Charlottesville Area Technical Education Center (CATEC) celebrated its 50th anniversary and hosted an open house on its campus on Saturday, September 28 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The event commemorated the school’s 50-year history of providing career and technical education opportunities to the community, as well as celebrated its new name under Charlottesville City Schools’ ownership.

Charlottesville City Schools kicked off the event with a ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrating the new name. CATEC staff and students gave tours and provide demonstrations for its 9 programs. Its community partners, which have shown continued support to CATEC through the years, were on hand to discuss their industries and partnerships with CATEC. The event will also had program and community raffles, food and drinks, and a live broadcast from 105.5 Sam FM. Raffle items were generously donated by Hospice of the Piedmont, Flow Automotive, Carter Meyer Automotive, Charlottesville Fire Department, and a number of local restaurants. 

Timeline of events:

• 10:15 a.m.- Ribbon-cutting ceremony and time capsule opening
• 10:30 a.m.- Tours begin 
• 11:00 a.m.- Food served
• 11:00 a.m.,12:00 p.m., and 1:00 p.m.- Raffle drawings