A 1969 VW Karmann Ghia, with a 350 V-8 in its trunk, at the Zephyhills AutoFest. Photo by amateur photography by Michael.
When Winter AutoFest begins Feb. 19 in Zephyrhills, Florida, not far from Tampa, it will mark the end of a long era. Carlisle Events, which has run the show in this location for several years, announced it will be moving the annual event (and its fall equivalent) from Zephyrhills, Florida, to a new location, the Sun n’ Fun complex in Lakeland, central Florida. The first event to be held in Lakeland will be the Fall Florida AutoFest, scheduled for November 2015; the Winter Florida AutoFest will follow in early 2016.
For this winter, however, event-goers can look forward to a two-day car auction, a car corral and a very significant swap meet at the traditional Zephyrhills location. Carlisle Auctions will present the sale, which usually runs about 300 cars.; they’ll go to the block under Carlisle’s policy that no fees will be charged to consigners if the vehicle doesn’t sell. A new fillip next year will be the Hot Rodders of Tomorrow competition, in which teams of high-school students will tear down and then reassemble a Chevrolet engine under the clock. The Zephyrhills Winter AutoFest is scheduled to take place from February 19-22, 2015. Want to learn more? Visit CarlisleEvents.com or call 717-243-7855.
