“[The Soap Box Derby] began when Myron Scott, a photographer of the Dayton Daily News took a photo of some boys racing down a hill in little homemade cars. Scott noticed the cars had been built using soap crates. So, he dubbed the race, ‘Soap Box Derby' during the summer of 1933," according to soapboxderby.org.
The Kiwanis Club of the Cape Fear upholds the Soap Box Derby Race tradition on May 19, at Charlie Rose Expo Center, 301 E. Mountain Drive, Fayetteville. The Kiwanis Club of the Cape Fear Soap Box Derby race will begin at 10 a.m. Public admission is free.
The participants are youth within the age ranges of 7 to 18. Each participant builds their own car. The local winner can have the opportunity to compete in the All-American World Champion Soap Box Derby in Akron, Ohio on July 14 through 20.
The Soap Box Derby race promotes both boys and girls as participants.
“Eleven-year-old Karren Stead became the first female to win the All-American Soap Box Race in November 1975,” according to the International Soap Box Derby website.
The Soap Box Derby Race legacy is reflected by Bobby Spears, Grand Marshall of the 2023 Soap Box Derby event in Fayetteville. He was the winner of the Soap Box Derby Race of 1947.
Warren Hahn, Race Director, shares his enthusiasm about the Kiwanis Club of the Cape Fear Soap Box Derby, “Soap Box Derby originated in the 1930s and continues as an organization dedicated to youth, to grow and learn the good qualities to carry throughout their lives. The youth learn to value sportsmanship and healthy competition. They arrive as strangers and leave as friends.
"Families are empowered by the practice of building the derby. The assembly of a derby is a STEM activity. The Soap Box Derby Race is one of the activities that represent the mission of the Kiwanis Club, improvement of the world, one child, one community, at a time.”
Warren Hahn shares his zeal for the principles of the Kiwanis Club, “The Kiwanis Club provides funding, assistance, and volunteerism to local youth and family-oriented charities. The organization has a deep compassion for serving the greater Fayetteville community. I am personally proud of being a member of the Kiwanis Club of the Cape Fear.”
Join the Kiwanis Club of Cape Fear at the Soap Box Derby, at the Charlie Rose Expo Center on May 19. Admission is free.
For more information contact Warren Hahn, Race Director, at 910-988-6013.

(Photo: Jackson Stillman poses with his derby car during the 2023 Soap Box Derby in Akron, Ohio. Stillman, a Gold Star family member, qualified to the event through the Kiwanis Club of the Cape Fear Soap Box derby. Photo courtesy of Kiwanis Club of the Cape Fear Facebook page)