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Young Moose Javians clambered into fire trucks, ambulances, tractors and more on Saturday as the Town ‘n’ Country Mall parking lot transformed into a hands-on community celebration. The Truck-A-Palooza Family Fun Day ran from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on June 28, bringing together local families, emergency crews, and big machines under bright summer skies.
Hosted by the mall and a growing group of community partners, the event featured craft stations, face painting, snacks, and almost a dozen local organizations who showed up with their vehicles and enthusiasm. Visitors got to tour equipment and meet teams from the Moose Jaw Police Service, Moose Jaw Fire Department, Moose Jaw Search & Rescue, Walker’s Towing, Medavie Health Services West, the Saskatchewan Dragoons, and Babich Farms.
For nine-year-old Archer McNall-Yantha, who recently moved to Moose Jaw from Calgary, it was the towering red Babich Farms tractor that caught his attention.
“I just went on it and the horn was really weird — it’s on a handle thing on the side, and you press a button for it," Archer. Asked what it might be like to drive the tractor, he said "really, really fun!”
“And loud,” he added with a grin.
His father Steve said their family — who homeschool — value these kinds of local opportunities, which is why they moved to Moose Jaw.
“Moose Jaw's been just what we're looking for. Smaller towns are friendlier, more interactive, and safer,” he said. “Events like this give Archer experiences you just don’t get staying at home.”
For community groups like Moose Jaw Search & Rescue, events like Truck-A-Palooza offer more than just fun — they’re a chance to raise awareness.
“A lot of people still don’t know about us,” said Fern Paulhus, who’s volunteered with Search & Rescue for nearly 40 years. “We’re ground search and rescue — we’re not usually on the water — and community events like this show people we exist. We do a lot of preventative work too, especially with kids.”
“I went through the part where my daughter went missing,” he said. “So for me, it’s very personal. I was involved starting out with the snowmobile guys in back in 1986, and practicing going out with the machines. And that winter, a lady went missing and we went out and looked for her, and we got her. So, it kind of made you get hooked up right away.”
Moose Jaw Search & Rescue has grown from about 25 to 50 volunteers in the past five years and continues to train intensively from fall through summer.
Inside the Medavie ambulance, kids were wide-eyed as they explored real paramedic gear with help from Cari Evenson-Carlton and her colleagues.
“We’ve got the stretcher and stair chair out, and inside they’re learning about the heart monitor and other equipment we use to check vitals,” said Evenson-Carlton. “They get stickers and stamps along the way. But I think what they really love is just being inside the truck — getting their vitals checked and touching the machines.”
For the organizers and vendors — nearly a dozen in all — the day offered a high-energy start to the summer calendar and a chance to connect.