On June 4, 2005, over 600 two- and
four-legged participants rom 28 communities from around
the Calumet Region and Chicago suburbs strutted around
Downtown Hammond with their best friends for the 5th
Annual Hammond Dog Walk. Along the way a stop was
made in front of St. Joseph's Church for a blessing of
the animals by Fr. Roy Beeching. Back at the
greenspace on Hohman and Sibley Street, participants
strolled along Bark Avenue where many pet related
businesses and non-profits had booths on display.
As others shopped, some enjoyed treats that were
distributed in registration bags and watched with awe as
the Paw Power Blues dog club from Cedar Lake put on
their acrobatic show. After trying out the agility
equipment many dogs and their owners stayed to
participate in the following categories: Best Trick,
Best Dressed Dog, Owner Pet Look-A-Like, Tallest,
Shortest, Heaviest, Lightest, Famous Look-A-Like Dog and
Best Pooch Smooch. Each year the contestants get
more brave in their acrobatic tricks and fancier with
each costume. This event has been very well
attended over the past five years with its popularity
rising from year to year. Over 1,700 two-leggers
and nearly 1,000 four-leggers have attended this event
and over 15 animal related non-profit groups have been
on hand to create awareness for their causes. In
2004 a survey of the participants showed that they would
be willing to pay a small entrance fee to this
previously free event in order to support our local
Police Department Canine friends. So in 2005, an
entrance fee was charged to participate with proceeds
going toward Hammond, Calumet City and Lake County
Sheriff Police Department K-9 units.
To register for the 2008
Dog Walk, please click here.
It takes many hands to make this event
a success. If you are interested in volunteering
please call 219.844.1876 or email
events@neighborhoodsinc.com.
On July 15, 2006, Neighborhoods Inc.
sponsored the 6th Annual State Line Fest, a
festival held in between 167th Place and 169th Street on
the Calumet City side of State Line. The festival
features children's games, large inflatable obstacle
course and slides, street performers, dunk tank and much
more. The showcase of the event takes place in the
afternoon when the Two-State Talent Round-Up kicks off.
Contestants, young and old, show off their stuff on
stage vying for cash prizes in first through third
place. The stage has seen singers, dancers,
instrumentalists and even an Abraham Lincoln
impersonator reciting the Gettysburg Address!
Festivalgoers are welcome to enjoy the music from the DJ
and tasty summertime treats from the local food vendors.
If you want to sign up for the 2007 State Line Fest
Two-State Talent Round-Up please email
events@neighborhoodsinc.com.
Two-time Best Polka Album Grammy winners Brave Combo,
hailing from Denton, Texas, made their Millennial
Northwest Indiana Debut on Sunday, July 8 at 5pm in
Harrison Park for the 5th Annual Polka
Fest organized by Neighborhoods Inc. of Hammond,
Indiana. This free concert was co-sponsored by
Standard Bank.
You don’t have to be ethnically related
to any polka style – which includes Polish, German,
Bavarian, Slovenian and Tex-Mex – to enjoy the vibrant
spirit of polka music. Brave Combo is enormously
popular and attracts audiences young and old of all
persuasions and musical tastes. Concert-goers enjoyed the ethnic
and American fare, dancing and raffles with on-the-spot
prizes awarded. Contact us at 219.844.1876 if you
are interested in having a booth at the 2008 concert.
Directions:
From Chicago: Take the
Skyway (I-90) east to the Calumet Avenue exit south.
Continue south until you reach Highland St. Take a
right, continue until you reach Hohman Avenue.
Turn right and Harrison Park will be on the right-hand
side of the street at the corner of Hohman and Waltham
St.
After Thanksgiving 2005, neighbors in the
Washington Park area in East Chicago began
contacting Neighborhoods Inc. to register their homes
for the Holiday Home Decorating Contest,
sponsored by St. Catherine Hospital. Awards
of $200 (first prize), $100 (second prize), and $50
(third prize) are distributed. This year, a panel
of judges will make their final decisions on Monday,
December 12th. There will be an Awards Ceremony
for all participants on Wednesday, December 21, 2005 at
St. Catherine.
For
Pierogi Fest, everyone's last name ends in
'ski'
BY TIM
SHELLBERG
Times Correspondent | Thursday, July
24, 2008 |
1 comment(s)
For most of
the year, Keith Speaks serves as the
executive director of Neighborhoods Inc., a
Hammond-based nonprofit organization that
helps to increase home-owning opportunities
in the region.
But for a day or two every summer, Speaks
becomes Freak, the self-proclaimed
"producer, director, lead singer" and "lead
whatever" of the Neighborhoods IncSKI
Surplus Building Materials and Construction
Site Refuse Air Band.
"I'm not an entertainer, but when we turn
that corner and the crowd starts up, I get
energized," he said.
"I don't care how hot it is or how tired I
am or how my feet hurt. I just get jacked up
by that crowd waiting for us."
Scheduled to perform today in the Pierogi
Fest Polka Parade along 119th Street in
downtown Whiting, Speaks came up with the
idea of the Refuse Air Band for the annual
parade seven years ago. He took his cue for
the ensemble from Pasadena's Doo Dah Parade,
a wacky event created to counter the city's
prim and proper Rose Parade.
Many more are expected to come to this
year's celebration because Oprah recently
named it one of the top seven events in the
country.
The band's namesake comes from the source of
their instruments; the band members use
everything from PVC pipes to wood leftovers
to unused or discarded toilet parts to
create their guitars, percussion and horns.
And when it comes to their appearance and
wardrobe, anything goes.
I've worn my hair punked and I've had my
hair dyed red on one side and white on the
other, which is the color of the Polish
flag," Speaks said.
"As the years go on, we try to get more
bizarre if we can."
Musically, the band has a pair of signature
songs for Pierogi Fest: "Taking Care of
Business," the classic '70s anthem from
Bachman-Turner Overdrive, and "I Want to See
a Flying Saucer" by the veteran Texas cult
band Brave Combo.
Speaks is expected to be joined today by
Refuse Band regulars such as his wife,
Virginia "Schlomo" Speaks, his son, David
"Cool Breeze" Speaks, Kassia "Polaca" Mehidi
and Adam "Booboo" Mehidi, both from
Highland, and Sandy "Sandrew" Wojtaszek,
Chris "Soupcan" Wojtaszek and Tom "Doubter"
Conley, all from Hammond.
In the past their ensemble has included
members from Poland and Hungary.
"We won't know who's going to be with us
until the night of the parade," Speaks said.
"If we have any new members, we tell them
we'll have an intense rehearsal right before
the parade."
The Pierogi Fest Polka Parade is part of the
2008 Pierogi Fest, which is running today
through Saturday in downtown Whiting.
As always, there will be lots of food,
entertainment and activities (check the Web
site for events and times at
www.pierogifest.net), but the parade
promises to be the best, wackiest fun time.
The Busha Brigade will be twirling their
bathroom plungers in their house dresses and
hair nets, and the Precision Lawnmower Drill
Team, dressed in bathrobes, black socks and
house slippers or wing tips, will perform
their figure-eight maneuvers for the crowd.
Last year, the online travel Web site
VirtualTourist listed Whiting's Pierogi Fest
in the Top 10 Wackiest U. S. Festivals
alongside such worthy companions as the
Roswell UFO Festival and Wisconsin's Cow
Chip Throw.
Pierogi Fest Polka Parade
When: 8 p.m. today
Where: 119th St., Whiting
Cost: Free
FYI: or (219) 659-0292 or
www.pierogifest.net
Testimonials
The following are some comments made by our
event participants:
"They said [we] politicians were going to the dogs;
literally, it's probably true. I have to tell you, it
truly was an amazing event. This was our second year,
and the clerk from Calumet City [and I were] the Grand
Marshals... People are excited and so are the kids that
some out to it. But this year's parade...
doubled...more and more people are coming out. The neat
thing is, they are from all the communities. They are
getting a very good look at our downtown business area.
They are getting a very good look at our community, and
they are having an opportunity to talk to those of us
who live in
Hammond, to share our ideas to
let them know about our neighborhoods...It brings a
large focus to downtown Hammond. We have a tremendous
area there with all the downtown development, the
courthouse, the renovations going on. We think it is a
nice showcase to emphasize. [The Dog Walk] is a
tremendous event."
-Bob Golec, Hammond City Clerk, on the
Hammond Dog Walk 2002
"Politics and community development are all about
perceptions, and it is my belief that Neighborhoods Inc.
has given the people of the State Line area something
positive to focus on. State Line Fest, group
community crime watch meetings, concerts at Harrison
Park, these are all positive things that neighbors
across State Line can look at and show some type of
commonality. I look forward to a growing
partnership with the City of Calumet City.
[Neighborhoods Inc.] has gotten the city fathers of
Calumet City and the City of Hammond...together in a way
like we've never been before."
-Gerry
Tarka, Calumet City Alderman, on State Line Fest 2002
"Because of the activity [at State Line Fest], people
came out despite the heat. They wanted to see what
was going on. The activities this year far
excelled...By attending these community functions and
talking and getting to know each other and spreading the
word, I think that's where it's at. We are not
necessarily going to be at meetings. We're going to do
it at State Line Fest, we are going to talk to people at
the Dog Walk. The more that you see people
physically out of their houses and out of their
businesses on a social level, that physical human
resource of putting it out there is what really talks
about what Hammond is becoming."
-Michelle Golden, Harrison Park resident, on State Line
Fest 2002
