Sirens Parade at 7 p.m. Friday, Emergency Vehicle Show 10 a.m. Saturday
The North Aurora Days welcomes back a crowd favorite — the Emergency Vehicle Show and Sirens Parade. The event is celebrating its 10th anniversary with the festival and its 15th anniversary as a show.
The parade will start at 7 p.m. Friday at Tinseltown on Lincolnway, and the show will run 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at Pentair Water and Oberweis Dairy, 800 Airport Road, near Interstate 88 and Randall Road.
Dave Weaver has organized the Chicagoland Emergency Vehicle Show since it started in North Aurora. “It's open for all ages of emergency vehicles,” he said, “Anything that was ever or currently is in service is welcomed.”
The show is an array of vehicles from every era that shows off the different times through their designs, sirens and lights. “This is the only show in our region,” Weaver said.
His favorite vehicle is his own 1974 Dodge Monaco. He said it is just like the one Jake and Elwood drove in “The Blues Brothers” but classier with lights and painted blue and white.
The most popular cars are the old police cars, Weaver said. “The 1970 Mopars were the big block classic American police cars.”
The show will feature classic ambulances to new firetrucks and other emergency vehicles. More than 200 vehicles are shown either at the parade or the show. O'Hare Towing brings in two wreckers which are always a crowd favorite because of how massive they are, Weaver said. They are 60-ton rotator wreckers that can easily pick up school buses.
Weaver gets a lot of help from the North Aurora fire and police departments. The Kane County S.W.A.T. team has also participated and helped since this show came to North Aurora. The different agencies involved will also perform demonstrations and a crash simulation to show the crowds live action rescues.
Weaver said the big show will involve the North Aurora Fire Department, O'Hare Towing and a Lifestar helicopter at 2:30 p.m. Saturday.
As many as five helicopters show up every year and some may help with the rescue shows, Weaver said. The event will also set up an obstacle course for drivers to race through, including police cars that compete for the best times.
Normally, the show would give out prizes and awards to different car owners. “This year is all about the friends and camaraderie of it all,” Weaver said.
Vendors will be selling antique megaphones, lights, sirens and more.
“To me, I consider it a huge matchbox car collection of real vehicles,” Weaver said.