Sat, August 18, 2007
By APRIL KEMICK, SUN MEDIA (clink Link for Pix)
At most conventions, delegates try to book at least a little time to let their hair down.
At this one, a gathering of Hillbillies in London, there's serious business -- but tearing loose is almost a line item on the agenda.
Hundreds of Shriners from across North America are in London for a three-day convention of the Hillbilly clans, a sub-group of the international fraternity known for its network of children's hospitals across the continent.
And while they've buckled down for a bit of official Shriners business, this band is bringing a taste of backwoods fun to the Forest City.
A spry senior who leads the oldest of the Hillbilly clans in the fraternity said a good time is not unknown to his mates.
"Some of the Shriners units are a little more uptight, but us Hillbillies like to let our hair down," Tommy Leake of Ashland, Ky., said at the hotel holding the convention. He wore a floppy black hat with the word Hillbilly studded in rhinestones.
Clad in frayed coveralls and sporting caps, the Hillbillies have been tearing up the town since they arrived Wednesday.
On their official agenda, the gang and their wives -- known as "Hillbilly mamas" -- have taken in a brewery tour, sightseeing from a double-decker bus and lots of socializing.
Today, delegates to the convention hosted by London Hillbillies will showcase their spirit in a downtown parade featuring jalopies, floats and the trumpet band from the Mocha Shrine Temple, home to the London Shriners.
"We do get a lot of people laughing at us, but we like putting smiles on peoples' faces," said Kentucky Hillbilly Hank Wilkes, who donned patch-covered overalls and a decorated hat.
"We're a bunch of fun-loving country boys."
But Ron Cripps, who leads the local Hillbilly Shriners, said the clans' quirky costumes can be deceiving.
While their costumes may make the Hillbillies look like a bunch of bedraggled country bumpkins, they've raised more than $7 million for hospitals across North America, he said.
"You wouldn't know it to look at us, but we're serious about raising money for the hospitals," he said.
"We have a lot of fun, but we get the job done."
The Hillbilly parade starts today at 2 p.m. at Catholic Central high school at Dundas and Colborne streets.
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