WFCT’s Family Film Day Is a Labor Strategy Dressed as a Soft Feature

What’s new

Senior events director Tricia Lopez framed Family Film Day (Sat, Aug 29) as a way for kids to see what parents do for a living—activities included, children 6–16 registered in advance (~$10).

Why operators should care

Every serious shop owner already knows the quiet crisis: trained installers are scarce, training is slow, and Instagram culture sells lifestyle faster than shop owners sell apprenticeships.

Family Day is soft PR with a hard edge—it normalizes film work as a career path, not a side hustle.

What to do with it

1. Bring a teen who’s circling trade vs college—let the floor do the pitch
2. Film 30 seconds of “day in the life” content with permission; use it in hiring ads
3. Ask trainers and brands on-site: who runs structured apprentice pathways?
4. Stop pretending Craigslist will fix bay capacity

Gossip

Hallway talk already jokes that Family Day is “desperation marketing for the labor shortage.” Maybe. Desperation that builds a pipeline still beats silence.

Bottom line

If you only send competitors to Tint-Off and ignore Family Day, you’re optimizing medals while the industry optimizes who shows up to work in 2030.