MARYSVILLE — Thousands of children put on hard hats, climbed into trucks and honked the horns of dozens of vehicles at the city of Marysville’s annual Touch a Truck event on Saturday, Sept. 8.

Several city departments provided a total of 28 vehicles of all types and sizes — including fire engines, dump trucks, ice cream trucks, police patrol cars, school buses and more — at the free event, which ran from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Totem Middle School’s Asbery Field.

“It was a huge success,” said Andrea Kingsford, recreation coordinator for Marysville’s Parks and Recreation Department. “It was a beautiful sunshiny day and people were really involved, which is great.”

The event brought in more than 2,000 visitors, both old and new. “There are a few families I know that were there for the first time and said they absolutely loved it,” said Kingsford.

“We came here last year,” said Libby Regonas, who brought her 3-year-old daughter Sophie. “It’s really good, she has a good time.”

Sophie Regonas jumped out of the driver’s seat of a backhoe and bounced up and down a few times in excitement. “It’s fun,” she said.

“She likes to see the trucks and honk the horns,” laughed Libby Regonas.

Other families have been attending the event for several years.

“We’ve been here for the past four or five years,” said Rebecca Hall, who brought her son Travis. “He really likes the trucks, and it’s also nice to see the cop cars and ambulances up close.”

Travis Hall, 9, said his favorite part of the day was playing in a bouncy house set up on the field. “But my favorite truck is the ice cream truck,” he said.

Sarah Kinnear, of Marysville, has brought her family to Touch a Truck three years in a row.

“Our son seems to really enjoy it,” she said. “This year, he really likes warning signs. He’s really interested in how things work.”

Many children at the event donned hard hats and firefighter helmets, which were handed out by the Marysville Public Works Department and the Marysville Fire District.

“All of the fire engines are a big draw,” said Kingsford. “Kids are fascinated by them. The armored tactical vehicle brought in by the police department is always a popular one as well.”

Every truck had a number of children waiting in line to climb aboard.

“Every single truck gets visited,” said Kingsford. “When families come by, they are just so excited to see what we have.”

The city of Marysville is planning to host Touch a Truck again, on the first Saturday in September next year. For more information call the Parks and Recreation Department at 360-363-8400.