Airdrie Public Library’s (APL) annual and free Mighty Machines Day has provided many special moments, one of them being when a young girl sat in the driver’s seat of an Airdrie Transit bus. Her grin nearly consumed her entire face with the sheer joy of imagining she had control of such a large machine.
Mighty Machines Day is, if anything, a vehicle (pardon the pun) to give little people a safe, hands-on encounter with the wonders of the big machinery they see every day in their community and read about in books.
Honestly though, even we big kids like to get a close look at these wonders of human invention and ingenuity.
But Mighty Machines Day is intended for the kids. You can’t help but love the expression on the face of a child ascending high above their parents in the basket of a Fortis Alberta bucket truck, or the look of wild imagination as they grip the steering wheel of an Airdrie Fire Department engine.
APL’s first Mighty Machines Day was held in 2018, and the event has grown every year since then, (excluding the COVID-impacted years of 2020 and 2021) drawing larger crowds and larger pieces of machinery.
Set to be held on Sunday, July 16 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Main Street Square parking lot between the library and City Hall, this year’s event is sponsored by Airdrie’s Tires on the Run, who will also be in attendance with their bus.
Some of this year’s Mighty Machines line-up includes FortisAlberta, Glover International Trucks, Dental Hygiene Express, RCMP, Municipal Enforcement, Rockyview Aerials, EMS, Nose Creek Valley Museum, Airdrie Fire Department (always a big hit), and the City of Airdrie’s Waste and Recycling, Parks and Roads, and Airdrie Transit vehicles.
There will also be food trucks, including Fresh Choice Mini Donuts – always an event favourite.
To learn more about this and other library events and programs, visit airdriepubliclibrary.ca
