FARGO - The Fargodome was transformed into a cavernous mancave on Saturday during the Big Boys Toys Expo.
Expo-goers could participate or watch those who tested their gullets in a wing-eating contest, tested their arms on the rock-climbing wall, or their checkbooks as they eyed everything from custom garages to European luxury cars.
Motorized toys - sports cars, motorcycles, boats, jet skis, recreational vehicles, custom cars and car audio systems - were common attractions.
The North Dakota National Guard, which had a recruiting booth, offered the chance for people to climb behind the wheel of a Humvee or armored personnel carrier, two of the more exotic rides on display.
Chloe Sharff, age 4, got a chance to sit in the driver's seat of the Humvee while her father took pictures for the family scrapbook.
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"The Big Boys Toys - it just sounded like it would be fun," said her father, Jason Sharff of Fargo.
"I did get dragged here, but I'm having a good time," his wife, Tiffany, said.
Dylan Hickel, 14, got six seconds of glory while riding a mechanical bull before getting tossed onto an air cushion.
"I got one of you just as you were falling off," his father, Duane, said as he snapped a picture with his smartphone.
"It's slippery," Dylan said, referring to the bull's saddle. His strategy consisted of "just trying to get a trip on it at all."
Was the experience fun?
"Better than my house," Dylan said, a remark that drew a chuckle from his dad.
Nearby, people had the opportunity to take a four-wheel drive Kubota for a short spin on a winding track that featured dirt mounds and speed bumps.
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"It felt like the car was going to tip over," Charlen Tangen said after a test drive. "We felt like we were going faster than we were."
Tangen is an exchange student from Norway attending Fargo North High School. Allison Hanson, also a student at Fargo North, rode along as a passenger.
What drew two females to the Big Boys Toys Expo?
"There's lots of fun stuff here," Hanson said. "We didn't have anything else to do."
The car displays, including European luxury cars, brought Michael Freynet to the Fargodome from Eagle Bend, Minn.
He stared admiringly at a black Bentley with its open bonnet revealing its sleek motor.
"This engine is easily worth more than my car," said Freynet, who drives a 2012 Hyundai Veloster.
How much to drive off in the sleek Bentley, with 750 miles and a top speed of 200 mph?
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The sticker price is $190,000, according to Aaron Hanson, a sales representative of Twin Cities Luxury Autos. A silver Maserati sells for $135,000.
"Really, this show for us is all about publicity," Hanson said. "It's not an immediate thing."
Last year, several sales to customers from Fargo-Moorhead resulted a few months after the Big Boys Toys Expo, he said. One sale was a used Ferrari.
Six figures for a car? Proof once again that the difference between men and boys is the price of their toys.
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