A Wish Come True.

As we wheeled it down the hall in preparation for the assembly, every person who saw it turned and said, “Wow, I want to try…” The auditorium full of students and faculty erupted when Juan rode in on the 25^th Anniversary pedal go-kart!

2,500 students and faculty cheered when Juan rode in

Juan Sanchez, a student at Chiawana High School in Pasco, Washington made a wish for a cool and fun toy that would help him to exercise; Juan has Cerebral Palsy, but wants cool things just like any other 16 year old.  Juan smiles a lot any way, but when he saw the kart his smile reached from ear to ear.

Juan shows his excitement for the new Berg pedal go-kart

Deanna Whiteside, a special education teacher at the High School saw the karts at the Family Expo in the Tri Cities and immediately thought of Juan.  She coordinated with Spencer Steel, student body officer over activities, who worked with community members including Curtis Dahl of John L. Scott Real Estate, to raise money to purchase the gift.

Thanks to all those who made Juan's wish come true!

An adapted tricycle had been purchased for Juan, but all involved thought the kart was a better option for him.  After a quick modification to the pedals to keep Juan’s feet on and a couple of minutes of practice, there was no stopping him!

An easy adaption was made to keep Juan's feet on the pedals

Ms. Whiteside will use the kart at school until it warms up enough for Juan to take it home to use around his neighborhood.

CHS Pride is evident as Juan rides through the lunch room

Thanks to all those involved in making this wish come true for Juan!

A Five Star Family Event in Pasco!

Thanks to all of you who attended the Tri-Cities Family Expo and took time to come by the West Coast Berg booths!  There was so much wonderful interest and excitement about the Pedal Go-Karts, MOOV kits, and test track.

A Quick picture just as the doors opened and before the crowds

What a pleasure to meet so many wonderful families and introduce them to the fun and quality of these Berg Toys.  Kids were testing the karts right up until we loaded them back into our trailer almost an hour after the show ended!  What a treat for us to bring a smile to so many faces!

A BIG thanks to Katie Klute for her and her team’s organization of the event; to the Tri-Cities Daily Herald for a photo and kind word in the local paper; to WillBKids.com for providing three fun bounce houses right next to us; and so many others for making this a fun show!

The next Family Expo will be at the Town Toyota Center in Wenatchee on February 25 and 26.  We invite you to come join us for another fun event!

Incredible new karts for 2011!

After waiting anxiously to show the newly designed children’s Buddy kart – here it is! Structurally identical to the current buddy kart, the new Buddys feature stylish new colors and graphics, the tires have a small white wall that adds an extra element of class to the quality kart you already know.

New to the line up: the Biky.  A pedal-less bike made for youngsters to teach balance and get them comfortable on a bike seat and two wheels. This and the Buddy karts will be shown in January at the Hong Kong Toy show then released to the United States at the New York Toy fair in February.

 

Welcome aboard New Holland!  With a history of innovation and customers in over 160 countries worldwide, New Holland joins the pedal go-kart tractor line-up!  Like the current tractor models, this Blue Beauty has the same life-like pneumatic tires and will be available in AF, BF, and BF-3 models.

Classic Fire Fighter, turn on your flashing light and race to the scene where you’re sure to be noticed in this classic fire engine style kart with metal wheels and front fairing.  Excellent size for children 6 or 7 years to adult!

Best family pedal go-kart ever!  The commercial grade Gran Tour is newly-designed from the ground up, this kart looks as beautiful as it drives!  The new aluminum alloy wheels roll and turn smoothly; the elevated and larger seat design make it a very comfortable ride; Now the driver can pedal in reverse for added maneuverability!

These karts are sure to get kids (and you) excited to imagine and play outside!

Pricing for the karts will be released at the beginning of February, contact us for more information!

Lights!

I love Christmas time – the feeling, activities, and even weather associated with it!

Click picture for one of my favorite Christmas songs

I love the lights of the season, hung on homes, Christmas trees, and in town – the dark and cold nights (especially when it snows) seem to make the lights even more radiant and beautiful! The chill in the air outside melts away with hot chocolate and warm conversation with friends and family.

Like lights hung outside that brighten the long night, I’m grateful for lights in my life: my family, faith, and friends!

May the Light of the world and spirit of the season brighten your dark and cold winter nights…Merry Christmas!

 

IAAPA Trade Show (and new family Kart)

Amidst roller coasters, cutting edge video games, excellent food, and other incredible new entertaining products the Berg Toys Pedal go-karts stood out at the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions trade show in Orlando, Florida in November!

The show brought international and domestic guests who couldn’t stop talking about how great the karts have been for their businesses around the world.  In all, about 25,000 people came through the show to see and purchase things for their parks, corn mazes, family farms, and amusement centers.

We were excited to finally see the new Grand Tour, a four person family kart ideal in the rental market or for strolling through town in style.  The kart will be available in February, click here to see the introductory video and contact us for more details.

Berg Toys and West Coast Berg participated in the IAAPA expo 2010

All of us at West Coast Berg enjoyed meeting Marcel Dijk, Director of Sales for Berg Toys; Roy & Nicole Romer, Owners of Romers Kart Shop in Northbridge, MA and Dan & Malin, part of sales team in Pennsylvania!  Of course it was also great to see Frank Bewersdorff and Gary Landis again.  We met together and are excited to share information about new products available sometime in February.  Check back to see pictures, get details and pricing!

The Wenatchee River Salmon Festival day two…

Even with rain showers, a steady flow of curious kids, big and small stood in line to try the pedal go-karts.

Even before the festival opened to the public, we had children trying the karts.

We displayed a couple of karts in front of our booth along with the trailer, the set up was ideal and worked wonderfully!  Thanks a million to all of the volunteers from local high schools and Americorps who helped kids (young and old) ride the karts, we couldn’t have done it without you!

What a fun and well organized event, thanks to Betsy McIndoe and the many many who worked with her to organize such a fun, educational, and entertaining event!!!  We look forward to next year!

Wenatchee River Salmon Festival…Day one

With around 1,000 rides today and more expected tomorrow, the Salmon Festival has been a great opportunity for a lot of people to experience the fun of riding a pedal go-kart.  We’ve had great success in meeting our goal of promoting outdoor activity; after each ride I asked if the rider had fun and every adult and child said YES!  (most added an enthusiastic, “that was awesome!”)  Unfortunately we didn’t get any great pictures to post since we were so busy helping with rides – we’ll have some for tomorrow’s post.  However I did stop to catch a shot with a live salmon!

One of the quotes we displayed comes from the 2010 Global recommendations on physical activity for health by the World Health Organization and states, “Physical inactivity is now identified as the fourth leading risk factor for global mortality.” We suggest a simple solution, active fun! And we saw it first hand today as each rider smiled after riding for only a couple of minutes.

Thanks to everyone who tried the go-karts, we look forward to continuing the active fun tomorrow…stay tuned!

Tube and Ride Leavenworth, Washington

Tube Leavenworth and West Coast Berg have teamed up to bring you pedal go-karts for use on local Leavenworth bike trails or around town.  The go-karts are a fun way to get around and perfect when the weather is a little too cool to float the river.  The Clipper and trailer is perfect for a group of two or four!  

The Berg Toys Safari Pedal Go-Kart is also available and is perfect for riding around the local dirt trails along the river or cruising through town.  Double the fun by adding an extra seat on back for a child!

The Berg Buddy is the smallest of the pedal go-karts and perfect for children ages 3 to 8 years old.  Even children who don’t know how to ride a bike have a blast on this kart!

Come check them out and let us know what you think!

Best Children’s Toy…’Tis the Season

When it’s over 90 degrees outside and the grass looks dry, it’s hard to imagine the front yard ever being covered with snow.  In just a couple of short months, the snow will fly and the hustle of holiday season will be here.

Berg Toys Pedal Go-Karts have been recommended as one of the best children’s toys available as a Christmas gift.  The Karts are manufactured in Holland and provide years of entertainment, outdoor recreation, exercise, and all around fun.  The Jeep Jr. kart is a perfect introduction to anything pedal-powered and an excellent alternative to training wheels.  The stability of four wheels, pedal drive forward, automatic freewheel, coaster brake , and pedal drive in reverse allow a child to learn how to ride without worrying about figuring out how to balance a bike.  The pneumatic tires won’t crack and slip like some battery powered cars.  Each Berg Toys Pedal Go-Kart has sealed bearings in each wheel so the wheels spin smoothly and freely and last for years!

Check out the wide variety of pedal Go-Karts available like the John Deere tractor, Ferrari FXX Exclusive orFerrari F-1, the Freestyler, Buddy, Triggy, Cyclo, Roxy, Jeep Wrangler, Racing GT, MOOV kits and more!

Getting Ready for the Wenatchee River Salmon Festival in Leavenworth, WA

We’ve loved the natural beauty that Leavenworth offers – the warm summers and snowy winter.  We also enjoy the local activities for families like the Wenatchee River Salmon Festival held at the Leavenworth National Fish Hatchery.  We attended last year and were blown away that a free event could be so much fun for the whole family!  This year, the twentieth anniversary of the festival, we asked if we could participate with our Berg Toys Pedal Go-Karts.  West Coast Berg pedal go-karts will be just east of the large semi trailer aquarium with a pedal go-kart track for children and adults to take a test drive!  We’re ready with an adult and children’s sized John Deere tractor, an adult Case IH tractor, an adult Safari Kart, and children’s Jeep & Buddy karts!

In addition to celebrating the return of the salmon, the Wenatchee River Salmon Festival highlights outdoor recreation and learning about the environment through interactive exhibits and “edu-tainment”.  The festival hosts elementary school field trips for the first two days (September 16 & 17) and is open to the public for the weekend, September 18 & 19.  We’ll post some pictures and a summary of the experience as soon as we can afterwards!  Check out the website for more information www.SalmonFest.org