Up North: Hoghead Festival shows off skills of local car enthusiast

Dedicated to its railroad history the city of Proctor was the sight for a weeks’ worth of activities at the 48th annual Hoghead Festival.

The event began at Fifth Street and Third Avenue as countless polished and vintage vehicles lined the streets for the Powerhouse Hoghead Festival Car Show.

“This is a Wednesday car club that they travel all over the place. Several years ago, we asked them if they would come down here. We started probably with only 50 cars, and it ended up into about five square blocks of cars now,” said Event Organizer Dick Kari.

Sponsored by the Powerhouse Bar in Proctor, the huge car show brings in vintage and classic cars from throughout the Midwest. Allowing local Northlanders to see some rare and exotic rides owned and restored by people right in their backyard.

“I just happened to buy one when I was in college, got married and had to sell it since the kids were coming. I told my wife I was going to have another one someday and all the cars that I’ve been buying I have been restoring,” stated Proctor native Harvey Burski.

“I bought it about ten years ago and I spent about five years restoring it. So, I found all the stuff and put it all together. But this is my last Corvette, my kids got my other cars,” Burski continued.

The festival also featured a parade, golf tournaments, fireworks and so much more. However, seeing and even creating cars for some are always the highlight.

“The rat rods drew me more than the shiny cars. There’s more personality in the rat rods, and they’re just big pieces of art. Every one of them is different, you just kind of do your own thing and make it work,” said Floodwood resident Jesse Schminski.

While some may view these machines as just a form of transportation, others find hidden gems that come to surface when at a show like this.

“I think it’s a lot of memories for people. Your first car, your first girlfriend. First time you went to the drag strip. I mean, there’s a lot of things that people relate to these vehicles,” concluded Kari.