La Porte community members danced the night away at the La Porte Civic Auditorium. The Van Halen tribute band JUMP performed as a continuation of the Civic Concert Series.
La Porte Civic Auditorium Director and La Porte Events Director Brett Binversie explained the auditorium hosts a very diverse range of events including concerts such as this one, local non-profit fundraisers, La Porte High School prom, NIBC basketball tournaments, weddings, and many more.
“We want to bring quality entertainment and make sure we don't lose sight of what the building is used for many other weekends out of the year as well,” Binversie said.
One of the attendees of the concert, Danika Loeffler, is getting married in the auditorium. As she was in and out planning her wedding, she and her family heard about this concert and decided it would be a good opportunity to spend some time together.
“My fiance is a huge Van Halen fan and my family listens to this type of music so I grew up with it,” Loeffler said. “We thought it would be a good time for all of us to get together. We have three full tables in the front. We're rocking it all together.”
The crowd was full of energy, smiles, and rocking. Concerts like these bring community members together to enjoy a night of fun locally. Many may not realize it, but these events also provide the opportunity for the La Porte Civic Auditorium to lessen its tax burden on the city of La Porte.
“Events like you're seeing tonight, what these do is they allow us to help lessen our tax burden on the city of La Porte and bring great entertainment for our community as well at the same time,” Binversie said. “We use our receipts and dollars made to book other events. We do everything without touching our tax dollars.”
Binversie explained these events have been and will continue to decrease the tax burden in the community. Within the last 12 months, he estimated their tax burden was decreased by at least $100,000.
Along with decreasing the tax burden, these events bring positivity and fun to La Porte while bringing community members together.
“At the end of the night when we hear everyone talk about what a great time they had and how it's so great to see things like this in La Porte again,” Binversie said. “You have your friends your colleagues, your community members, and complete strangers come up to you and tell you what a great night they had. It's very fulfilling.”
People from all over the community came together for this event. People of all ages were able to bond over the music and have a great night in La Porte.
“This is a packed house, it is something really cool that brought different generations - I’m the younger generation, my parents are the older generation, and we’re all together,” Loeffler said.
For more information regarding La Porte Civic Auditorium, please visit Laportecivicauditorium.com. For more information regarding the City of La Porte, please visit cityoflaporte.com.
