This is a question that has been asked before and I have always responded as follows: TDI Club was formed to share information about TDIs and help one another out as much as possible.
With that said, there is also a question of fairness to other club members. Everyone that is attending will have registered previously and paid, at a minimum, the $35 registration fee. I would expect that anyone who will be joining us to register or pay on site as you would for any other car show (like The Great Canadian Bug Show). The $35 dollars goes towards paying for the venues for TDI Fest. The fee is necessary because we are a no-fee car club which means that we do not have a "pot" to pull money from for hall rentals etc. for TDI Fest.
You can look at it this way - $35 will get you half an hour at a dealership (if even that much time) whereas $35 for TDI Fest will get you several hours with some very knowledgeable TDI folks and you'll get to meet some genuinely nice people too.
I hope that we'll get to see you at TDI Fest 2003 - I know you'll have a great time!