This Friday, November 29 at 5:30 pm, Duneland children and their families will be treated to Chesterton’s Annual Twilight Christmas Parade – a nighttime celebration to kick-off the Duneland community’s Hometown Holiday Celebration. The parade will step off from Chesterton Middle School promptly at 5:30 pm, and will head north on 6th street before marching through the heart of historic downtown Chesterton on Broadway and Calumet Avenue.
All manner of decorated vehicles have signed up to take part in this year’s Twilight Parade – from antique tractors to vintage hot rods to a retinue of fire engines from the Burns Harbor and Chesterton Fire Departments. Duneland’s service organizations will be out in force, with participants from local Brownie, Girl Scout and Boy Scout Troops, Chesterton United Methodist Church, the Chesterton Lion’s Club, and the Discovery Charter School and Field Station Cooperative. Staff from the Dairy Queen on Broadway will be handing out coupons to those watching the parade, while the South Shore Roller Girls will energize the route. Music will be provided by the Chesterton High School Pep Band, EPIC Limo, Road to Life Church and Fairhaven Baptist Church. And finally, Santa Clause himself will make an appearance at the end of the parade before he takes up residence in his Duneland House on Broadway in Thomas Centennial Park.
Due to lowered visibility during a nighttime parade, all participants are asked to keep a sharp eye out for small children along the parade route. Parents are to keep tabs on their children at all times, and those taking part in the parade are to refrain from throwing candy to the crowd, given the fact that errant pieces could attract small children towards the vehicles. The parade lineup has been established, and those with questions regarding their lineup number should call the Duneland Chamber of Commerce at 219.926.5513. Lineup will begin at 4:00 pm in the Chesterton Middle School parking lot. Participants should enter the lot from Porter Avenue, beside the Westchester History Museum. There is extremely limited parking available in the lineup area, and so carpooling/coordinated drop-offs are strongly encouraged.
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. Walgreens will be on hand, taking photos of children with Santa, and will be providing one free photograph per child on each Saturday in December from 10:00 am – Noon.
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.