Duneland’s Hometown Holiday Celebration begins the Friday after Thanksgiving with Chesterton’s Annual Twilight Christmas Parade and extends through the month of December as Santa Clause visits Duneland children in his house in Thomas Centennial Park. Event festivities are coordinated by the Duneland Chamber of Commerce in partnership with the Town of Chesterton, the Chesterton Police, Parks and Street Departments, and Chamber organizations and volunteers. For questions about how to participate in any of part of the Hometown Holiday Celebration, please call the Chamber at 219.926.5513 or email info@dunelandchamber.org.
To kick off this year’s celebration, the Twilight Christmas Parade will step off from Chesterton Middle School at 5:30 pm on Friday, November 29. More than 40 floats will populate this night-time parade, including all manner of lighted cars, trucks, wagons and fire stations, as well as plenty of walking families and service organizations. An impressive series of decorated fire engines will round out the lineup, with Santa Clause himself making an appearance on the final Chesterton Fire Department engine. All individuals, groups, businesses and non-profits are welcomed to participate in this unique Duneland tradition. Parade applications may be obtained by visiting www.dunelandchamber.org, or by calling the Duneland Chamber of Commerce at 219.926.5513.
Friday’s Twilight Christmas Parade will be bookended with free carriage rides through historic downtown Chesterton (from 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm on Friday, Nov. 29) and visits with Santa for the kids (6:00 pm – 8:30 pm on Friday, Nov. 29). Carriage rides will be provided by Buggies and Things and will be sponsored by Chesterton’s Mistletoe Market. Those wishing to experience a delightful ride through downtown Chesterton should lineup in the Chamber parking lot at 220 Broadway in Chesterton beginning at 3:00 pm. Due to time and space limitations, tickets will be given to the first 20 families in line, and additional rides will be given as time permits prior to the start of the parade. Following the parade, Santa Clause will be receiving visitors in his Duneland house on Broadway in Thomas Centennial Park from 6:00 pm – 8:30 pm. Children may also visit Santa every Saturday leading up to Christmas from 10:00 am – Noon and from 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm. Santa’s last visit will occur on Saturday, December 21.
To continue the Holiday spirit, the Chamber has scheduled Duneland’s Progressive Open House on Thursday, December 5 and Chesterton’s Annual Mistletoe Market on Saturday, December 7. Eat and shop your way across Duneland during the Progressive Open House, which will feature extended holiday shopping hours with area retailers and $5 food and drink specials at participating restaurants. Shoppers should visit the Duneland Chamber of Commerce at 220 Broadway from 4:00 pm – 8:00 pm on Thursday, December 5 for Progressive Open House maps, cookies and punch. The first 10 shoppers to visit the Chamber beginning at 4:00 pm will receive $5 Chamber Gift Certificates.
Chesterton’s Mistletoe Market has become a beloved holiday shopping tradition in the Duneland community. From 9:00 am – 3:00 pm on Saturday, December 7, thousands of local and visiting shoppers will come together to experience the pop-up holiday shopping extravaganza inside Westchester Intermediate School, located at 1050 South Fifth Street in Chesterton, Indiana. A carefully selected roster of 92 merchants from Chesterton’s European Market will bring all the traditional favorites, as well as special seasonal goodies. Shoppers and their families will enjoy holiday music, fresh food and coffee, photos with Santa Clause, and a special raffle bingo game. Chesterton’s Mistletoe Market - holiday shopping has never been easier or more enjoyable.
The Duneland Chamber of Commerce is a catalyst organization committed to ensuring that its member communities are vibrant places to live, work and play. Through service to the towns of Beverly Shores, Burns Harbor, Chesterton, Dune Acres and Porter, the Chamber provides a unified voice for robust community-building events, meaningful educational programming and smart economic development in the Duneland area. For more information, please visit www.dunelandchamber.org.