authority, kinda hovering around until shift change. After that, a new batch of officers stopped by, but they were really cool and just said they really dug the vans, and then they split. They did their jobs, we did ours, and everyone had a great time.

Now ya see, it doesn’t stop there. No, ladies and gentleman, that’s the great thing about National Boogie Van Day. You don’t have to be at the “Whittier Narrows” or really anywhere in particular to celebrate NBVD other than right where you are.

The idea behind National Boogie Van Day is also to flood social media with photos of your Boogie Van, your friends, your clubs—really any photos of y’all celebrating NBVD for others to enjoy. But if you got together and had a van party, that’s even cooler. Get it out there. Share it with all your brothers and sisters. It’s all about “Boogie-In” in your rigs and all the good times our vans have brought us.

Want to know more? Just go onto social media and use the hash tag #NationalBoogieVanDay to take the ride. Hell, maybe we’ll even see ya next year.