Hubbard celebrates its past, present and future

HUBBARD -- Residents of Hubbard city and Hubbard Township as well as many visitors came together this weekend to celebrate the history of the communities as part of a new community fest.

The fest at the Roosevelt Student Wellness Center on Saturday featured activities inside the building and on the center grounds.

The day was designed to gather, connect and spend time with friends and neighbors, organizers said.

The celebration began with a parade through the community followed by the Braydish Dental Smile and Shine pageant for children.

More than 30 vendors, a food court, Kidz Zone, displays of local history, exercise class demonstrations and various entertainment acts rounded out the festival.

James Chaney, an event committee member, said the idea for a community fest came from members of the Hubbard Lions Club.

"They were interested in having some type of event symbolic of a community founders day. They reached out to the Roosevelt Student Wellness Center committee to partner with them and help with planning a fest," Chaney said.

Jami Evans, an event committee member, said the fest featured one of the biggest parades in Hubbard in a long time.

"We have several groups who teach exercise classes at the center who were on the stage demonstrating what they offer.'' Evans said.

She said she hopes people see the benefits of the center and all that is offered to the community there, including a new playground and other work done in partnership with local nonprofits.

Julianne Carsone, another event committee member, said the fest celebrates all that Hubbard has for its residents.

"It was nice to be able to see the history of Hubbard that the historical society had displayed for the event. They were able to display many items on Hubbard's history. We were able to find additional items to show,'' Carsone said.

She said the society is looking for people to share their Hubbard stories and memories.

"We are compiling a book of stories of all ages. People can tell of their life in Hubbard and their experiences in Hubbard. They can tell about what they love about being part of Hubbard.'' Carsone said.

Brian Adamson, an event committee member, said when he was growing up there used to be a Founders Day, which allowed families to spend time with one another.

"I hope people here today are meeting up with friends and other community members they may have not seen for awhile.'' Adamson said.

He said the former Founders Day was basically rebranded into the new Hubbard Community Fest.

"The former Founders Day was held at the center of Hubbard and then moved to the city building and then to Harding Park. It was ended after that.'' Adamson said.

He said he would like to see the fest become an annual event at the center, which is in its second year of operation.

"We have been able to fulfill our commitment to the school district and the community by what the center offers,'' said Chaney, who said a 20-year lease extension was approved to keep the center operating and benefiting the community.

Chaney said the committee will reevaluate what was learned this year and how more organizations and groups can get involved.

Carsone said the idea for the day was to provide an event for families to have fun and come together and connect with others.

"I am sure everyone was able to enjoy themselves,'' she said.

Evans said organizers spent 16 weeks planning the event and that many local businesses and organizations made the fest possible.

"There were so many groups that came together to celebrate the community, which has been amazing,'' Chaney said.

Lydia Yancar helped with getting sponsors focused on being part of the community.

"I feel we are very blessed. This community does so much for each other. The support for Hubbard from Hubbard is evident today,'' Carsone said.

Past, present, future

Chaney said the historical displays set up inside the center and activities by the current generation of youth will continue with events serving as a celebration of the past, present and future.

Rylan Evans, 9, of Hubbard, said she enjoyed being in the parade and in the pageant.

Evans was on a truck with all the 20 pageant participants both boys and girls.

"I got to see many of my friends I haven’t seen over the summer,'' she said.

Chaney said the parade was very popular and showcased various youth sports groups, local organizations and veterans organizations. Greenwood's Hubbard Chevrolet sponsored the parade.

Hubbard Councilwoman Robin Zambrini, who also serves as president of the Hubbard Historical Society, said "I was so happy seeing so many smiles on people's faces when they see something they recognize in a photo or newspaper article or school yearbook. People have said seeing the different items brought back good memories for them. It is a good feeling to be able to have those memories,'' Zambrini said.

She said she hopes people realize there is an active historical society that has saved many mementos for generations to come to enjoy.

"We want to preserve this history for our kids and our grandkids,'' Zambrini said.

Carsone was in charge of history on the event committee and reached out to Zambrini for the historical society to be part of the celebration.

"We were glad to be able to put up a display and let the public know the society is part of the caretakers of the local history.'' Zambrini said.

Hubbard resident Thomas Smith said seeing the display brought back memories of growing up in Hubbard.

"I like looking at the old photos. It brings back good memories for me," he said.

Pat Gilliland of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3767 said, "It is an honor to celebrate this community. The community has given back to us as veterans as we serve veterans in Hubbard. We were glad to take part and be a sponsor.''

He said the VFW had a display table to educate the public on what the organization does and how it helps veterans.

The VFW women's auxiliary also had a display.

"This was a great way to get the community out together with one another. There was a lot of camaraderie and celebrating in a different atmosphere. We had many people stop at our booth'' said Joe Warminski, VFW Post 3767 commander.

Inside the center a raffle drawing for items displayed on tables took place as well as the historical displays. Outside informational tables and booths were set up by various organizations. Members of the Lions Club made sno cones.

Matthew and Nicole Silvidi of Hubbard said they were impressed with the many raffle items.

Their children, Matthew and Raelyn, had fun visiting various exhibits and greeting the Hubbard Lions Club lion mascot.