- March 19, 2026
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Kids grabbed eggs and honked horns at Twin Lakes Park today.
Sarasota County hosted the 19th annual Big Trucks Day EGGstravaganza Saturday, April 4, at the park. Different divisions of the county brought large-scale equipment for children to explore and play in, including the Sarasota County Fire Department and the Sheriff's Office. Other organizations included the Florida State Highway Patrol, the Florida State Department of Forestry, Florida Power and Light and Publix.
The county also hosted two Easter egg hunts.
Deputy Eric Ellis helped the Sheriff's Office with kids who wanted to climb around in patrol cars.
"A lot of times kids see us at the worst times," Ellis said. "We want kids to understand we're the good guys. It's fun to bring them out here and let them play with the lights and sirens and let them see what we do."
"Kids like big toys, these are about as big as it gets," Thomas Hagans said.
Thomas Hagans, who works for the county's Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources department, brought two "swamp buggies" that he had helped build. The buggies were a popular attraction for the kids. Hagans said it took him about eight months to build one.
Besides letting kids have fun, Hagans said there is a benefit for the general public as well.
"It gets the public a chance to see where their money is going—see where their tax dollars are going," Hagans said.
Steele Jackson, 8, of Nokomis, said his favorite part of the day was the county's fire trucks. He climbed up in the back of one of the ladder trucks and got to ask Gary Terpak, from Station 11, all his burning questions about firefighting, such as how bigger fires are put out.
Why was the fire department his favorite? "Because they save lives sometimes," Jackson said.
Glenn Galbraith, also from Station 11, said the fire trucks had been a popular item during the event.
"It's funny becuase kids get excited when they see them, and when they see how big they are, they get a little scared," he said.
