Big machines, happy children

MOSES LAKE — Little kids love big machinery. The two go together like peanut butter and jelly. And they’ll come together again April 27 at Touch a Truck behind Moses Lake Presbyterian Church.

“We will have face painting, a balloon man, a little photo prop area,” said Brittney Ketterer, one of the event’s organizers. “And tons of trucks.”

Tons indeed. There will be police and fire vehicles with flashing lights and sirens, a dump truck, a backhoe and a minibus for children to climb on and explore.  The National Guard will bring vehicles too, and there’ll be a Moses Lake Demo Derby car and Tow Mater from the movie “Cars.”

“Usually the sirens are on and the horns are going,” Ketterer said. “The kids can climb in and out of some of the trucks to explore them, check them out, honk horns.”

There will be food vendors too: El Charro Birrieria, Blacky’s Smokin’ Sweet, Tami’s Hawaiian Grinds, Batch Cookies and Favored Farmhouse are slated to turn up, Ketterer said.

The event is a fundraiser for Mothers of Preschoolers, a support group for moms with small children. This is the third year the Moses Lake MOPS chapter has held Touch a Truck. The money raised helps the group pay for arts and crafts supplies, daycare and the use of a room at Moses Lake Presbyterian Church, 1142 W. Ivy Ave., where they meet twice a month. The group regularly hosts 65-plus women of all backgrounds and faiths, Ketterer said.

Admission to Touch a Truck is $5 at the door. The event runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and 10-11 will be a quiet hour, with no sirens or other loud noises, for kids with special needs or disabilities involving sound, Ketterer said.

“We have a couple of people in MOPS that have kids on the autism spectrum,” she said. “We will have music playing this year for quiet hour, but it will be very soft and off at a distance. So if the kids don't want to be around the music, they don't have to be.”

About 1,000 people came out for last year’s Touch a Truck, Ketterer said.

“We are trying to make it a community family event for family, friends and kids,” she said. “We are staying kid-focused … We want the kids to be able to come and have fun and let the parents let the kids have fun.”

Joel Martin may be reached via email at jmartin@columbiabasinherald.com.

An earlier version of this story omitted the address of Moses Lake Presbyterian Church. It has been corrected above.

    A pair of children smiles from the cab of a very big fire truck at the Mothers of Preschoolers Touch a Truck fundraiser last year. This year’s event is April 27.
  

    A family enjoys a sunny Saturday at last year’s Mothers of Preschoolers annual Touch a Truck fundraiser in Moses Lake. This year’s event is April 27.