During one of her frequent drives between Des Moines and Chicago, Joline Rivera was racking her brain for the best way to get the public excited about her company’s new development, Tallyn’s Reach.

Then it came to her, as if from a dream: Hummers and helicopters.

“It’s definitely not something you see every day,” said Rivera, the new creative director for Regency Land Development Services. “And I don’t think anything like this has ever been done in Des Moines.”

On Sunday, Oct. 1, Regency, along with Betts Auto Campus and Blank Park Zoo, will host an event to launch Tallyn’s Reach, its newest and largest master-planned community.

“We’re building a community out here,” Rivera said. “And you can’t have a community without people.”

So how will a Hummer help Regency start selling parcels of land? The hope is, Rivera said, that people will come to the site, see what the company plans to do and decide this is the perfect place to build their dream home.

“We want to let everyone know we’re coming,” she said. “So what better way than to bring them out here and show them a good time.”

Betts Auto Campus is providing 15 Hummers that can be driven on the more than 350-acre development. Helicopter rides will also be given so people can get an aerial view of Tallyn’s Reach. At the end of the day, a drawing will be held for a one-year lease on a new Hummer H3.

“When people arrive, they just have to sign up and they can either drive a Hummer around the site or go up in one of the two helicopters we will have here,” Rivera said. “And the view from the helicopters is just amazing.”

Musical group The Nadas will be performing from 3 to 5 p.m. along with the Jesters, another Des Moines band. Beer, water and soft drinks will be served, along with food provided by the Flying Mango.

Blank Park Zoo will also be on hand with an opportunity for visitors to get close-up views with some of its animals. Special T-shirts will be sold to help raise money for the African Safari wing of the zoo.

“Other than the T-shirt, everything is completely free,” Rivera said. “There is absolutely no cost whatsoever. It’s free everything; you just have to show up and have fun.”

Tallyn’s Reach will be a mixed-use community. Construction will begin this fall on 1,700 homes with several different options and styles, from single family homes to lofted condominiums. The development will also include a city park, greenbelt area and walking trails. A planned Waukee elementary school will be adjacent to the park and greenway. A town center is slated to be developed for retail and commercial space and will include fountains and a plaza.

One of the stigmas about Tallyn’s Reach that Regency is trying to overcome, Rivera said, is that it is simply a retirement community. Though Wesley Retirement Services is constructing a retirement community on the site, to be called Edgewater at Tallyn’s Reach, it is just a small portion of the overall project.

“This will be a community for everyone, people of all ages,” Rivera said. “That is why we designed this event so that the whole family can come out and have a good time.”

Rivera said the company is hoping this will start a tradition at Tallyn’s Reach of events that foster a sense of community. Next summer, a Fourth of July parade will be held at the development, she said, and parades will be held in subsequent years after the development is finished.

The event, which is being called “Suburban Safari,” will be held Sunday, Oct. 1, from noon to 5 p.m. at the development site, 9150 Mills Civic Parkway in West Des Moines. If it rains, the event will be moved to Sunday, Oct. 8. For more information about the festivities, call Regency’s sales center at 987-7677.