What’s recently happened?
As the summer is in its peak, Andrean High School (AHS) students bask in the radiant climate. Whether they’re soaking up the sun or training for the fall sports, AHS students are making the most of the long break.
The Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA), puts a rule in effect during the Fourth of July that students cannot train that week and need to have a break from their summer conditioning. The newfound free time leaves the fighting 59er’s searching for activities. Since AHS is made up of students from all over Northwest Indiana (NWI), the students have a greater opportunity to find fun things to do! Students vary from all different communities, and luckily these different towns have been putting together wonderful parades, festivals, and town fests.
One of the biggest fairs that went on in June was the Schererville Fest. Between the rides, games, and the amazing food trucks, community members never had a dull moment at this festival.
While the Schererville fest was a great source of entertainment last month, NWI stayed very busy early this month. Members of many towns came together to celebrate Independence Day at the Crown Point and Schererville parades. Businesses, restaurants, and different organizations worked so hard to decorate amazing floats to honor the holiday.
Organizations and small businesses from all over NWI showed their pride and patriotism for America by tossing out candy, beads, and even coupons to all of the parade viewers.
After a long week of fun at the parades however, AHS athletes had to lock back into their summer workouts. While spending summer in a gym and working out may not be everyone's cup of tea, a lot of these athletes really enjoy it.
“As a senior, I’m really excited about summer conditioning. It’s our chance to push our limits, build stronger team bonds, and set the tone for a winning season,” said AHS Senior Volleyball Player Georgia Cappas.
What’s coming up?
While June was great, July holds so much more. The summer is not over yet!
Some events to look for include the Lake County Fair in Crown Point, the St. Mikes Fest in Schererville, Greek Fest in Schererville, and Friday night “Parties in the Park'' at Redar park in Schererville.
Greek fest is coming to town on July 18-21. It is a family friendly environment with lots of food, music and a raffle. It is being put on by St. George Greek Orthodox Church.
The Lake County Fair is one of the biggest fairs of the year. The Lake County fairgrounds are jam-packed with people from all over NWI. There are many rides, vendors, and games. This fest will be held from July 24-28.
The St. Mikes fest is a small yet welcoming fest held at St. Michael's church in Schererville. It is open to the public, yet a lot of parishoners make up the crowd. There will be games, bounce houses, bingo, food trucks, and a live band. This year it will also be combined with the annual Corn Roast. It will be held on August 2 and 3.
Lastly, every Friday there can be different small events found at Redar Park in Schererville. The main focus of the event changes every week, but the upcoming “Party in the Park” will be a park-wide showing of Hocus Pocus. There will be a costume contest so attendees can show off their Halloween spirit. There will be food trucks and vendors at the events as well.
Community member spotlight:
One member of the community who played a special role in the Schererville Parade was Emily Banas. Banas has lived in Schererville for the past 12 years after moving all over for her career in journalism as a public relations (PR) agent.
Banas works at Indiana University Northwest (IUN) and manages the media relations for the university. She helps students find the spotlight at IUN and guides others to see the amazing work the students do daily.
“I love what I do at IUN especially because it’s people who want to go to school and they want to better their lives. You want to challenge yourself at college, and I feel like I am putting my brainpower to something that is improving society,” Banas said.
Banas is an active member in the community and recently assisted her son, Rowan, in creating St. Michael Church's parade float.
They were inspired by the different steeples that the church has had over the last 150 years, and brought their idea to life.
Starting off on a simple shoe box, they created a design and submitted it, and ended up winning the competition for whose float would be selected to be in the parade. However their success didn’t stop there. After the parade the town voted on the best float, and their float ended up winning as the best float in the entire parade.
Schererville and NWI in general is always giving its members an opportunity to display their talents and be involved in the community and special moments like these.