Rather than play with their toy trucks, hundreds of children had the chance Saturday to play on full-sized construction equipment during the Big Rig Celebration at Knife River Corporation’s Tumalo location.

Children climbed into steamrollers, cement mixers and bulldozers and honked the horns. They also dug into and slid down a huge sand pile.

The event is a fundraiser for Together for Children, a nonprofit that supports early childhood development in Central Oregon. The nonprofit partners with Knife River to host the event.

Bend resident Susan Stenrose walked through the event carrying two toy trucks that her sons, Griffin, 4, and Parker, 2, brought with them to the event.

It was her sons’ first time at the event. The boys had played on fire trucks at similar events, but never on anything close to the scale of the big rigs.

“They love it,” Stenrose said. “I can’t get the little guy (Parker) off the trucks.”

Stephanie Monfa, a human resources consultant from Bend, came to the event with her sons, Lucas, 3, and Andrew, 1.

The boys wore plastic yellow construction caps and had toy trucks and plastic pails for digging in the sand.

Monfa said her older son, Lucas, doesn’t usually like playing in the dirt. But playing in the sand pile Saturday appeared to have changed his mind, she said.

“This was a good adventure for us to get him to like dirt so he can hike and do different stuff,” Monfa said.

Steve and Kelly Michel, of Bend, were enjoying the event with their three sons, Josh, 8, Ben, 6, and Henry, 3. The boys climbed together into the construction vehicles, making for perfect photo opportunities. Their parents were happily taking photos of them.

All three boys liked playing on the steamroller, but Henry’s favorite was the cement mixer, which he called a “ment mixer.”

Steve Michel said the event was the perfect Saturday outing for his sons.

“Well, we have all boys, and boys love it,” he said.

— Reporter: 541-617-7820, kspurr@bendbulletin.com