Ukrop's Gears Up for Inaugural NASCAR Richmond Race Fest
RICHMOND, Va. -- Ukrop's Super Markets here will host the first-ever Ukrop's Richmond Race Fest this week to celebrate the Chevy American Revolution 400 NASCAR race at Richmond International Raceway.
The free, family-friendly street party is scheduled to take place on May 12, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in downtown Richmond. The event, which is being sponsored by Kleenex, Duke's, and Kellogg's brands, will raise funds for the Victory Junction Gang Camp, a facility for critically ill children and a charity of NASCAR.
The event was presented to Ukrop's and the City of Richmond by SMC500, a marketing and events firm based in North Carolina, said Ukrop's marketing manager, Mandy Burnette.
"SMC 500 has worked with Harris Teeter to organize a similar event surrounding the NEXTEL All-Star Challenge, and Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte, N.C.," Burnette noted. "Richmond is a great location for a similar event to coincide with the Chevy American Revolution 400."
The Race Fest will feature live music and entertainment on three stages. Cary Street will be full of vendor sampling booths, show cars from Nextel Cup and Busch Series teams, racing simulators, interactive displays, and games. A NASCAR driver autograph session will also be held in the lobby of the James Center, along with a silent auction benefiting the kids of Victory Junction Gang.
"We've been working on this event for some time now, and we are very excited about bringing a race festival to our hometown of Richmond," said Ukrop's president and c.e.o., Bobby Ukrop, in a statement. "Creating a family-friendly event that will draw attention to our historic downtown area, benefit our downtown merchants, and help raise money for the Victory Junction Gang Camp is something all of us at Ukrop's can get excited about."
In other Ukrop's news, the Richmond market powerhouse has once again demonstrated its local business savvy by purchasing the production business and recipes of a well-known Richmond-based deli salad brand, Mrs. Marshall's.
Ukrop's was already Mrs. Marshall's largest customer, accounting for about 70 percent of its annual production, according to a report in the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Other area food stores that formerly carried the brand's potato salad and cole slaw will no longer have access to the product.
Ukrop's will begin making the potato salad and cole slaw at its food production center in Chesterfield County in the near future, according to the press report. Ukrop's executives would not provide further detail about the deal.
Ukrop's is well known for its signature prepared food items.
The free, family-friendly street party is scheduled to take place on May 12, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in downtown Richmond. The event, which is being sponsored by Kleenex, Duke's, and Kellogg's brands, will raise funds for the Victory Junction Gang Camp, a facility for critically ill children and a charity of NASCAR.
The event was presented to Ukrop's and the City of Richmond by SMC500, a marketing and events firm based in North Carolina, said Ukrop's marketing manager, Mandy Burnette.
"SMC 500 has worked with Harris Teeter to organize a similar event surrounding the NEXTEL All-Star Challenge, and Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte, N.C.," Burnette noted. "Richmond is a great location for a similar event to coincide with the Chevy American Revolution 400."
The Race Fest will feature live music and entertainment on three stages. Cary Street will be full of vendor sampling booths, show cars from Nextel Cup and Busch Series teams, racing simulators, interactive displays, and games. A NASCAR driver autograph session will also be held in the lobby of the James Center, along with a silent auction benefiting the kids of Victory Junction Gang.
"We've been working on this event for some time now, and we are very excited about bringing a race festival to our hometown of Richmond," said Ukrop's president and c.e.o., Bobby Ukrop, in a statement. "Creating a family-friendly event that will draw attention to our historic downtown area, benefit our downtown merchants, and help raise money for the Victory Junction Gang Camp is something all of us at Ukrop's can get excited about."
In other Ukrop's news, the Richmond market powerhouse has once again demonstrated its local business savvy by purchasing the production business and recipes of a well-known Richmond-based deli salad brand, Mrs. Marshall's.
Ukrop's was already Mrs. Marshall's largest customer, accounting for about 70 percent of its annual production, according to a report in the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Other area food stores that formerly carried the brand's potato salad and cole slaw will no longer have access to the product.
Ukrop's will begin making the potato salad and cole slaw at its food production center in Chesterfield County in the near future, according to the press report. Ukrop's executives would not provide further detail about the deal.
Ukrop's is well known for its signature prepared food items.