NORWICH – Beep! Beep! What’s that in your rearview mirror? It’s the Colorscape Volkswagon bus – a classic 1970 VW bus lovingly restored and painted with colorful flowers reminiscent of the spirit of the 1960s and 70s.
The VW bus will make its debut in NBT’s 150th Anniversary parade in downtown Norwich on July 15, and will be on display in the lobby of the Northeastern Classic Car Museum prior to the Colorscape Arts Festival on Sept. 9 and 10, in Norwich, where it will be featured in West Park Place.
Why paint a bus? It came about by happenstance. Ann Stevens, a freelance graphic artist from Norwich who has designed Colorscape’s logo and advertising for many years, came across a photo of an old VW bus with painted flowers to use as a basis for this year’s advertising campaign.
When postcards featuring the painted bus were delivered to The Label Gallery, a printing company in Norwich, Chris Ulatowski, owner of the company and a collector of vintage vehicles, saw the design as it was being printed.
“I looked at the postcard and said, ‘That’s a VW bus!’ I went home and talked to my wife (Ana) and said, ‘Wouldn’t it be nice to donate our VW bus to Colorscape to use for their advertising?’ She thought it was great idea,” said Ulatowski. Chris and Ana have been avid supporters of Colorscape from the very beginning and have always believed in helping out the community.
The Ulatowskis purchased the VW bus in 2002 with the intention of restoring it for use as a camper. Prior to that, according to Chris, it was owned by a dentist in Afton, who used it to travel to Maine on his honeymoon. The VW bus, which was one of the last models manufactured in Europe, was originally purchased in Oneonta and used by a man who traveled locally and across country to California, selling jewelry out of the back of the bus.
The bus needed new tires, brakes, a carburetor, a battery, and its electrical system updated. Chris and Ana repaired the bus and contacted Colorscape Executive Director Peggy Finnegan offering to donate the bus. Chris and Ana then had the bus painted to match the blue base coat of the bus used in Colorscape’s advertising.
“Chris has generously invested a lot of effort and money into getting this old van ready for us to paint,” said an enthusiastic Finnegan. “This project was really very easy since Chris did most of the work.”
Colorscape’s Lisa Iannello worked with BOCES’ Robert Benton, who arranged for use of the auto body shop. Ken Millett, owner of the Night Eagle Café in Oxford, the man responsible for arranging Colorscape’s well-renowned musical performances, recommended Rick Hansen, who is well known locally for painting motorcycles and other vehicles.
“Rick steered me in the right direction regarding the complicated chemistry of automotive paints,” said Finnegan.
On July 4th weekend, just days after the devastating floods that affected so many in our region, several friends and members of Colorscape arrived at the DCMO BOCES campus in Norwich to begin painting flowers on the VW bus. Rick used his fine skill to reproduce the Colorscape logo on either side of the VW bus, as painters moved around the bus with brushes in hand painting brilliant flowers of red, pink, blue, green, orange, and purple.
There, beneath the warm, drying rays of a mild sunny day, with classic Bob Marley and Neil Young tunes playing in the background, the old VW bus was reborn. As residents across our region helped friends and family recover from the floods, the old VW bus seemed to capture this spirit of renewal and recovery, becoming more than a symbol of Colorscape, but a symbol of hope, peace, and community.
“Colorscape is in many ways a reminder of years past – particularly the 1960s and 70s that many of the festival’s organizers remember well. This project is a perfect symbol of those times and of the laidback, easy atmosphere for which Colorscape is noted,” said Finnegan. “It’s also interactive and a way to have fun with paint.”
Located on the greens of East and West Parks in the city of Norwich, Colorscape features over 80 juried artists and crafters selling their wares in an interactive atmosphere that includes artist demonstrations, literary and arts activities for all ages, student art exhibits, a competitive poetry slam and the finest in creative food, all accompanied by the rolling rhythms of professional musicians from across the U.S., Canada and Europe.
This project/program is made possible in part with public funds from the New York Sate Council on the Arts, administered by the Chenango County Council of the Arts.