Parents, start your engines, because Big Truck Day is rolling back into Red Arrow Park, 920 N. Water St., and is sure to delight kids ages 2-10. OK, OK, so maybe it'll be fun for anyone who, at any age, loves honking big yellow vehicles ... and some red ones courtesy of Milwaukee Fire Department, too.
The City of Milwaukee's Department of Public Works, MPD, MFD and Milwaukee County Transit System will bring out their vehicles of all kinds on Saturday, May 17, from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m., to offer a close-up look at a variety of equipment and the jobs that go along with them.
Among the featured vehicles will be a front-end loader, road patcher, street sweeper, grapple saw, snow plow, trackless skid steer, two mounted horse patrol units, a BearCat tactical enforcement vehicle, a bomb squad command post, fire engine, mobile Survive Alive House unit, a bus and Milwaukee Public Library's outreach vehicle.
Vehicle operators will also be on hand to talk to families and offer demonstrations in honor of National Public Works Week.
There will also be food trucks, giveaways, games, fun for children – including truck-themed arts and crafts with Artists Working in Education, free face painting, bubble and and recycling activities – and a Milwaukee Public Library book sale.
New at this year's expanded event, the City of Milwaukee’s forestry team will offer a tree climbing demo and a $5 tropical plant sale.
A sensory-friendly hour will be offered from 1 to 2 p.m., at which time no horns or sirens will sound.
“Big Truck Day is an amazing outing for Milwaukee-area families,” said Erica Green, COO of Milwaukee Downtown, BID #21, of the event, which started in 2022. “It’s the perfect opportunity to educate kids on all the things that make our city tick, while also giving employees and officers a chance to interact with local youth and inspire them to pursue careers in public works.”
The event is free and open to all.
“DPW has nearly 2,000 employees from diverse backgrounds who provide committed service to the residents, visitors and businesses in Milwaukee," said Commissioner of Public Works Jerrel Kruschke.
"We look forward to a few of these dedicated professionals showcasing their specialized equipment for curious young minds.”
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
