Uptown Normal hosts electric car show and movie

An Evening of EV's is Thursday, Jan. 26 starting with a car show at 5:30 p.m. (Poster courtesy of the Town of Normal)

NORMAL – First the commercial, now a movie.

Normal is hosting an “Evening of EVs” in January. It’s a showcase of electric cars, a movie, “Revenge of the Electric Car,” and a panel discussion about the movie.

Uptown Marketing Manager Joe Tulley said it fits with EVTown and the charge of getting the community into the electric vehicle change. He said the movie is a follow-up to “Who Killed the Electric Car,” which was about the demise of the electric car idea in a different era.

“This movie is really about how that idea has come to fruition and there’s a story behind that,” Tulley said. “And, I think our town is really apart of that. This is something that’s really a wave of the future. I think Normal is sort of at the forefront of that.”

Tulley said one of the EVTown members saw the movie in Chicago, talked to producers and got things going for an event here. He said “Revenge of the Electric Car” is also for the skeptics.

“Really, if you start looking into the future, this is the way it’s going to be. We’re going to move to probably a different mode of transportation and what it looks like, who knows, but we hope to be at the forefront.”

An Evening of EVs is Jan. 26 at the Uptown Marriott and the Normal Theater. On display in the ballroom of the hotel will be the Mitsubishi i, the Nissan Leaf, the Chevy Volt, the Tesla Roadster, the Fisker Karma and a 1976 Vanguard from 5:30 p.m. to 9:15 p.m. The movie is at 7 p.m. with a panel discussion following from 8:35 p.m. to 9:15 p.m. There’s an encore screening of the movie Jan. 27 at 7 p.m.

Stephanie Pawlowski can be reached at Stephanie@wjbc.com.