Toledo’s 2021 Jeep Fest will feature Jeeps of all sizes

TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) - There’s a lot happening downtown this summer, including Toledo Jeep Fest, which runs from August 6-8. The event draws tens of thousands to the heart of the city and will feature everything from the parade to the midway, but there are also some exciting new additions.

The SeaGate Centre is a big part of the event. It is always packed full of all kinds of Jeeps from concept to historic models. This year you’ll see a special course inside for remote-controlled cars. We got a look at a small-scale version of a course Wednesday.

“We think we are the first big Jeep event in the country to have a course like this,” says Event Director Whitney Rofkar.

Jerry Huber is the retired Manager of the Jeep plant, the Chair of Jeep Fest, and a newly minted fan of RC vehicles. He was given a remote-controlled car for Christmas and he now has a new hobby.

“I like building things in general, and anything that is related to Jeep I am interested in,” he says. “There’s a lot of hours in the day, and the more you can do to stay off the couch, I’m all for it.”

Jerry says the small-scale models are serious business for a lot of Jeep enthusiasts.

“A lot of guys and gals who have Jeeps also have these 1/10 scale rock crawlers. A lot of them make their little Jeeps look just like the actual Jeeps they have,” he explains. “It’s a lot of fun.”

You can spend as little as $40-$50 dollars on one, or more than $1,000. Jerry says the more expensive models are fully loaded.

“They’ll have 3-4 radio channels, a winch, LED lights, rock lights for night, two-speed transmissions,” says Jerry. “You can also add all kinds of cool things to your RC vehicle like coolers, CB antennas, roof racks, spare tires.”

“We love to add interactive things at Jeep Fest,” says Rofkar. “This is an easy and fun, family activity.”

The course design is still in the planning stages but it will be up and running come August. And don’t worry, if you don’t have your own RC vehicle, you’ll be able to rent one.

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