By Conrad Dudderar
Staff Writer
Yukon Parks & Recreation kicked off this summer’s Friday Fun Days in grand fashion.
Several hundred children converged on the north parking lot of Chisholm Trail Park, 500 W Vandament, for the always popular “Touch-A-Truck.”
They enjoyed climbing on, and sitting inside, everything from a police cruiser and fire engine to a tow truck and tractor during the June 4th festivities. About 20 vehicles – even a news helicopter – were featured during the two-hour event.
“We have a huge crowd, five or six school busses and three or four day-care vans,” said Touch-A-Truck coordinator Zach Buseman, supervisor at the Jackie Cooper Gym. “We have 200-300 people at least.”
The kiddos just love this event, the traditional start of the YPR Fun Friday summer series.
“They’ve been honking the horns and sounding the sirens all morning long, as long as they’re here,” Buseman reported. “They love getting in the trucks. As long as there’s gadgets in them and horns to honk, they’ll do it!
“Kids love all these different types of vehicles. Anything large!”
Yukon Police, Yukon Fire, Canadian County Sheriff, Canadian County Emergency Management, City of Yukon Public Works, Oklahoma City News 9, and A-Z Towing were just some of the groups participating in the Touch-A-Truck event.
As a bonus, Yukon Fire Department personnel at 11 a.m. Friday presented a vehicle extrication demonstration using their “Jaws of Life” tools.
FREE FRIDAY FUN FOR KIDS
YPR special events supervisor Nick Rice said the Friday Fun Days’ series continues all summer, providing an array of free activities for youths to enjoy.
“We go through the first Friday in August,” Nice added. “We’ve got the turtle race (June 11), the fishing derby and a boot camp in partnership with the Yukon Veterans Museum. We’re going to have a ‘slime day’, a ‘glow party’ and even a ‘mud games mania’.”
Most of Friday’s fun summer events start at 10 a.m., at various Yukon parks and recreation sites. The only one earlier will be the kids’ fishing derby at Mulvey’s Pond.
“The fish bite early in the morning, so that one starts at 8 a.m.,” Rice said.
As if that’s not enough, YPR staff are presenting the annual “Concerts in the Park” series this summer at the Chisholm Trail Park’s large gazebo at the south end. Free concerts start at 8 a.m. Thursday; bring blankets and lawn chairs to enjoy the music.
For more information on Friday Fun Days or other summer events in Yukon, call the YPR administration office at (405) 350-8937.
See more photos from this evening in an upcoming print edition of The Yukon Progress.
