Dig It Days will be feature of MontanaFair, August 19 and 20

MontanaFair will be featuring something new this year-"Dig It Days!"

"Dig It Days!" is an opportunity for kids to explore, climb on, "drive", take pictures and fantasize about every kind of dirt-moving heavy equipment imaginable. This year, the event will feature a truly monster truck used in mining that has nine-foot high tires!

Some 20 backhoes and excavators will be available for kids (of any age) to operate under supervision of experienced operators. In the midst of it all will be a mountain of sand which kids can climb and dig to their heart's content.

Besides the fun and entertainment of it all, Dig It Days -- sponsored by equipment dealers, the Montana Contractors Association and the Montana Equipment Dealers Association -- is educational. It's so educational that this year its major sponsor is "Build Montana," in support of its goal of introducing youngsters to the construction industry. "Build Montana" is a collaborative effort of the Contractors Association and Equipment Dealers Association, wanting to encourage kids to get excited about operating big machinery and about building things.

Dig It Days was launched in 2019 by Yellowstone County News' owner Jonathan McNiven, who started a non-profit foundation called Yellowstone Family with the goal of providing wholesome family fun, entertainment and education, while supporting worthwhile programs that support families and build community. This year, funds raised will support scholarships for students planning careers in the construction industry.

MontanaFair is August 13-21, and two of those days, Thursday and Friday, August 19 and 20, Fair gate admission includes access to Dig It Days, from noon to 6 p.m. The first 500 kids to enter Dig It Days will receive a free t-shirt. There will be opportunities to win prizes, watch demonstrations, get "tattooed" and most of all to operate a real backhoe. The static displays are courtesy of area dealers. Westmoreland Mining Company is bringing one of the biggest dump trucks in the world. So big, it must be disassembled to transport, and then reassembled at the fairgrounds.

Knife River will build a mountain of sand in the midst of it all, a place where kids are welcomed to play as long as they like.

Sponsors of Dig It Days include RDO Equipment Company, Knife River, NorthWestern Energy, Westmoreland Mining LLC, Build Montana, Montana 811, Modern Machinery, Tri-State Truck & Equipment, CHS, Inc, Montana Contractors Association, Montana Equipment Dealers Association, NTEC/Spring Creek Mine, T & E (Tractor & Equipment), Yellowstone County News, Big Sky Business Journal, Front Range Pipeline LLC, Cenex Pipeline, COP Construction, Hogan Corp Services, Maxim Trucking, Sletten Construction, ONEOK Rockies Midstream, Montana Petroleum Association, Raw Machinery Inc., and JCT Trucking.

More details about Dig It Days can be found at http://www.digitdays.org if interested.