Event lets future drivers get behind the wheel

Children will get up close and personal with a race car, tractor and crane at the fifth annual Touch a Truck on Saturday.

The Junior League of Spokane has more than 30 vehicles coming to Spokane Community College for the event, including a hearse, ambulance, bus and stretch limo, said Melissa King, one of the event’s organizers. “As many modes of transportation as possible.”

The crane is back after missing the past couple of years. “They get to get in the seat and feel the different gadgets,” she said.

King’s favorite is the truck from the solid waste department – “kids get to dump the recycling,” she said.

The event is a fundraiser for the Junior League’s children’s literacy efforts. The group will use the funds to create reading areas at shelters and get books to children who don’t have access to them, King said. Plus, the first 250 children at the event will be given a book.

Beyond the vehicles, there will be food trucks and music, a bouncy castle and information booths.

For most of the event, no honking is allowed. But from 1 to 2 p.m., “It’s a solid hour of horn honking,” King said.

Kimberly Lusk

When: 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday

Where: Spokane Community College, 1810 N. Greene St.

Cost: $5, free for children 2 and younger and $20 maximum per family

Info: www.jlspokane.org