The Let’s Get Hillsburgh Growing Committee (LGHG) hosted the 12th annual Spirit in the Hills Family Fun Day and Classic Car Show along Trafalgar Road in the center of town. The street was closed off to traffic and lined with a patchwork of sights and sounds coming from the car show, various vending stalls, and games stations.
Trafalgar Road plays an important part in the event, explained the LGHG committee member and Erin councillor, Jeff Duncan.
“This is the only day out of 365 days a year that Trafalgar Road is shut down. It feels like the people get to take back the streets,” he said.
Normally, he added, the road plays host to a consistent stream of truck and cottage traffic in the summer.
Funds raised from the Family Fun Day goes directly back into the maintaining the feeling of community.
The proceeds are used every year to pay for the maintenance of street signs and flower baskets that help beautify the downtown and attract the locals.
“Hillsburgh is very community-minded,” Duncan said. “There isn’t a lot of town money that actually goes into the beautification stuff here – the community steps up.”
Lloyd Turbitt, LGHG committee chair, said the original idea for the community-led event came from a long-since-retired reality show Take this house and sell it.
The premise of the show was to have retailers and contractors take a house and fix it up to be sold.
According to Turbitt, one of the realtors of the show then asked why nothing was selling in Hillsburgh.
“They put lovely banners and flowers up and then they left,” Turbitt said.
Without a parks and recreation department, council suggested to Turbitt and others that they create a committee themselves to oversee the upkeep.
Existing organizations including the Lions Club, the Garden Club and local “Hillsburghers” decided to join together back in 2006 to start the committee.
The highlight of the event is the car show and draw. Every year Turbitt goes to different cruise nights to wrangle vintage car collectors in the area into coming to the event.
For 10-year-old Kaya Parker and her brother Hayden, 11, from Acton, his efforts were worth it.
Both said the best part about the event was voting for a 1960s Ford Falcon.
“They’ve been coming to this event for seven or eight years now I think,” said their grandfather Paul Dermott from Hillsburgh.
“Even though it’s probably an inconvenience for some people closing off the main street, it’s unique and it brings people together.”
Despite not having as many present at the car show as in previous years, the good weather and other activities seemed to attract the crowds to the event as the day went on.
Eight-year-old Ava Newell, and her six-year-old sister Claire seemed to agree.
The cotton candy and the balloon animal stations were more than enough to keep the two sisters enjoying the event.
According to Duncan, the average turn out is usually between 600 and 800 people and he expected a similar number this year.
