Over 110 vehicles were on display for Long Beach families during the sixth annual Touch a Truck event at Rosie’s Dog Beach on Saturday.
Horns blared out through the air as hundreds of families made their way through the lines of vehicles that came to participate in the event. Children climbed up and got to sit in the cockpits of city vehicles that they may one day drive once they are old enough.
“I think that it’s fun, as little kids, even as grown kids and adults, that we can go and get up close to these vehicles that we might see just driving down the street,” said Justin Rudd, organizer of the event.
In 2020 the event was planned for the middle of March but was abruptly canceled due to the outbreak of the coronavirus in the United States.
“That was a big disappointment,” said Rudd. “I had done all this work, and then, you know, to recruit all these people, all these vehicles, and then at the last minute, literally had to cancel the event.”
Despite setbacks, the event came back bigger than ever this year with various city vehicles and a display of off-road trucks lined up in the sand for people to look at and sit inside.
Some of the most popular vehicles are the big John Deere tractors that are usually seen at farms but are used by the city to help clean the beaches.
“The most popular vehicles at this event, in terms of how long their line is to board, are the fire truck, the trash and recycling trucks, and the street sweepers,” Rudd said.
In Photos:
A father takes a picture of his daughter as she sits inside of a backhoe at the Touch a Truck event in Long Beach on May 7, 2022 (Richard H. Grant | Signal Tribune) 
Families look around while they sit inside a SWAT truck from the Long Beach Police Department at the Touch a Truck event at Rosie’s Dog Beach on May 7, 2022. (Richard H. Grant | Signal Tribune) 
Children play and use the PA system inside a Long Beach Public Health Emergency Management vehicle during the Touch a Truck event on May 7, 2022. (Richard H. Grant | Signal Tribune) 
In lieu of buying tickets for this year’s Touch a Truck event, attendees were encouraged to bring food or children’s books to be donated on May 7, 2022. (Richard H. Grant | Signal Tribune) 
A Triumph car sits on display with Ukrainian flags at the Touch a Truck event in Long Beach on May 7, 2022. (Richard H. Grant | Signal Tribune) 
A young girl sits in the cockpit of a boat-shaped car during the Touch a Truck event on May 7, 2022. (Richard H. Grant | Signal Tribune) 
A young child looks inside a Vietnam-era Army Jeep on display at the Touch a Truck event entrance at Rosie’s Dog Beach in Long Beach on May 7, 2022. (Richard H. Grant | Signal Tribune)
