Touch a Truck at Algonquin Commons Saturday

Many kids, both big and small, marvel at them as they go by.

This weekend, children of all ages will get a chance to get up close and personal with vehicles such as police cars, fire trucks and even military vehicles at Algonquin Commons.

The Randall Road mall is hosting its first Touch A Truck event from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.

Officers from governmental agencies up and down the Randall Road corridor will be on hand to make the event fun everyone.

Vehicles and officers from the Kane County Sheriff's Department, the Kane County Emergency Management Agency, the Elgin Police Department, the Algonquin Police Department, the Algonquin-Lake in the Hills Fire Department and more will be on hand. There even will be construction equipment from Plote there to check out.

You'll get a chance to jump in the driver's seat, and get hands-on with many of their vehicles, including squad cars, police bikes, fire trucks and engines, ambulances, a fire safety house, a mobile command post, a police marked Jeep Wrangler, a Harley Davidson truck, tractors and more.

You can also meet the people who use these vehicles every day and ask them questions.

They do want to warn you though, that all of the vehicles might not be on hand the entire time. If there is an emergency in the area, they may need to leave.

In addition to the officers and vehicles, Ozzie from the Kane County Cougars also will be at the mall.

There also will be children's coloring stations, retailer tables and a cookout at the event.

A few lucky attendees also will walk away with raffle prizes, including Algonquin Commons gift cards.

Back again: For those of you looking for a spot to get a Quizno's Sub on the northern end of the Randall Road corridor, you're in luck.

The sub shop is open once again along Randall in Algonquin.

It opened a few weeks ago in the same spot at 260 S. Randall Road, right in front of Home Depot.

The restaurant is under new ownership.

Free gift: Shoppers at Geneva Commons might want to save their receipts.

The Randall Road mall is giving away a free cheese server set to some shoppers.

If you bring in $50 in receipts from any Geneva Commons store or restaurant, dated after April 26, you can get a cheese and pewter server set free.

You must bring your receipts to Vino 100 to get the gift.

The number of sets available is limited. Only one is allowed per customer.

Amy Williams' column covers businesses on Randall Road from Crystal Lake to Batavia. E-mail her at randallbiz@comcast.net.