Lively Summer Festivals Spell Fun Across Indiana’s Cool North
Posted on April 1, 2025 by Dina Miller
Psssst….our secret is out! Indiana’s Cool North is THE PLACE TO BE if you love to celebrate with pure, old-fashioned enjoyment. And we celebrate just about anything imaginable in wonderful spots where you’re welcomed like an old friend.
Our iconic festivals were never a secret for local visionaries who decided years ago to fete everything from bountiful blueberry crops and legendary popcorn to fine Amish creations and funky art. The events grew, adding music, dancing, food and games in locations that ranged from lush riverside parks to lively downtowns. And the word got out.
Before we knew it, Chicagoans anxious to get out of city, weary toll road travelers looking for a break on long summer drives, and just about anyone else who heard about our tremendously fun festivals, put Northern Indiana at the top of their list.
Whatever your pleasure, we’ve got a festival just made for you. Celebrate good times…c’mon!
Here’s a “best of the fests” guide to Northern Indiana this summer:
Indiana Dunes Birding Festival
Where: Porter
When: May 15-18, 2025
The Indiana Dunes Birding Festival is an annual event hosted by the Indiana Audubon Society that showcases the abundance of migratory birds in the Indiana Dunes.
Join in four days of fantastic birding at Indiana’s number one birding attraction. Celebrate the amazing spring migration on Lake Michigan’s southern shore with field trips, presentations, live bird programs, young birder activities, and more.
- For more information
- For more information about the area, indianadunes.com
Singing Sands Sand Sculpting Festival
Where: Michigan City
When: July 18-20, 2025
The annual Singing Sands Sand Sculpting Festival will take place at Washington Park Beach. Over three days, the world’s most talented sand sculptors will compete, crafting stunning works of art on the renowned “singing sands” of Lake Michigan. The festival features live music, full bars, a wide variety of food, crafts, and merchandise, as well as a Kid’s Sand Zone.
- For more information
- For more information on the area, visit MichiganCityLaPorte.com
Elkhart Jazz Festival
Where: Elkhart
When: June 19-22, 2025
Downtown Elkhart’s Arts & Entertainment district comes alive with a weekend-long celebration of jazz during the Elkhart Jazz Festival!
Since 1988, jazz legends and fans have gathered each summer for a memorable weekend at the Elkhart Jazz Festival. Combining warm, intimate, small-town hospitality with the excitement of big city jazz, the Elkhart Jazz Festival has become an internationally acclaimed event.
Known as the Band Instrument Capital of the World, Elkhart companies employ nearly 2,000 skilled craftsmen in the production of instruments that turn music into art.
- For more information
- For information about the area, visit VisitElkhartCounty.com
Festival of the Lakes
Where: Hammond
When: July 16-20, 2025
Join the Festival of the Lakes for five nights of fun at Wolf Lake Memorial Park, set against the picturesque backdrop of Wolf Lake. The festival features rides, live entertainment, a Polka Party, a fishing derby, vendors, games, and more.
- For more information
- For information about the area, visit SouthShoreCVA.com
Pierogi Fest
Where: Whiting
When: July 25-27, 2025
Taking place in Whiting, Indiana, Pierogi Fest® celebrates Eastern European food and culture with a wacky familial twist.
Pierogi Fest® is organized annually by the Whiting-Robertsdale Chamber of Commerce and is the pride of Whiting. Drawing almost 300,000 visitors each year, it is the third largest festival in the state of Indiana. Each year, the fest features long running favorites, including the wacky Polka Parade, Mr. Pierogi® and friends, more food vendors than the Taste, specialty and arts and crafts vendors, beer and wine gardens, games, daily entertainment and fun for all ages!
Pierogi Fest® welcomes all to celebrate Eastern European heritage while poking a little fun at the same time. Where else can you see grown women dressed up like their grandmothers (buscias, as they say) in housecoats and babushkas? Or a lawnmower brigade strutting through town with sandals and socks on like their dads did? You’ll also see life-size polish pastries and goodies walking and talking waiting to take a picture with you.
- For more information
- For information about the area, visit SouthShoreCVA.com
The Great Lakes Super Boat Grand Prix
Where: Michigan City
When: July 28 - August 3, 2025
Speed + water + big boat = Are you kidding me?
Let’s forget about the pastoral, acoustic Indiana experience for a second and focus on something really loud, like large boats roaring across Lake Michigan.
The perfect marriage of speed and strength will be on display at the Great Lakes Grand Prix, as some of the largest and most powerful race boats in the world speed across the southernmost tip of Lake Michigan for what is anticipated to be an exciting race. The fun kicks off even earlier this year, beginning on Monday, with golf events on Wednesday. Thursday there’s a ribbon-cutting ceremony in Washington Park, and then continues with a parade and block party on Saturday and the fun culminates on Sunday with the big race.
The Great Lakes Grand Prix offers more than thrilling boat races—it’s packed with live music concerts, a lively brewfest, and delicious food that brings the whole community together.
- Admission is free.
- For more information
- For more information on the area, visit MichiganCityLaPorte.com
Elkhart County 4-H Fair
Where: Goshen
When: July 18-26, 2025
It’s hard to imagine nine days packed with more activities, shows, competitions, rides, food, and pure fun than at the Elkhart County 4-H Fair in Goshen. It’s no wonder this annual extravaganza is one of the largest county fairs in the nation.
The Elkhart County Fair offers nonstop entertainment, featuring five nights of shows on the Grandstand stage. Highlights include a tractor pull, rodeo, and demolition derby, ensuring excitement throughout the nine days. As a true 4-H Fair, it’s both thrilling and heartwarming to witness the judging events, where 4-Hers proudly showcase their livestock, poultry, and more.
- For more information
- For more information on the area, visit VisitElkhartCounty.com
Marshall County Blueberry Festival
Where: Plymouth
When: Labor Day Weekend
The annual Blueberry Festival is set for Labor Day weekend, and you can be sure that Centennial Park will be the place to be for all things blueberry, including concerts, food, carnival rides, crafts, fireworks and more. The schedule of events offers a summer’s worth of fun, all in one weekend. Go ahead and pay homage to the berry that seems to have made its way off of the pancake and out of the muffin, and into the hearts and stomachs of health-minded individuals everywhere, thanks to its high level of antioxidants. Oh, forget the antioxidants and grab some blueberry ice cream. You’ll have time to work it off walking through the festival.
- Admission is free
- For more information
The Valparaiso Popcorn Festival
Where: Valparaiso
When: September 6, 2025
Somewhere, Orville Redenbacher is smiling. The Indiana native and Purdue University graduate must be proud to see the Popcorn Festival celebrating another year. And he no doubt gets a kick out of seeing the games, the five-mile run, the Cutest Baby contest, the Hot Wheels race, the food booths, the arts and crafts exhibitors and the parade thrive in this community that has embraced its role in producing the snack that is as American as it gets.
- Admission is free.
- For more information
- For more information on the area, visit IndianaDunes.com
And there are more....
Where: Indiana's Cool North
When: All Summer!
See more events in Indiana’s Cool North HERE
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