Jackson Free Press logo

This story originally appeared in the Jackson Free Press. It was added to the Mississippi Free Press website in 2025.
Note that any opinions expressed in legacy Jackson Free Press stories do not reflect a position of the Mississippi Free Press or necessarily of its staff and board members.

Junior League of Jackson will host its fourth annual Touch a Truck Jackson event on March 24 and 25 at Trustmark Park in Pearl (1 Braves Way, Pearl). Touch a Truck Jackson gives children the chance to climb inside, explore and learn about trucks, emergency response vehicles, heavy machinery and other equipment.

“This year we have three big excavators from Puckett Machinery, a brand-new fire truck from the Pearl fire station, 18-wheelers from the Mississippi Trucking Association, a helicopter from the state highway patrol, police cars, an ambulance and … more,” Jane Harkins, Touch of Truck Jackson chairwoman, says.

New to the March 25 event is food trucks, with Hog Heaven BBQ, T & J Concessions, Grant’s Kitchen and Kona Ice taking part and providing lunch.

March 24 is Field Trip Friday, which is open to preschool, daycare or elementary school students some of whose schools participate in Junior League of Jackson’s Handy Helpers program, which helps schools organize field trips who ordinarily wouldn’t be able to due to financial reasons or other issues. The March 25 event is open to the public, and admission is $5 per person.

For more information, visit touchatruckjackson.com.

MFP Solutions Lab logo

The Mississippi Free Press produced this story through the MFP Solutions Lab, supported by the Solutions Journalism Network. This series digs into Mississippi’s systemic issues and sheds light on responses to them in other communities. Beyond just reporting on problems, these stories interrogate their causes and inspect potential solutions.

Digital Editor Dustin Cardon is a graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi where he studied journalism. He started his journalism career years ago at the Jackson Free Press in Mississippi’s capital city as an intern and worked his way up to web editor, a role he now holds within the Mississippi Free Press. Dustin enjoys reading fantasy novels and wants to write them himself one day. Email him at dustin@mississippifreepress.org.