Something interesting that happened in my hometown
The 174th annual La Porte County Fair took place from July 7th through July 13th at the La Porte Fairgrounds.
This year, the city had three days of special guests who shared great music with the community. July 11th was spent with country singers, Chris Lane, Jimmie Allen, and Gabby Barrett. It was a hot day, but the community enjoyed every minute of their show.
A few days later on July 13th, the fair was joined by Hunter Hayes and Michael Ray. Unfortunately, the show was rained out halfway, but that still didn’t stop the La Porte crowd from having a blast.
On the last day, July 14th, Vanilla Ice, Too White Crew, the Boy Band Night, and La Porte’s very own Rhymer Educator made the farewell of fair week unforgettable.
The family friendly environment is a huge draw. People of all ages had the opportunity to visit the 4-H animal barns, ride carnival rides, enjoy incredible food, and sit down to watch free entertainment.
Once again, Indiana’s oldest county fair had a successful turnout in the end.
Escape Room La Porte
The community of La Porte is incredibly excited to be having Escape Room La Porte coming to the town.
The idea that was once a dream all started when the owner brainstormed an idea of a temporary escape room as an option for the other organization he has, Big Comedy La Porte. Unfortunately the board members alongside the owner, Ben Konowitz, voted to use a different idea instead.
The escape room idea never left Konowitz’s head, and now he’s elated to bring a long-term, permanent business to the streets he grew up on.
Alongside Konowitz, Katie Misiak will be the manager and Game Master for the escape room.
Konowitz and Misiak plan on opening around late August or early September, and they can’t wait to be in the front seat of watching the community come together on 607 Jefferson Avenue.
La Porte seemed fitting for the new business because of how much of a growing town it is, and the two wanted something different to add to the community to help it grow even more.
However, they are both incredibly new in the escape room business, it’s been quite the adventure.
“Once we decided that we were going to take the leap, we joined a bunch of enthusiast/owner groups so we could research and interact with people who are currently running their own rooms,” Misiak said. “The escape room community is wonderfully welcoming and helpful to people just coming to the scene. Along with the research, there is a lot of planning and brainstorming that goes into the design of the theme, puzzles, and game flow.”
After announcing to the community that the business was actually coming to La Porte, they have received tons of positive feedback.
“The overwhelming number of people who want to be a part of this just goes to show you how excited people are about something new in the community,” Konowitz said.
The town of La Porte is cheering them on and couldn’t be more supportive of a local business trying to make a difference.
“We’re mostly looking forward to bringing something new and exciting to ever-growing fabric of La Porte’s downtown and entertainment scene. We love the idea of contributing to the town in a unique way that will make our business an awesome destination for local individuals as well as people just passing through,” Misiak said.
Ben Konowitz and Katie Misiak
With Escape Room LaPorte opening next month Ben Konowitz, the owner, and Katie Misiak, the manager, have been working endlessly trying to piece everything together for their opening to the community.
It is not an easy task starting from the ground up in making a business, but they are doing it with smiles on their faces.
Konowitz owns Escape Room La Porte as well as La Porte Seamless Gutter. He has always worked hard at keeping that business open since it is a family business that’s been in La Porte since 1982.
Along with owning Escape Room La Porte and La Porte Seamless Gutter, Konowitz is also extremely proud to be the founder of Big Comedy La Porte. Misiak was recently a music therapist, but now she is the executive assistant for Konowitz.
Big Comedy La Porte is an organization that brings comedy shows to town where all of the proceeds go directly to charity.
Not only is Konowitz an incredibly talented business man, he also has a massive heart, too.
He spent his life growing up in La Porte, and Misiak grew up in Demotte.
Konowitz attended Indiana University and majored in Psychology. Misiak went to Saint Joseph’s College and majored in music performance. She also majored in music therapy at the University of Evansville.
Misiak lives in Valparaiso now, but she keeps coming back to La Porte because of all of the friends she has made through working at the Disposable Theatre Improv and Big Comedy La Porte with Konowitz.
Outside of work, Konowitz is the creator and co-host of a movie podcast called, “Go Flix Yourself”. He also enjoys watching movies and anything escape room related.
Misiak, on the other hand, is currently re-learning trumpet, trying to grow houseplants, and also loves everything escape room related.
They found each other at a time where they were in need of something different. Konowitz wanted someone to help him make his idea a reality, and he immediately thought of Misiak as his partner in crime. At that time, Misiak also really wanted to change up her career path. It was a match made in escape room heaven.
Ever since working together during their theatre days, it is obvious that they work well together.
“It felt like we were still doing improv, even after the show,” Konowitz added. “We had a very natural back-and-forth.”