The Davis-Besse Community Day is an annual celebration with a 500+ car show, food vendors, large raffle, DJ and various kids activities such as bounce houses, petting zoo, and train rides.
2024 DATE: TBD
Location: Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station
5501 OH-2
Oak Harbor, OH 43449
Website: https://energyharbor.com/en/community-programs/davis-besse-community-day1
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This post documents my experience on September 16, 2023.
Festival Overview
The Davis-Besse Community Day and Car Show is an annual community festival hosted by its employees on the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station grounds. While the car show sounds like an addition (aka secondary) in the event’s title, it is a major presence and probably the main reason many people attend.
Beyond the car show, there are vendors, food trucks, a DJ, various kids activities including bounce houses, games, and a petting zoo, and a large raffle that benefits Sleep in Heavenly Peace (an organization that builds beds for children).
Since the festival takes place on the Davis-Besse grounds, I would even say that the cooling tower is also an attraction of the festival.
It definitely makes the location easy to find from miles away.
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Car Show
The major attraction of the festival was definitely the car show.
There were over 500 vehicles on display all over the grounds…
…including some motorcycles and trucks…
…and they could be found all over the festival grounds in various lots.
I even found some that I really liked.
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Kids’ Activities
If children weren’t riding the miniature train…
…they were likely enjoying various activities and games, a selection of bounce houses…
…an assortment of critters to pet…
…and potential horses to ride…
…especially since this guy was tuckered out.
Children could also take advantage of a free snow cone and popcorn booth…
…which they would take with them while checking out some emergency vehicles…as long we they didn’t make a mess.
Adult Activities
Along with the car show, the raffle was very popular.
Adults purchased tickets here…
…and then searched through the prizes set on a series of tables…
…eventually placing those tickets in the appropriate container.
If adults preferred to buy a prize outright instead of taking a chance on a raffle, a few vendors were nearby selling Tupperware products, jewelry, local honey and popcorn.
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For visitors of all ages, an extra (and free) activity involved entering the lobby…
…and learning about such things as how the nuclear power plant operated…
…and the role of that impressive cooling tower outside.
There was also plenty of literature you could take with you, in case you preferred to learn it all later.
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Food
An impressive selection of food trucks were set up at the food court…
…offering various tacos, burgers, fried chicken and fish…
…bbq ribs, chicken wings and tamales.
I went with some wings, rib bones and mac and cheese…
…which I enjoyed under the shade of the dining tent.
But even though it was a lot of food (and it was a lot of food)…
…I still couldn’t help stopping for a sweet treat on my way out.