Kid-Favorite 'Touch-A-Truck' Wheels Back Into Park Slope

PARK SLOPE, BROOKLYN — A kid-favorite event is ready to bring back truckloads of fun into Park Slope.

Touch-A-Truck returns Saturday for the first time since 2019.

The fundraiser for Park Slope's P.S. 295 will be a life-size toy box along 18th Street between Sixth and Seventh avenue where kids can get behind the wheels, honk horns and play on their favorite vehicles: from a fire engine to a garbage truck to a front-end loader, and more.

"It’s a hands-on experience,” said Tina Habib, co-president of PS 295's PTA, which runs the event.

"It holds a special place in the hearts of the community and the school."

Touch a Truck Flyer by Matt Troutman on Scribd

Families from Park Slope and beyond had flocked to past Touch-A-Truck events by the hundreds, until COVID-19 struck in 2020 and organizers essentially parked the event in storage, Habib said.

As the city this year took hopeful steps out of the pandemic, Habib and her fellow organizers decided it was time to bring back Truck-A-Truck.

"It’s outdoors, so it’s sprawling and fresh air and COVID-friendly,” she said.

From 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., rain or shine, a ticket will get kids up close with all their favorite vehicles:

• An NYPD police van and micro cruiser
• FDNY’s “The Experience” truck and fire engine
• A Park Slope volunteer ambulance
• A DSNY garbage truck
• An MTA vintage bus
• A moving truck from Gentle Giant
• A tow truck from MacArthur Collision
• A DEP tanker truck
• NYC Parks front-end loader and tree trimmer
• A Dumbo moving truck
• A Sprague Energy 10-wheel straight truck
• Bucket trucks from Paul’s Signs
• Chef’s Warehouse day cab tractor and reefer straight truck

Habib said trucks will have educational demonstrations for kids, who can ask questions, pose for photos and more.

Oh, did we mention there's also a bounce house? Tickets for that start at $3.

“It’s $10 for unlimited bouncing,” Habib said.

Hungry families can also take advantage of another type of vehicle that'll be parked at the event: food trucks from YOGO NYC, Gorilla Cheese NYC and Yankee Doodle Dandy's.

Tickets are available online for $9, or $34 for a four-pack. Admission at the event itself will be $10 a ticket, or $35 for four.

The event is the PTA's largest fundraiser and proceeds will go toward P.S. 295's dance and art programs, as well as support for English language and special needs students, Habib said.

Past events have raised as much as $25,000, but Habib said organizers' expectations are lower this year.

"I think that's OK, because it’s a lot about getting the community back to normal,” she said.

"It's so exciting."

More information can be found here.