Michigan City Farmers Market aims to provide our community with the freshest produce, providing a space filled with locally grown food and artisan goods.

The LaPorte Farmer’s Market strives to build and strengthen the local food movement in LaPorte by showcasing our region’s bounty and economic opportunities locally.

Every Tues throughout the summer visit Unity Park in LaPorte on beautiful Pine Lake and indulge in delicious food and amazing views. Reset before heading back to the office. Each Tues will feature a new food truck.

Michigan City Municipal Band is the oldest running City Band in Indiana. Join us in the summer every Thur in Washington Park at 7:30 pm. Experience live musical performances under the stars near the shores of Lake Michigan in Washington Park. Seating available or bring your own chair.

Join playground staff and participate in sports, games, arts and crafts and themed activities! The LaPorte Park and Recreation Department is offering this FREE drop-in program that will have a ton of fun activities for local children throughout summer break located in five LaPorte neighborhood parks. The program will run five days a week following the schedule listed below.

Diversity by Madeline Shcooley. Madeline Shcooley started painting at the age of 9. She uses her faith in some of her work, re-creating biblical stories into paintings, using tri-color wire shapes on top of the canvas. Madeline uses a curvilinear black, sometimes white, line that is painted with a squeeze-bottle or brush. She really loves how the squeezed method allows the paint to spread and cause unexpected shapes inside and along-side the line, which becomes new shapes incorporated into the piece. She uses acrylic paint, usually in an opaque style, sometimes using metallics to fill-in as accents, giving some of my works the impression of stained-glass windows. I am also influenced by objects and shapes in nature, Lake Michigan, figure drawing, silk-painting, and some abstract designs. Madeline Shcooley’s inspired by the famous artists, Picasso, Klimt and Matisses’ and echos of their styles often show-up in her works.

Art Camp is an enjoyable summer program for youth of the community (ages 4 through grade 8) to experience a hands-on visual arts program. Participants will participate in a variety of artistic activities in the picturesque setting of Cummings Lodge, which is located within Soldiers Memorial Park on the shores of Stone Lake. During Art Camp students will be experimenting daily by painting in the style of a famous artist, working on a group project or taking a short hike to find the perfect landscape view to sketch. Instructors teach creativity, experimentation, and artistic exploration. Each day will bring a new topic to inspire the artist within. Students will learn techniques such as drawing, painting, paper mache, printmaking and much more!

The longest-running off-Broadway revue in history has been revised for the 21st century! This celebration of the mating game takes on the truths and myths behind that contemporary conundrum known as ‘the relationship’. This hilarious revue pays tribute to those who have loved and lost, to those who have fallen on their face at the portal of romance, to those who have dared to ask, ‘Say, what are you doing Saturday night?’

Donate while you dine! Visit Culver’s of LaPorte on July 9, 2020 and they will donate 10 percent of sales to the City of LaPorte Park and Recreation Department’s Youth Boys and Girls T-Ball Program. Enjoy a delicious meal, benefit a great cause and feel good all over! For additional information check out the City of LaPorte Park and Recreation Department’s Facebook page, the City of LaPorte’s website or call the Park Office at 219-326-9600.

Come enjoy fabulous music on a beautiful hillside overlooking Clear Lake. A different band is featured each week throughout the summer… jazz, pop, blues, country, Christian, barber-shop, big band… a little bit of everything.

Jun, Jul, Aug, Wed & Thu 7 pm; Pre-concert, art exhibit, poetry, and concessions, 6:15 pm

The LaPorte Night Bicycle Rides will take you on a leisurely 13-mile starlit bike ride of LaPorte. The rides begin and end at the same location for each of the 3 rides. Please note this is not a race. All participants must wear a helmet, have a headlight, and have a taillight on their bike. All ages welcome; children under the age of 10 must be accompanied and ride with an adult. Pre-Register to save ($20 pre-register cost or $25 night of cost) Register online at www.bikesignup.com. Rides begin at 9 pm CST with Check-in from 8 pm-9 pm CST.

Enjoy a night under the stars while watching Pets 2. Bring your blankets and chairs for a fun family-friendly event at one of the gems of our city. Kids, bring your favorite stuffed animal ‘Pet’ for a night under the stars. This free community event occurs annually during the summer thanks to the LaPorte Urban Enterprise Association, Downtown LaPorte Main Street Association, LEAP, and the LaPorte County Convention and Visitors Bureau. Popcorn will be served by Centier Bank.

Join us for the first annual Beyond the Beach Music Fest @ Washington Park in Michigan City Indiana. This all-day fest will feature some of the best bands in the region as well as an artisan market with a diverse group of vendors brought to you by our friends at The Collective. Featuring a kids zone as well as a nice selection of delicious food from some of the areas amazing food trucks. Wash it all down with craft beers and locally made wines while enjoying the beautiful Washington Park Beach and the music of Trippin Billies, Joe Marcinek, Fresh Hops, Chester Brown, Allgood, Strings Beyond Description, Stealing the Farm, Dead to Rights.

From one of the musical theatre’s most exciting new composers comes a refreshingly honest and funny musical about making real connections in the city that never sleeps (but probably should at some point). Ordinary Days tells the story of four young New Yorkers whose lives intersect as they search for fulfillment, happiness, love, and cabs. Through a score of vibrant and memorable songs, their experiences ring startlingly true to life!

In its 12th year, the award-winning Great Lakes Grand Prix features many of the world’s fastest and most powerful offshore power boats along with AquaX jet ski racing. Throughout this exciting free 4-day event, walkthrough Washington park and chat with racers, team members, boat and jet ski owners which also appear in the boat parade, block party, and Taste of Michigan City. All weekend long, enjoy live entertainment, family fun, food, drinks, and Racing!

A new and shocking version of Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic tale of depravity, lust, love and horror. On the fog-bound streets of Victorian-era London, Henry Jekyll’s experiments with exotic “powders and tinctures” have brought forth his other self—Edward Hyde, a sensualist and villain free to commit the sins Jekyll is too civilized to comprehend. When Hyde meets a woman who stirs his interest, Jekyll fears for her life and decides to end his experiments. But Hyde has other ideas, and so the two sides battle each other in a deadly game of cat-and-mouse to determine who shall be the master and who his slave!

Inspired Images by Bunny Dimke and Betty Thomas, August 7-30. Two pillars of the Michigan City art community Betty Thomas and Bunny Dimke are challenging themselves and each other. In this exhibit, they push the limits of their creativity and show mastery of their medium. They break from plein air landscapes and explore new ways of applying paint to canvas to create “Inspired Images”.

Join us for our 25th Annual Relay for Life Event at the LaPorte County Fairgrounds. It is our largest fundraiser for 2020. The theme for his year’s event is The Circus. The entire community is invited to come out and help us celebrate those who have battled cancer, Remember loved ones lost, and Fight Back by taking action to finish the fight. There is no charge to come out and enjoy the entertainment. If you are a Survivor or Caregiver, there is a special dinner in your honor. There will be plenty of opportunities to make a donation, purchase items or food from one of our teams, or take home a treasure or two from the auctions!
You can also make a donation for a Luminaria bag to Honor of a cancer survivor or a loved one who lost their battle.

Bicycle tour in a beautiful, rural area of NW Indiana. Aug 9, 2020. 15th annual Rolling Prairie Lion’s Club fundraiser, with 15, 25, 40, 62 and 100-mile routes for ALL types of riders! Uniquely homespun SAG stops along the route, with great snacks and conversation. visit www.rollingprairielions.org to sign up – or for more info!

The LaPorte Night Bicycle Rides will take you on a leisurely 13-mile starlit bike ride of LaPorte. The rides begin and end at the same location for each of the 3 rides. Please note this is not a race. All participants must wear a helmet, have a headlight, and have a taillight on their bike. All ages welcome; children under the age of 10 must be accompanied and ride with an adult. Pre-Register to save ($20 pre-register cost or $25 night of cost) Register online at www.bikesignup.com. Rides begin at 9 pm CST with Check-in from 8 pm-9 pm CST.

Forged Curio by Karrie Harbart on September 4-27. Felt, metal, sight and sound, this exhibit challenges the viewer to image another world of whimsy and the weird.

The largest single event organized by the LPCDHA is the annual farm and fancy hitch show. Hitch teams from across the Midwest participate in show in hopes to earn points toward the North American Six-Horse Hitch Classic Series competition. Farm team events and youth events are also held. In 2019, there were well over 200 Belgians, Clydesdales, and Percherons that competed in the fancy, farm, and halter show events. The grandstands at the show are full of families from the region who share an interest and excitement for the breed.

The adrenaline-pumping thrill of Dragon Boat Racing returns to Stone Lake in LaPorte on Sept. 12, 2020. Teams from across the region compete in three heats in dragon-inspired vessels to the drummer’s beat. Registration forms available at http://dunebrook.org/event/2020-dragon-boat-races/. The event includes children’s activities, food vendors and music. Join with hundreds of paddlers, spectators and volunteers to participate in this event which raises funds for Dunebrook’s parenting support programs, public education and Child Advocacy Center.

Northern Indiana Walk for PKD – 2-Mile Walk
Saturday, September 12, 2020
Check-in 10 am Walk 11:15 am
Creek Ridge County Park – Michigan City, IN

For more information, please contact Walk Coordinator, northernindianawalk@pkdcure.org

Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD) affects thousands of Americans and 12.5 million children and adults, worldwide. There is no treatment or cure, but there is hope. Walk, form a team, help with the committee, volunteer and more! Register online and take advantage of a host of effective and Free online team features like emailing members, tracking team progress and fundraising tools. Contact the PKD Foundation for more information on how you can help. www.pkdcure.org. Come join us. www.walkforpkd.org/northernindiana

Spend a special day making memories that will last a lifetime. The Washington Park Zoo will offer free admission for all grandparents with a paid child admission.

From the Shadows – This October exhibit plays on the ideas of the days getting shorter and the shadows are growing longer with every passing day. October further provides inspiration with Halloween, clocks falling back and the leaves changing colors and falling into the growing shadows bellow. From the Shadows has an open call for art and will be Curated from many of the regions most artists.

Boo at the Zoo is a treat for the whole family, so fly your broomstick on down to the Washington Park Zoo and spend a kid-friendly, merry, and not so scary day with the animals. Young goblins, ghosts, princesses, and zooperheros will experience child-friendly trick or treating from local business sponsored booths while having wild animal encounters along the decorated zoo paths. There will be two sessions to avoid long lines and keep everyone safe. The Zoo staff is strongly recommending purchasing tickets in advance.

Session one: 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. (Trick or Treating ends and the zoo closes at 2:00 p.m.)
Session two: 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. (Trick or Treating ends and the zoo closes at 6:00 p.m.)

Elevation inspires up to change our point of view and to strive to ascend from were we are to where we truly wish we could be. Elevation has an open call for art and will be curated from the regions most talented artists.

The exhibit Finding the Light takes place in December, the month with the shortest days and longest nights. Artists will be presenting work that celebrates light, love, life and what it is that moves them to joy. Finding the Light has an open call for art and will be curated from the region's finest artists.