The New Jersey Electric Vehicle Association (NJEVA) hosted the Kilowatt Cookout at Colonial Park in Somerset, NJ in August, and it sparked some serious excitement. What started as a fun idea to reconnect with the local EV community turned into a full-scale celebration of clean energy. More than 80 people RSVP’d, and by midday, the parking lot was overflowing with EVs of every make, model, and price point. Some folks drove in from over three hours away just to be part of the fun. That’s dedication, or maybe just a great excuse for a road trip in an EV!

Sure, there were a ton of cool cars on display, but the event was more than just an EV showcase. The goal of the event was to bring together EV enthusiasts and the EV curious, and highlight the resilience and capabilities of EVs, not just for transportation, but also as portable power sources for tailgating and camping.

Event organizer Ashley Lynn noted that “As someone who recently experienced a whole-home power outage, I was lucky that we didn’t lose all of the food in our fridge and freezer because we had an EV and a Jackery box to keep our critical appliances going.” EVs are capable of far more than your typical gas car, and the Kilowatt Cookout put these abilities to the test.

The casual, family-friendly setting gave attendees the perfect chance to learn, explore, and share their stories. With music playing, giveaways, and food sizzling, people felt free to ask real questions, share stories, and imagine themselves behind the wheel of an EV, no showroom required. “Demonstrations like this can reach folks from different walks of life, uplifting stories of municipalities leveraging electric trucks and police departments making the switch.” No sales pitches, no pressure, just a sunny day filled with great people, delicious food, and electrifying tech.

The highlight of the event? The Tech Showcase, where attendees got a real-time look at how bidirectional charging and vehicle-to-load (V2L) features work. Spoiler alert: It was awesome.

Here’s what was cooking, literally:

• A Hyundai Ioniq 5 was firing up the grill with burgers and hot dogs.
• A Kia EV6 kept the beats going while powering an electric cooler and blending frozen lemonades (yes, it was as refreshing as it sounds), plus a popcorn machine
• A Genesis GV60 was running a microwave oven to serve up pigs in a blanket and hot pretzels.
• And the showstoppers: Two Tesla Cybertrucks cranked out fresh pizza, shrimp tacos, and sliders, basically redefining what it means to tailgate.

If you’ve ever doubted that EVs can do it all, this showcase definitely changed some minds (and tempted taste buds).

Organizer, Ashley Lynn, explained that this was more than just cars and food; the Kilowatt Cookout was about connection. Longtime NJEVA members got to meet face-to-face while curious newcomers dipped their toes into the electric world for the first time. 

To keep the momentum going, NJEVA handed out flyers and encouraged everyone to join Generation180 and the Electric Vehicle Association’s 10k EV Rides Campaign, which aims to get 10,000 people behind the wheel (or at least in the passenger seat) of an EV, because we believe the best way to understand the EV experience is to try it for yourself. 

Generation180 is sharing this story to highlight how local EV events like the Kilowatt Cookout are helping to normalize clean energy. Every conversation, test ride, and hot dog grilled by an EV was a step closer to making EVs mainstream and having a blast while doing it.