MARION — South Coast kids hopped into the driver's seat at Marion’s annual Touch-a-Truck event on Saturday, July 12 at Silvershell Beach.

Marion firetrucks, ambulances, police cars, construction vehicles and a mounted horse unit from the Massachusetts State Police were featured at the event.

“We were looking for activities that we could host that would bring the community out and bring families together,” said Scott Tavares, event organizer and Marion’s Director of Recreation.

While kids weren’t putting the pedal to the metal and hitting the road, they were able to climb into the parked vehicles, explore their functions and speak to the emergency service teams about their work.

“It’s just a nice community event for the kids and families to come out, come down to the beach and explore some of the equipment that our first responders use,” said Tavares.

Seven-year-old Wareham resident Max Santi said he had fun at the event and his favorite vehicle was the police car.

“I liked getting to see the back,” he declared.

Craig Harvey, a summertime resident of Marion from Charlotte, North Carolina, said that his seven-year-old daughter Quinn and five-year-old son Luke love events like Touch-a-Truck.

“The kids love all the things: fire trucks, front loaders, police cars, EMS, basically all of it. They love it,” said Harvey.

His family has been coming to Marion each summer for over 30 years and they always look forward to visiting Silvershell Beach.

Tavares stated that the event used to be hosted at Washburn Park until they switched the location to Silvershell Beach three years ago.

“Kids can check out some of the equipment, then they can use the playground and then head over to the beach after,” he said, adding that it’s just a “nice, free event for people in the community.”