How did "EV Fest, Toronto's Premier Electric Vehicle Fall Festival" get Started?
- Our Electric Vehicle Society of Canada, Webmaster and communications person, Robert Weekley, received
an email inquiry, one of many,and this one asked some questions that made him do some research, and follow
up that lead him to contacting Scarborough Toyota, who lead him to their Service Manager - Pat Barnes.
- The subject of interest was Plug-in Hybrid Conversions, of which they were listed as an installer for,
and once he had a discussion with Pat, it was discovered that Pat, and his Dealer Principle, had great interest
in Electric Vehicles, with Plug-in Hybrids being a step in that direction that they felt ready to take.
- As the conversation continued, an invitation to meet with the Electric Vehicle Society of Canada was extended
to Pat Barnes. Pat Barnes involved his brother, Dave Barnes, Currently employed by M.T.C., and involved with a group
of Students interested in making a 'Better Website' for locating Places for Electric Vehicles to Plug In, and Dave
communicated Robert's interest in Helping the Students, with Guidance, and direction where he could, to the Students
Teacher.
- This Lead to a meeting, of Pat, Dave, Robert, and the Teacher; to discuss the project, and along the way -
a discussion moved to having an Event to promote Electric Vehicles with the Support of Pat Barnes and Scarborough Toyota.
- From there - this lead to the beginning with a Spring Electric Vehicle Show on April 10, 2010, called "EV Show & Shine BBQ", which
had the support also of Erik Haltrech, President of the Toronto Hybrid Group and his team, (invited on board by Pat)
and their efforts to round out the selections of the Exhibited Vehicles with Hybrids and Plug-in Hybrids of a couple
of flavours. When that show was completed - with just five weeks planning, and the results it delivered, it was agreed
to do another Electric Vehicle show, and this time the possability of a New Domain Name was considered, one specifically
to be for Show itself. So - EV Fest was born in the mid-spring of 2010, and the Domain Was quickly registered by
Robert Weekley: www.evfest.ca
- Taking what was learned to work in the Spring Show, and searching for information about how to run a successful Event,
Robert continued, and with the Support of Leadership of the Electric Vehicle Society of Canada, and working with the
Toronto Hybrid Group, plans began to go forward for EV Fest. Website content was started, basic ideas discussed, and we began!
- One of the important things we learned in the Spring Electric Vehicle Show - "EV Show & Shine BBQ" was we needed some
better ways to promote and track attendance, so a registration tool was chosen, for Exhibitors to Register their commitment,
Volunteers to come on board, and Guests to sign up with a plan to come and see the EVent! This has lead to the Ability of
both Key groups to collaborate on progressive improvements, and marketing ideas, and monitor the results, tweaking things
as they go.
- Business Card sized promo pieces were first used to start the offline promotion of EV Fest, and they contained the first
coining of the Key Brand: "EV Fest, Toronto's Premier Electric Vehicle Fall Festival", designed to inspire
Planners, Exhibitors, and the Guests all in one focused statement! Today we have shared posters online for each planner,
exhibitor, and guest to use in sharing the word, and also linking code, directly available on the web site at the
press-media.php Page, for each exhibitor to include in their web site,
to easily promote the show they will be attending, thus each exhibitor, in essence, is supporting each other, so we all benefit!
- The culmination of the show on October 17, 2010, being the First of hopefully many 'EV Fests' delivered excellent results,
with every guest enjoying the selection, choices, and variations on display of this vary new, yet well enjoyed Event. Some 500
People attended the Event, and plans for the next years EV Fest 2011 are beginning now! Stay tuned, and even better -
Register Here to join with those who want to be specifically
notified when the Exact Date, Place, and Time are set for EV Fest 2011.
Relevant Electric Vehicle Information
Sign Up here to get email updates when changes happen so you are always up to date! Or Register Here to join with those who want to be specifically notified when the Exact Date, Place, and Time are set for EV Fest 2011. Please Register with this link now
Other Information sources relevant to Electric Vehicles: