Extreme Machines offers extreme fun
Submitted Photo Children get a chance to put out a fire at the Basin Safety exhibit during the Extreme Machines event in Williston, Saturday Aug. 29. They learned to aim low at the bottom of the flames. Photo by Roger Riveland
Submitted Photo The Williams County Sheriff’s Department had its SHERP on display at the Extreme Machines event in Williston. One of the more popular machines at the event, the SHERP is made in Kyiv, Ukraine, and is a fully amphibious all-terrain vehicle, capable of traveling up to 25 mph and climbing over nearly any object less than 3 feet high. Photo by Roger Riveland.
Submitted Photo The Lewis and Clark Trail Museum in Alexander had its La Rockette sprayer on display at the Williston Extreme Machines event. The La Rockette is a vintage field sprayer made during the 1960s, with this model coming from the middle of that production era. On the road it can travel up to 90 mph, and it can spray 80 acres of crop in 20 minutes. Photo by Roger Riveland.
Submitted Photo The Trinity Health helicopter stirs up dust, near the Bobcat loader display, as it takes off from the field where the Extreme Machine event was held northeast of Williston Saturday, Aug. 29. Photo by Roger Riveland.
Submitted Photo Children get a chance to put out a fire at the Basin Safety exhibit during the Extreme Machines event in Williston, Saturday Aug. 29. They learned to aim low at the bottom of the flames. Photo by Roger Riveland
Submitted Photo The Williams County Sheriff’s Department had its SHERP on display at the Extreme Machines event in Williston. One of the more popular machines at the event, the SHERP is made in Kyiv, Ukraine, and is a fully amphibious all-terrain vehicle, capable of traveling up to 25 mph and climbing over nearly any object less than 3 feet high. Photo by Roger Riveland.
Submitted Photo The Lewis and Clark Trail Museum in Alexander had its La Rockette sprayer on display at the Williston Extreme Machines event. The La Rockette is a vintage field sprayer made during the 1960s, with this model coming from the middle of that production era. On the road it can travel up to 90 mph, and it can spray 80 acres of crop in 20 minutes. Photo by Roger Riveland.
Submitted Photo The Trinity Health helicopter stirs up dust, near the Bobcat loader display, as it takes off from the field where the Extreme Machine event was held northeast of Williston Saturday, Aug. 29. Photo by Roger Riveland.
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WILLISTON - Children and adults had a rare chance Saturday, Aug. 29, to see, touch and interact with huge machines, oil field equipment and other interesting educational experiences at the annual Extreme Machines event in Williston.
An event with a county fair feel, Extreme Machines is sponsored by Williston Kids First, Inc., a local nonprofit that gives children hands-on educational experiences, career exploration and classroom learning materials. This year's 4th annual Extreme Machines affair was the largest so far.
The event was free for attendees and includes heavy equipment demonstrations, agriculture and construction equipment exhibits, oil field paraphernalia and trucks, recycling and refuse exhibits, and two helicopters.
This year's largest display was a Steel Energy oil well re-work rig set up on site. Other areas had huge cranes, bull dozer crawlers, semi trucks, small to large loaders and oil treater tanks. The Pumpkin Patch had its small-wheeled passenger train there to ride on. The Williams County Sheriff’s Department had its SHERP, an amphibious utility task vehicle, and SWAT armored rescue vehicle on site.
There was free pizza throughout the event and various other food booths with free offerings.
Raffles to generate funds for next year’s show provided more than $13,000 in prizes, including four-wheelers, dirt bikes and numerous gift cards from area businesses.
Williston Kids First president Kevin Hunter said between 7,000-8000 people attended the one-day event.