Drive Electric Week kicks off this Saturday with nearly 200 online and in-person events celebrating electric vehicles. Events will be held for the next two weekends, from September 27 through October 6, in the US, Canada, and one in Guadalajara, Mexico.
Drive Electric Week is an annual event organized by Plug In America, the Electric Auto Association, EVHybridNoire, Drive Electric USA, and the Sierra Club. This is the event’s 14th year. It started in the US as National Drive Electric Week, but for the last few years, some events have been hosted in other countries as well.
These events are an opportunity for prospective EV buyers to talk directly with EV owners about the experience of owning an electric car, and EV owners to network with each other and share tips. The dealership experience is not ideal for many EV shoppers, so unfiltered conversations with EV owners can be a great way to learn.
Each event is organized by local EV advocates, and they range in size from small parking lot meetups and local EV parades to large festivals with lots of booths from nearby car dealers and green businesses. Be sure to check each event page to see what your local events will look like and what types of EVs might be in attendance.
Drive Electric Week has a map and list of events happening next week. Most events are in-person, but there are some webinar-style online events that you can attend to hear about various topics related to electric vehicles. You can also search for events near you.
Here’s a sample of some of the events happening over the course of the week:
- Phoenix, AZ has a ride and drive on Sep28 from 8am-12pm, with a wide variety of vehicles available for test drives and raffle drawing for anyone who participates in a test drive. There are also many EV owners registered who will be happy to talk about their EVs (including a Fisker Ocean, that should be an interesting chat…)
- Port Hueneme, CA will have an EV showcase at the Port Hueneme Banana Festival on Sep28 from 10am-5pm. There will be port tours, a kids zone, live music, and banana-themed food. (Port Hueneme is also nearby some of the largest heavy-duty EV charging station projects in the country, to help fuel port traffic)
- Midlothian, VA will hold “Electricarpalooza” on Sep28 from 11:30am-6pm with discussions, test drives from 5 manufacturers, EV and e-bike display, and a happy hour.
- Driving electric isn’t just for the continental states, as Juneau and Anchorage will both have events. Juneau will have its annual EV round up on Sep28 11:30am-1pm with EV, e-bike, and even electric outboard motor displays, and Anchorage is holding a ribbon-cutting for a DC fast charger on Oct4 from 12-1pm.
- Drive Electric Alabama is hosting 4 events around the state, in Auburn, Birmingham, Huntsville and Foley.
- 4 separate Hawaiian islands are having their own events, in Koloa on Kauai, Honolulu and Aiea on O’ahu, Kahului on Maui, and Hilo on the Big Island.
- The sole event in Mexico is in Guadalajara on Oct5 from 9am-4pm CST, and will take place at Oscar Casillas Karting Track, where there will also be a race of student-built electric karts alongside the EV exhibition and test drives.
- Canada’s largest event will be in Waterloo, Ontario on Oct5 from 11am-3pm. it was a pretty big event last year with lots of EVs on display, and a GM Brightdrop electric delivery truck (made at GM’s CAMI plant in Ingersoll, Ontario) will be there too.
- Schenectady, NY is hosting the New York Capital District’s event on Oct6 from 10am-2pm at Schenectady City Hall with test drives, live music and food trucks. Over 100 vehicles and 41 models are registered for the EV display, which means this might be the biggest event in the country (here’s a video from last year’s event).
- Fort Worth, TX has a wide variety of exhibitors confirmed for its Oct6 event from 10am-2pm. You’ll see solar cars, golf carts, wind energy providers, local dealerships and Harley’s Livewire electric motorcycle, among others.
Not all the events are large or hosted in big cities. There are also smaller events happening in town centers, church parking lots, and so on, often with just a handful of EV owners who are typically happy to stand around and have a frank discussion with members of the public about what it’s like to own an EV, or to network with other local EV owners.
During the peak years of the COVID-19 pandemic, events went to an all-online format, and when in-person events came back, they were a bit more muted than the days of yore. But attendance is growing back to its former glory, and most are outdoors anyway, so it’s a great way to enjoy a nice weekend day before the cold comes back (though we’re not too worried about that part here in sunny Southern California).
A few online events do remain for those who don’t have any local events near them or who are otherwise booked on the weekend. There’s an EV 101 seminar, a discussion about charging EVs at work, and a talk about EV incentives for consumers and businesses.
But most notably for those online events, Electrek’s very own Michelle Lewis will moderate Generation180’s all-women “Ask an EV Owner” panel on Thursday, October 3, at noon eastern time.
If you’d like to attend these events, either to show your vehicle, to volunteer to help run the event, or just to show up and look around, you can go to each event’s page to find more information. Remember to click the “RSVP” or “Volunteer” links near the top to register your interest (or register at the links mentioned in the event description).
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