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Dave Core remembers vividly being 8 years old and sitting on his dad鈥檚 lap as he operated backhoes and other machinery while building logging roads near Tillamook. Since that moment, the Southwest Washington sales representative with Peterson CAT knew his future profession would revolve around heavy machinery.

Core now hopes to share similar moments with today鈥檚 generation of kids by participating in Dozer Day. Youths learn about construction equipment, and how it is operated safely, at the event, which is presented by the Nutter Foundation to raise money for local children鈥檚 charities.

If you go

What: The seventh annual Dozer Day, to help children鈥檚 charities in the area

Who: The Nutter Foundation and Nutter Corp.

When: Saturday and Sunday, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Where: The Cemex/Fisher Quarry, off state Route 14 on the west side of where 192nd Avenue and Brady Road intersect in Vancouver, Wash.

Price: In advance, $5 for kids and $7 for adults; at the event, $8 for kids and $10 for adults. Tickets can be purchased online at www.nutterfoundation.org or by visiting any First Independent Bank, Riverview Community Bank or OnPoint Community Credit Union branch.

鈥淚t鈥檚 obviously a great event because it raises money for kids, but it also allows the (construction) industry to expose itself positively to the community,鈥� Core said. 鈥淎nd it鈥檚 not just the kids that we get to teach; it鈥檚 the parents that often ask questions as well. They don鈥檛 always see us in a positive light when one of these machines comes into the neighborhood and tears up a road. This teaches them as much as the kids.鈥�

The event, which will take place Saturday and Sunday at the 30-acre Cemex/Fisher rock quarry in east Vancouver, Wash., will feature 35 pieces of equipment, as well as a tool dig event, a conveyor belt truck with candy on it and a 6.5-foot-by-10-foot barbecue grill shaped like a dozer serving hamburgers prepared by Stanford鈥檚.

Experienced operators will take kids for rides on eight of the heavy machines. These include two CAT 312c excavators, a CAT 320dl excavator, a CAT 527 bulldozer, a CAT 420e backhoe, a CAT dump truck and two CAT cs54 compactors.

鈥淭he kids loved the compactor, so we decided to bring two this year,鈥� Core said. 鈥淲e had no idea, but apparently there is one on the TV show (鈥淏ob the Builder鈥�) and it鈥檚 one of the most popular machines at the event.鈥�

A High Walker excavator and a crane will be on display but won鈥檛 operate. Demonstrations will show how several public service vehicles and a fueling truck work.

This year is the seventh for the event and the fourth with the Nutter Foundation in charge. The city of Vancouver had led the event, but with attendance growing exponentially each year, it decided to pass the event to a party with more time and more resources.

鈥淭he first year we took it on, attendance grew by 35 percent, and it has grown by 15 percent ever since,鈥� said the Nutter Foundation鈥檚 Aimee Gebarowski, co-chairwoman of the event. 鈥淭his year we are expecting over 20,000 people throughout the entire weekend.

鈥淚t鈥檚 just a great opportunity for the construction industry to dispel rumors that developers are the bad guys. It educates people on what this industry is really about, helping to build the community.鈥�

Core added that in the last few years he has noticed more girls and more minorities in attendance. That is a positive sign for the future of the industry, he said.

鈥淚 operate at the event and I鈥檝e personally enjoyed seeing how excited these kids get to come up in the machines and see how they operate,鈥� Core said. 鈥淎nd for the girls that may be nervous, Cemex will have a female operator there.鈥�

Gebarowski added that the event is for everyone, especially those employed in the industry.

鈥淲e are open to ideas,鈥� she said. 鈥淪o come check it out and let us know how you want to get involved next year.鈥�