Town of Porter Parks Department

10/15/2026

Trunks, volunteers, and event supporters,
Since the forecast is giving more trick than treat tomorrow evening (25 mph winds and 80-90% chance of rain), I'm sorry to say that this year's Boo Bash has been cancelled due to inclement weather. I want to thank you for signing up for the event and hope you will plan to join us next year!

10/09/2026

We are officially one-week away from the annual Boo Bash at Hawthorne Park! Get your costumes in order and cleanout your pillow cases for the trunk-or-treat - we'll see you in a week!

10/05/2026

We are still looking for a few good trunks to take part in the trunk-or-treat portion of this year's Boo Bash at Hawthorne Park on October 16th - if you or your business is interested in taking part, please contact us at [email protected] or by calling (219) 983-1042.

10/02/2026

"What's that big tent for at Hawthorne Park?" Come find out the answer in person tomorrow 10/3/2026 (or read this post)!

🍻🚨 WE ARE ONLY TWO DAYS AWAY! EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW IS DOWN BELOW🚨🍻

PORTER’S PERFECT PINT IS THIS SATURDAY!
And if you haven’t grabbed your tickets yet… THIS IS YOUR SIGN.

We’re celebrating 15 YEARS of Porter’s Perfect Pint with an entire afternoon of great b**r, live music, amazing food, games, football, and most importantly, our incredible community. ❤️

And the best part? The weather is looking GORGEOUS.☀️🍻 So grab your friends, get outside, and come spend your Saturday with us at Hawthorne Park!

🍻 THE B**R LINEUP IS STACKED

We’ve got an incredible lineup waiting for you, including:

🍺 Burn' Em
🍺 Three Floyds
🍺 War Pigs
🍺 Shoreline
🍺 Hunters
🍺 Foreign Local
🍺 Revolution
🍺 Bell's
🍺 New Belgium
🍺 Hop Butcher
🍺 Transient
🍺 Fat Orange Cat
🍺 Short's
🍺 Magners
🍺 Lagunitas
🍺 Goose Island
🍺 Maplewood-Crown Brewing
🍺 Original Sin
🍺 Athletic
🍺 Go Brewing
🍺 Samuel Adams
🍺 Garage B**r
🍺 Elysian
🍺 Big Lake
🍺 Left Hand
🍺 Gaffel
🍺 Little House
🍺 BuzzBallz
🍺 Carbliss
🍺 BeatBox
🍺 Lucky One
🍺 Good Boy
🍺 Lytt
🍺 Surfside
🍺 Sun Cruiser
🍺 Vibe
🍺 Spaten
🍺 Krombacher
🍺 Estrella Damm
🍺 MashCraft
🍺 Pabst
🍺 Sierra Nevada
and MORE!

We’re bringing MORE GAMES & ACTIVITIES to Pint this year, so come ready to have a little fun and get competitive!

🎲 Bags
🎯 Ring Toss
🍺 Keg Toss
🏆 Steinholding Contest
🍻 B**r Pong

And don’t worry football fans… 🏈 WE’VE GOT YOU COVERED!

We’ll have a TV at the festival playing the football games, so you can enjoy the day at Hawthorne Park without missing out on the action.
** weather and signal permitting**

🎶 LIVE MUSIC
🎸 The 3rd Degree Blues and Rock Band will be keeping the party going with live music!

🍔 COME HUNGRY
You’re going to need something to go with all that b**r! 😋

🔥 Leroy’s “Hot Stuff”
🍕 Val’s Famous Pizza & Grinders
🍖 Le Boeuf BBQ & Cajun Food

⏰ KNOW BEFORE YOU GO

📅Saturday, October 3, 2026
📍 Hawthorne Park in Porter, Indiana

🍻 VIP Admission:12 PM
🍺 General Admission: 1PM
🎉 Festival: 1–5 PM

Whether you’re coming for the b**r, the food, the music, the games, the football, or just a great afternoon with friends, we want to see you there!

And remember, this isn’t just a party.

🔥 Proceeds from Porter’s Perfect Pint benefit the Porter Volunteer Fire Department and the Town of Porter Parks Department. 🌳

🎟️ GET. THOSE. TICKETS.
👉 https://event.ontaptickets.com/events/porters-perfect-pint-10-3-2026

TWO DAYS, PORTER. LET’S MAKE YEAR 15 ONE TO REMEMBER! 🍻🔥🎉

Tag your b**r-loving crew. 🍻
Text the group chat. 📱
Find that friend who is always down for a b**r. 🍺

09/03/2026

09/03/2026

This September heat is scary - hopefully we have cooler temps on October 16, 2026 for the annual Boo Bash at Hawthorne Park! If your chocolate isn't melted yet, why not sign up to be a participating trunk at this FREE fun fall event?

If kids and candy aren't your thing, then get your tickets to this year's Annual Porter's Perfect Pint Festival being held on October 3rd! Proceeds from this awesome fundraiser benefit the Porter Volunteer Firefighters, Inc. and the Town of Porter Park Department so that we can provide fun/FREE events like Boo Bash for our community.

Either way, Hawthorne Park has something for everyone this October!

08/19/2026

A huge THANK YOU to our volunteers from Laborers' Local 81 and Open Bible Church of Chesterton for their help cutting up downed trees and moving the brush to the curb at Hawthorne Park yesterday (8/18/26)!

08/18/2026

Park Dept Damage Report - Derecho Day +7
Folks around these parts know that it has been a week for the history books. Luckily our town parks and trails had minimal structural damage, however we received a large amount of tree damage. A total of 18 large trees were impacted at Hawthorne Park alone (7 completely down on the ground, 2 partially down/hanging, and 9 damaged and will require full removal at a later date). With a staff of 2 full timers and one seasonal employee we have a difficult time keeping things going under regular circumstances, then a week ago Mother Nature said "Hold my B**r" and gave us a real challenge.

No excuses on this post, just some information to keep area residents' thirst for storm-related updates quenched. The Community Building at Hawthorne Park is back up and running with full power - rentals that are under contract for this week will resume as usual. The grass might be a little long for the next week or so until we have a chance to catch up - our full time and seasonal staff members (remember a whole two of them) have been doing a tremendous job backing up the Public Works Department with lift station emergency power and now brush clean-up, working 12 hours shifts.

Regular official updates can be found on the Town Website (www.townofporter.in.gov) or through the Savvy Citizen App (www.savvycitizenapp.com/signup) If you are still without power/water you can visit the Town Hall (303 Franklin Street) to get out of the heat and charge your devices during weekday regular business hours (9:00a-4:00p).

08/13/2026

Hopkins Ace Hardware is OPEN as are a few other businesses

Hopkins Ace Hardware—325 S. Calumet Road, Chesterton— is OPEN for business from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily until its power is fully restored.

Please note that card payments may not exceed $250 and shoppers must be escorted by an employee as they select their items.

Hopkins Ace is also happy to report that it received a shipment just TODAY, Thursday, Aug. 13, of gas cans, Craftsman chainsaws, extension cords, cases of water, propane, and other items as well.

OTHER BUSINESSES OPEN FOR BUSINESS

*Strack & Van Til, 1600 Pioneer Trail, Chesterton.
*CVS, 505 E 1100N, Chesterton.
*Citgo, 400 Calumet Road, Chesterton (inside sales only, no gas).
*Broadway Liquor, 804 Broadway, Chesterton.

The Town of Chesterton is interesting in compiling a running list of open businesses. Please email the Public Affairs Liaison at knevers@chestertonin and include all relevant information.

This list will be updated on a regular basis.