Award winning CarFast roars into CheshireChris Evans gears up for more cars, cakes and concerts A few remaining Friday tickets still on sale
Lights to green – fun-fuelled CarFest North is all set to burst into spectacular action at the picturesque Oulton Park circuit in Cheshire from 1-3 August. What’s more there’s still a great chance for a few more show goers to experience what creator, BBC Radio 2 broadcaster Chris Evans, describes as ‘my perfect family festival’.Evans’ dream of combining fast cars, rocking music and a love of a good cake became a reality with two sell-out events in 2012 and again in 2013. Hosted enthusiastically by the ebullient media personality himself, these high-octane extravaganzas have proved hugely popular and successful – more importantly they have raised more than £2m for BBC Children in Need. They’ve also received widespread industry recognition and were recently awarded with the ‘Best Live Event’ accolade at the prestigious AEO Excellence Awards 2014.Building on that success, CarFest North now returns to Oulton Park for another three days of fabulous family entertainment.“Oh my goodness gracious me, the wonderful world of CarFest is only a few days away now!” exclaimed an excited Evans. “Are you ready to rock and rev? Fire up those V12 engines, power up those amps and dust off those dancing shoes – here we go again!” The dazzling showcase of cars revving up for the Track Sprint at Oulton is headed by Evans’ own ‘Magnificent 7’ collection of fabulous Ferraris. This year’s list of Prancing Horses includes a pair of mouth-watering Ferrari 250 GTs from the Sixties, a Daytona from the Seventies, a gleaming F40 from the Nineties plus one of the illustrious Italian company’s latest La Ferrari supercars.The other car collections on show all stick with the Sevens theme, too. There’s a Muscle Car Seven topped by Ford’s yet-to-be-released 2015 Mustang V8 Fastback; an Historic F1 Seven featuring cars raced by Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill; a Movie Car Seven with a ‘Back to the Future’ De Lorean and ‘Love Bug’ Herbie Beetle; an Anniversary Seven including the Maserati 250F owned by Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason; an Unusual Seven containing Honda’s record breaking 130mph lawn mower and a BRM Gas Turbine Le Mans racer plus equally special collections of seven motorbikes, rally cars, vintage cars, racing cars, hot rods and gorgeous supercars. Away from the high octane track action, activities in the popular Showground will include a mega Monster Truck display, the Knights of the Damned jousters and the DR Stunts motorcycle display team which is coming all the way from Australia to wow the CarFest crowds.Adding yet more smiles to faces of all ages, the low-flying Red Barrows return with their whacky wheel-barrow spectacular, while the baaaaarmy Lamb National will see what are billed as a ‘flock of elite sheep’ competing on a specially-designed assault course!As a family festival, CarFest also delivers an amazing range of activities, entertainment and discovery for younger visitors. Ball World serves up a host of different ball-based sports, Book World offers story reading lessons in The Book Den and Mechanics World is where all ages can learn more about car and combustion courtesy of the AA and the Army.There will be a number of cookery workshops in which people can partake as well as visiting Britain’s Best Pavilion that will showcase many of the UK’s small producers of fine foods and drinks.Other hugely popular attractions include an awesome array of air displays plus the not-to-be-missed Cakes v Pies competition that reaches its crescendo on Sunday afternoon with TV chef Paul Hollywood as one of the judges and cheerleaders on the Main Stage.As the sun goes down and the dust settles on the Show ground and track activities, so the live music moves into overdrive. Friday evening’s line up at Oulton Park is topped by celebrated synthpop duo Erasure, with Simple Minds to the fore on Saturday and the imitable Jools Holland bringing down the curtain on Sunday night. The fun-loving Evans will be introducing equally great sets from the likes of Eliza Doolittle, Paloma Faith, Seasick Steve, The Feeling, 10cc, Texas and Tom Odell over the weekend, too.There are a few tickets remaining for Friday – these are priced at £57 for adults and £10 for children (6-16 years).For all the latest news about the event – as well as how to purchase the tickets – visit the official CarFest website at www.carfest.org.
