GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Not even a brutal heat index could keep children and their parents from visiting the Downtown Market on Tuesday, where they got to see amazing machines up close at one of the market's most popular events.
The market held its first "Meet The Machines" event of the year. Kids got to check out police cars, fire trucks, cranes, construction vehicles, monster trucks, bookmobiles and even Van Andel Arena's zamboni at no charge.
"It's cool to get kids excited to see up close how huge the crane is, and how how much it might take to learn a skill like driving a crane and using it safely and all these things," said Kendra Larsen who serves as the festival and special events manager at the Downtown Market.
"It's really cool to give kids and families an opportunity to come here and learn about those things, get a little bit of a closer interaction with these machines, and with these potential [career] opportunities for them."
The market, located at 435 Ionia Avenue SW, has planned a second "Meet The Machines" event. It will be held on Tuesday, July 19 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
"So if it's a little warm for you today, you can always come back. You can always come back and see some new machines too," said Larsen, noting that each iteration of "Meet The Machines" brings different vehicles from different organizations.
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