There are definitely some important things you should know about National Electric Drive Week (NDEW), but that's not what's on the blog. For today's purposes, “NDEW's ABCs” refers to them Afirmness, Bloomington, too Comg. These are three amazing 219 events hosted in 206 cities and towns across the US and Canada and Mexico as part of NDEW 2023.
EV-focused events happen in nearly all 50 states of the US, so there's a good chance there's one near you (and if there isn't, maybe there should be – consider becoming an event organizer). While many events include the opportunity to ride and drive an EV, it is not a requirement, and these three events show how unique each event can be. NDEW events may look and feel different based on community, event format, and event size, but their individual and collective impact is always impressive. We wish we could highlight them all!
Anchorage, Alaska
- Event leader – Chantelle Lewis-Boutte
- # of EVs displayed at the event – 20
- # of attendees – 70
The Chugach Electric Association celebrated NDEW with a free educational presentation, “GO EV AK: Growing Electric Vehicle Ownership,” hosted at the Anchorage Museum Auditorium.
Sean Skaling from Chugach Electric hosted the event and was joined by panelists Mark Henspeter from Chugach Electric, Michelle Wilber from the Alaska Center for Energy & Power, Josi Hartley from the Alaska Energy Authority, and Tim Leach from Launch Alaska. In addition to answering questions from the audience, the group included:
- Community and home charging
- Charging affects electricity bills
- Cost of ownership
- Domestic and organizational benefits
- Impact of cold weather and driving experience
- Plans for future EV-related infrastructure in Alaska
Each event guest received a rechargeable LED light, and battery-powered yard tools were given as prizes to two event attendees.
Photo Credit: Kate Ayers, Chugach Electric
Bloomington, Minnesota
- Event leader – Lisa Thurstin
- # of EVs displayed at the event – 30
- # of attendees at the event – 150
- # of rides/drives provided – 102
The Oak Grove Presbyterian EV Expo celebrated its fifth year hosting the successful event. More than 20 Oak Grove volunteers helped organize and facilitate the event that provided a diverse, impressive, and inspiring array of EV-focused learning opportunities and activities in the community.
Minnesota Clean Cities Coalition staff hosted the EV test portion of the event where guests could choose to drive or ride in a Polestar 2, Tesla Model Y, Subaru Solterra, Nissan Ariya, BMW iX, Kia Niro, or Kia EV6.
Twenty-two EV owners brought their vehicles and talked to visitors about their driving experiences. Eastern Carver County School District (Chaska) displayed the Blue Bird electric school bus. Paula Thompson and Dan Trajano of MN350 talked about the climate, health, and learning benefits of transporting children to school in electric buses rather than diesel buses. To turn the conversation into action, attendees were encouraged to send postcards to their local representatives and school districts. Forty postcards completed!
A local hardware store, Jerry's Do It Best Hardware, displayed and invited locals to try out power lawn tools. Don Pinkton and Daryl Thayer took apart a Tesla engine to show people the “guts” of EVs and how they work. Kylie Borchardt led the children in building the KidWind wind turbines.
Rep. Steve Elkins, District 50B member of the MN Legislative Climate Caucus, attended and learned about the multifamily housing levy, which he brought back to his subcommittee.
Six nonprofits and two government agencies were represented at the event, including MN350, Minnesota Interfaith Power and Light, Interfaith Creation Care, Bush Lake Izaak Walton Chapter, EZ EV Go, and Oak Grove Presbyterian Green Committee, City of Bloomington, and Department of Minnesota. Transportation.
Photo Credit: Minnesota Clean Cities Coalition
EV owner, Alan Wernke, shared his EV knowledge with attendees, including Scott Randall (pictured).
Comox, British Columbia, Canada
- Master of ceremonies – Randy Chatterjee
- # of EVs displayed at the event – 22
- # of event attendees – 400
- # of rides/drives provided – 72
The organizers of the event gave a great report showing how it really “takes a village” to put together any event, but especially one that reaches hundreds of people. We feel their words describe the event best, so we'll let them tell you how it went:
“We all had a good old time. No rain! It might be a little cold to wear our new CVEVA t-shirts alone, but the sun came out for a good time of day. Our estimated attendance was around 400 – not a bad turnout on a gray day with a rainy forecast. Thankfully the Comox Record released our press release in their publication before the weekend. Local papers are public health!
We had a variety of speakers on all EV topics (including e-bike). Thanks to Roger Harper, Mike Keohane, John Fruhwirth, Eric Alexandre, Rob MacInnis, Dale Erhart, and Randy Chatterjee for sharing their knowledge.
Volunteers and a few others shared the wonderful food and drinks brought by Megan Ardyche. That made us all warm.
Special thanks to Ted Robb for being the first ever volunteer on site, to Linda Cheu for her enthusiasm and ever present smile, to Pat Carl for keeping us all on topic during our 6 month preparations for this event and applying to Comox for the venue and and to receive the 'keys of the kingdom,' and the City of Comox to share their kingdom.
The real draw was Amped Rides, Black's Cycle, and Brian McLean Chevrolet offering rides and test drives. Thanks also to Michael Stanyer of Emotive for handling the test drives.
Ultimately, for those who light up their cars and show them off, this show is what shows the future of the green planet.”
BONUS “C” Event – Cookeville, Tennessee
- Event leader – Maxavier Lamantia
- # of EVs displayed at the event – 10
- # of attendees – 30
- # of rides/drives provided – 4
This event in Tennessee Tech may seem small in size, but the power to impact even the smallest of events is evident. In addition to chatting with locals, event organizers and volunteers enjoyed a visit from a previous trial participant. A previous participant came in to talk about their recent EV purchase. Maxavier sums it up well by sharing, “We are always excited to see our positive impact on our community!”
To learn important information about National Electric Drive Week, please visit driveelectricweek.org.