Thousands of local residents attended the fourth annual Wheels on the Pavement event at the Brantford and District Civic Centre on Sunday, May 26, 2024.

The City of Brantford, in conjunction with the Downtown Central, Holmedale, Eagle Place and East Ward Echo Place Neighbourhood Associations, held the event in celebration of National Public Works Week. The event featured an assortment of 50-plus trucks, city vehicles, emergency response vehicles and jeeps from the Brantford Area Jeep and Off Road Club (BAJC) for parents and children alike to explore.
“I want to thank all of you for coming out because this makes me so proud of what we do at the City. You can tell from the trucks and the equipment, just how important Public Works is to us and if we didn’t have them, we would be in chaos,” said Kevin Davis, Mayor for the City of Brantford. “We would have no drinking water, the wastewater wouldn’t be treated, we wouldn’t have garbage collection, we wouldn’t have cemeteries or bike trails and we would have paths and not roads; There’s so much they do, and we don’t say enough about our Public Works staff who help make our city a great place to live.”

Neighbourhood associations as well as community partner booths were also on site handing out bubbles, frisbees, service information and other various goodies for youngsters.
Jayme Wilson-Belore, Chair of the Downtown Central Neighbourhood Association, also took the time to thank everyone for making the day possible.
“I want to do a special thanks to Public Works for allowing us to be a part of their week-long event celebrating National Public Works Week, and the city of Branford for bringing out a lot of City vehicles and being a huge part of this event,” she said. “I want to thank all of the volunteers; without you this would not be possible. All our neighborhood associations are run by volunteers and most of the people you see here today working the booths, even some of the vehicles, are all volunteering their time and I want to thank them for coming out today.”

As the event got underway, it didn’t take long for youngsters and their parents to start lining up for a chance to explore the various vehicles, honk horns and pose for photos.
Inflatable characters such as Sully from Monsters, Inc. and Mr. Potato Head from Toy Story, mingled with children for a meet and greet while the Just Dance Line Dancing Community entertained the crowd behind them.

Children of all ages also got a chance to have their face painted or play games while Marco the Clown made balloon animals for others.
Looking to beat the heat and stay hydrates, many attendees refilled their water bottles at the quench station before heading over for hot dogs, hamburgers and fries from Alice’s Restaurant food truck.

During the event, organizers were also collecting non-perishables and school-safe snacks on behalf of Gifts of the Heart, a local not-for-profit organization dedicated to addressing the issues of food and clothing insecurity that faces young school-age children.



Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.