National Drive Electric Week
EVs for EVV 2023 (National Drive Electric Week)
Evansville, IN
Sep 23, 2023
EVs for EVV 2023 (National Drive Electric Week)
Evansville, IN
Sep 23, 2023
| Day: | Saturday, September 23, 2023 NOTE: this event has already happened, find current-year events on the Attend page. |
| Time: | 10:00 am - 2:00 pm CDT |
| Location: | Eykamp Scout Center 3501 E. Lloyd Expressway Evansville, IN 47715 |
Event Report
EVs for EVV 2023 had 18 cash donors and 11 in-kind donors. Major sponsors included: Radiant Wellness Therapies, LLC; CenterPoint Energy; Peg & Patrick Macmillan; Denise Bartholomew; and Dan Linthicum.
The Ford Lightning F150 pickup and the Porsche Taycan proved among the more popular of the EVs available for test drives. Among the owner-operated EVs participating in the cruise-in, the "Best of Show" trophy (judging by Richard Steiner, past long-time president of Hoosier EVA) went to Terry Hudson's 2023 Nissan ARIYA, while the "People's Choice Award" was won by Cara Gile's 2023 Mini-Cooper SE Hardtop 2 Door.
The event’s Celebrity Drivers – local notables who led off the day’s test drives – were: Evansville mayoral candidate Stephanie Terry (the other 2 mayoral candidates planned to attend but were unable to, due to scheduling conflicts), Ivy Tech Community College’s talent connection manager Chris Johnson, Channel 14 meteorologist Jeff Lyons, Islamic Society of Evansville’s board of directors president Dr. Bashar Mourad, Tri-State Hindu Temple & Cultural Center’s past board president Dr. Kuldeep Raj Pandit, Leadership Everyone’s executive director Lynn Miller Pease, Southwestern Indiana Builders Association’s executive director Bill Pedtke, and Vanderburgh County Sheriff Noah Robinson.
Special attractions: Indiana Department of Environmental Management and its partner Drive Clean Indiana used “EVs for EVV” to make a public announcement launching their statewide EV charging initiative, GOEVIN: GO Electric Vehicle INdiana. The GOEVIN announcement stated that 61 EV fast charging stations will be operational on Indiana highways by the end of 2024, with 6 of those being in the Evansville metro area.
Musical Bands performing were: Sassafras (acoustic string band) and Panacea (classic rock band)
Robotics demonstrations were by high school students from New Tech Institute (recipient of the best Indiana robotics team award in 2023 in the statewide competition) and North High School (listed every year among the top robotics teams in the state competition)
17 vendors and 5 food trucks also participated in EVs for EVV 2023.
Some photos of the EVent are available at https://www.
photo by: Photo taken by : Sarah Nellis All 8 celebrity test drivers are included on this photo. |
Event Description
WHAT: The 2nd annual EVs for EVV will again be an Electric Vehicle cruise-in coupled with test rides-and-drives for metro Evansville, but this time located in a 10-acre park-like setting. Hosted by the nonprofit Tri-State Creation Care, the event will include test drives of at least 10 new EVs from local auto dealers, local celebrity drivers, 5 food trucks, the acoustic string band Sassafras and the classic rock band Panacea, interesting vendors, kids’ activities (inflatable bouncy house, hula hoop contests, musical chairs, limbo dance competition, jump-the-rope contests, bubble-blowing, etc.), and robotics demonstrations by teams from New Tech Institute (2023 state champion robotic team) and North High School. And be sure to take a stroll through the adjacent Master Gardeners’ display garden. Wholesome entertainment for the entire family! Local auto dealers are promising to bring a Ford Lightning truck, BMWs, Mercedes, Mustangs, and more EVs for test drives, which are open to adults, who must show their driver's license. E-bikes, e-carts, and electric/battery-operated lawn & garden equipment will also be on-site.
WHEN: Sat., Sept. 23, 2023. Free and open to the public from 10:00am – 2:00pm Central Time.
WHERE: Eykamp Scout Center, 3501 E. Lloyd Expressway, Evansville, IN 47715
WHO: Every one of all ages is welcome, although test drives of the EVs will be limited to adults, who must show their driver's license. (Owner-operators of EVs are encouraged to bring their vehicles for the cruise-in portion of this event. They can choose whether they want their vehicle to participate at one of three levels: display-only, ride-alongs permitted, test-driving permitted.)
COST: There is no
charge for attendees, although a $10 donation to Tri-State Creation Care would
be appreciated for any EV test drives or ride-alongs taken.
For more information or to register as an EV participant for the event, call (not text) Caroline Nellis at 812-424-6832 or email acnellis@twc.com
Registered Attendees
There are currently 34 attendees registered.
Owners of These Vehicles Have Registered To Attend
| Vehicle | Registered |
|---|---|
| Tesla Model 3 | 3 |
| Ford Mustang Mach-E | 2 |
| BMW i3 REx | 1 |
| Ford C-MAX Energi | 1 |
| Ford F-150 Lightning | 1 |
| Hyundai Ioniq 5 | 1 |
| MINI Cooper SE Hardtop 2 Door | 1 |
| Nissan Ariya | 1 |
| Nissan Leaf (2011-2017) | 1 |
| Tesla Model S | 1 |
| Tesla Model Y | 1 |
| 11 Models | 14 |
Registered attendees report 441,300 electric miles driven.
