Kids of all ages are invited to Touch-A-Truck, during Saturday’s sixth annual benefit event for Monmouth Day Care Center.
It seems like a throwback thrill from a bygone age, long before a generation of young millennials grew up with a whole virtual world of diversion and amusement at their fingertips. But, as Monmouth Day Care Center executive director Heidi Zaentz assures us, “every kid stops and watches when a police car or fire engine races by.”
Saturday marks the sixth annual appearance of a popular “fun-raising” event inspired by that observation, as Red Bank Middle School plays host to the center’s sixth annual Touch-a-Truck event.
Between the hours of 10 am and 2 pm, a collection of ambulances, fire engines, dump trucks and other heavy-duty equipment will be displayed in the middle school parking lot, where kids will be encouraged to get up-close and hands-on with the vehicles that capture their imaginations every day. It’s a setting that’s as safe as it is informative, with vehicle operators and emergency responders on hand to describe how these hard-working pieces of equipment perform the important jobs they’re designed to do.
A group of locally based sponsors — including Ryser’s Landscape Supply, Richard C. Reilly Asphalt Paving Company, DeFazio’s Lawn Service, Schwartz Truck Center, Ron’s Five Star Cleaning, and Firestone Complete Auto Care of Middletown — will furnish vehicles for the occasion. Further event support is being provided by Two River Community Bank, the Pressler Group, Ron’s Five Star Cleaning and Karson Food Service.
The advance admission fee of $12 ($15 at the gate on day of event) allows up to four attendees to explore the vehicles on display while also enjoying family-friendly craft activities, games and live music. Food vendors will be on site, and chances are available for a 50/50 drawing.
All proceeds from the event will benefit Monmouth Day Care Center, a non-profit facility (accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children) that’s served the families of the greater Red Bank community for 46 years.
Take it here to reserve tickets online.
