Despite chilly temperatures for late April, bright sunshine cascaded the day and greeted attendees at the 2017 “Touch a Truck” event at the Becker Community Center last Saturday morning.

 

Kids of all ages — and sometimes their parents and siblings — got the chance to tour the parking lot of the BCC and get an up-close-and-personal look at the massive trucks, emergency vehicles, construction machinery and semis.

 

Two bouncy castles were set up on the lawn for the younger kids’ entertainment and a booth selling mini-donuts kept the visitors’ stomachs full.

 

Brittany Lenneman (22) of St. Michael held her Godson, Chase (2) in the cab of a tractor and took selfies while mother, GIna Beaudry (22) of Becker looked on.

 

The list of Touch-A-Truck participants included perennial favorites like the Becker Fire Dept. long ladder truck, a Becker Police Dept. vehicle with lights ablaze, the North Memorial Air Ambulance, National Guard vehicles and uniformed troops and officers to answer questions and show how things worked.

 

Kristina Winkelman of Clear Lake had her two kids, Aston (4) and Sierra (2) take a quick look inside the chopper that landed in the parking lot precisely when the event started.

 

Also on hand were a display of tractors, motorcycles and some construction equipment on a sand pile with a fleet of toy trucks, pails and shovels that drew a flock of kids all day long.

 

Nicole Duel of Sauk Rapids stood to watch, then participate as her daughters, Brook (6) and Hilda (2), played in the soft sand with buckets and pails.

 

Also in the mix were vehicles from Wruck Excavating, T.J. Potter, Versatile Transport, Bobcat, Liberty Paper, Country Lumber, Ess Brothers, Veit, Joe’s Bobcat Services, West Metro Buick, Knife River, ComLink Midwest and CentraCare Health.