This Saturday sees the long-awaited return of one of Hamilton ’s annual fun days.
The Hillhouse Community Council Fun Day was cancelled last year due to the pandemic, but its comeback promises to be bigger and better than ever before.
For the first time in its history, the event will feature a live concert at night with local band Indie FM on stage, followed by DJ Reece McNab.
And in recognition of a difficult 18 months for the community, the whole day and night can be enjoyed without spending a penny.
All food and drink on the day will be completely free, as will entertainment and activities including fairground rides, electric go karts, climbing walls and much more.
Taking place at Hillhouse Community Centre, the community council has teamed up with other local groups to ensure the fun day is a huge celebration for families.
One of the event’s organisers Tom Skilling, Hillhouse Community Council chairman, told Lanarkshire Live: “We’ve got extra things this year like electric go-karts, fairground roundabouts and a lot more happening.
“After Covid everyone is needing something to cheer us all up. Hillhouse is a deprived area and some people have been hit harder than most.
“It doesn’t matter where you’re from, everybody’s more than welcome to come along.
“It’s going to be bigger and better than ever before.”
In a longer fun day than previous years, the event will run from 11am to 3pm on Saturday, August 28, with the live concert on from 5pm until 9pm.
South Lanarkshire Provost Ian McAllan is expected to make an appearance on the day, along with local councillors.
Tom added: “The concert is brand new, it’s the first ever live concert in Hillhouse which will be held at the car park of the community centre.
“We’ve got Indie FM and DJ Reece McNab playing on the evening.
“It’s not been an easy last 18 months, everybody’s needing something to pick us all up and I’m hoping our fun day will go a little way towards that.
“Although restrictions are eased, we will still be watching and making sure everybody is as safe as possible.
“We’ve been working alongside our community groups and this is a combined effort from everybody here, working together to make sure it’s much bigger than ever before.
“It’s a big party for the community to cheer everybody up and have a fabulous time without paying anything.
“It’s been a great team effort and everybody is looking forward to it.”
Organisers wish to pay a special thanks to the local supermarkets who have donated food and drink for Saturday’s fun day, as well as generous funding made by the National Lottery Fund, Arnold Clark Community Fund and South Lanarkshire Council, which has all allowed the much anticipated event to go ahead.
Tom said: “It’s allowed us to go above and beyond what we’ve ever done before and make everything free to enjoy”.
More information can be found on an event page set up on Facebook by Hillhouse Community Council here.
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