San Antonio’s Community of Automotive Professionals (CAP) will sponsor its 3rd annual CarFest to be held April 6th, 6 pm – 10 pm, April 7th and 8th, 2018, 10 am – 6 pm at the Freeman Coliseum Expo Hall.
CarFest has grown from a 40,000 square foot facility in 2016, 170,000 square feet in 2017, and now in three short years, to over 400,000 square feet this year. Some of the new events that encompass the additional square footage is the Dan Kruse Classic Car Auction, Autorama, Automotive Swap Meet and a Chili Cook-off.
During CarFest, some of San Antonio’s top master technicians will showcase their skills as they repair 25 vehicles for area residents identified and pre-selected through regional non- profit organizations. Working alongside these experienced professionals, automotive students from vocational schools will learn job related skills and gain hands-on experience as they assist with repairs.
Plus, drawings will be held every two hours for one of 10 pre-owned vehicles donated by the automotive community to be given away to CarFest attendees,
The Expo Hall will be overflowing with such attractions as Automotive History Museum, Kids Corner, Classic and Muscle cars, and automotive seminars. In addition, Boy Scouts will have an opportunity to pursue an Automotive Merit badge. Live music and entertainment will be provided by Battle of the Garage Bands competition.
The free 2-1/2 day festival is open to the public and will feature activities for all ages, including youth interactive areas, how-to-clinics with the pros, automotive trade school displays and retail shopping.
To promote area job growth and enrichment, eight automotive trade schools will share a total of $100,000 in cash, equipment and supplies to go toward education.
“Many in the automotive industry wanted to collectively give back to our community, and CarFest is a fun way to do it,” said Mark Colaw, CAP president and chairman of the event’s development team. “With CAP’s core-values of education, integrity, community and excellence and with the tremendous support of our sponsors, we are pleased to offer CarFest to our community.”
“We are dedicated to building a culture of continual skill-building, quality and pride in the industry,” Colaw added. “one of our core values is education, so we are educating everybody. The person that drives a car that doesn’t know anything more than how to put gas in it — we want to educate them. The kid that thinks he wants to fix cars — we are educating them.”