What's recently happened?
From June 8 through 12, the Celebrate Schererville Fest 2022 was held at Redar Park. This year the town is turning 156 years old. In this way, residents can get together and participate in the activities held around the city.
In light of the celebratory party, fun activities such as games, live entertainment, carnival rides, and food vendors. Being the main event of the party, the rides that were available were: the Ferris wheel, zero gravity, hyper loop, wind glider, and many others. For interested riders, wristbands for a day were $25 while a wristband for all five days of the festival was $60.
Located near the rides, over 30 food trucks were available this year. Popular food trucks available were Dan’s Pierogis, Wetzel’s Pretzels, Bub’s Spuds, Elephant Ears, and more. The beer garden was available for those older than 21 years from around 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. throughout the five days.
“At the festival I got a delicious pretzel with cheese. Unlike a lot of pretzels you get, this one had very little salt, but it made up for it in sweetness. A sweet pretzel may sound different, but balancing it with the fantastic flavors of the hot cheese made it absolutely scrumptious," said Leo LaVoie. "I would have also hit up Bub's Spud's if I had the chance."
Playing music each day, different bands would perform, whether it was pop, country, or rock music. Each day two different bands would perform and locals would come to listen. Popular bands that performed were Echoes of Pompeii, Jessie and the Fizz, and Dick Diamond and the Dusters.
“We’ve been performing together for a year this month. So, we are a relatively new group but all the players in my band have been with various other bands. This is our first time together. I’ve performed in the past with Funnyman and Echoes of Pompeii. I think the crowd is really great and the accommodations are stellar. There’s a lot that goes into Schererville Fest, but they really try to make it a good production," said Jessica Schmidt of Jessie and the Fizz band. "The staffing and the sound crew and everything about it is really good. The food is great. It’s probably carnivals in the area. Overall, it’s one of the best in the region I think."
Echoes of Pompeii received the largest crowd due to being a tribute band to Pink Floyd. Playing on Saturday of the festival, they played from 8:30 to 11:30 p.m. Locals as young as teenagers came and sang along to many songs.
“We’ve been together for 20 years. My favorite song to perform would have to be Brain Damage and Eclipse. I like the people here; they are always responsive to what we do. The security is really nice, accommodations are great, and the people who put it on are really cool to us," said Jason Andrews. "My favorite moment was playing the song Hey You because we didn’t have it planned. When you’re up here and you have that wave going it’s the best feeling in the world."
What’s coming up?
The Schererville Market will be occurring on July 6 at the Schererville Center from 3 to 8 p.m.
Over 70 vendors will be there selling their hand-crafted items, food, and more. Food trucks will be available the entire time to both vendors and customers.
Water slides for children 12 and under will be accessible as long as a guardian signs a waiver and remains present.
Townsperson spotlight
The president and founder of Mission One Foundation (MOF) is Johnny Boersma. MOF is a non-profit organization that takes all proceeds and gives it to veterans in need.
“My Father is a marine, a Vietnam veteran, and we have uncles, cousins, and grandfathers who all have served our Country starting with WWII, and an uncle in Law Enforcement, so I have seen first-hand how veterans & first responders endure struggles in everyday life. We help veterans and first responders in multiple ways based on their needs, and if we can’t, we will give you resources to best fit their needs,” said Boersma.
Ways the donated money is used is for transportation, disability accessibility, and food for homeless veterans.
“We donate vehicles to veterans without transportation to better their lives. We have built wheelchair ramps for disabled veterans, given free holiday dinners for vets and first responders, organized funeral and welcome home escorts, worked on home improvements and yard work within reason for elderly or disabled vets, and provided survival backpacks/housing resources to homeless vets,” said Boersma.
Community service and volunteering is a large part of Boersma’s foundation and he hopes to continue the organization for many years ahead.
“I’ve bought in installed flagpoles for vets, provided community service for individuals who are ordered by the courts or for eagle scouts, and participated in guest speaking at schools to educate the youth on how they can help veterans," said Boersma. "We have small and large fundraisers and always encourage others to support veteran and first-responder-owned businesses, send care packages to military troops who are deployed, support other community events and town parades, support FOP’s and firefighter unions. We have purchased K-9 bite suits for law enforcement, and as needs continue to arise we will do what we can to meet their needs."
When community involvement is needed to assist the Veterans through our foundation, we will put a call out on all social media platforms to get people involved,” said Boersma.