Blog

n : a shared on-line journal where people can post diary entries about their personal experiences and hobbies [syn: web log]

Through May 3rd, an unique exhibit will be on display at the Indiana Welcome Center in Hammond, all about the City of Whiting. This exhibit truly is the city in a nutshell – a blend of big industry, small town charm and plenty of personality. The exhibit was assembled by a variety of organizations throughout the city and each section has its own style.

As you enter the exhibit hall, you’ll see the front of an all-American house with its screen door, red wooden rocker and the flag hanging out front. Nearby in the park, a maestro leads his orchestra in a song at a Summer with the Symphony concert.

Farther along, get a taste for Whiting’s largest event of the year, Pierogi Fest - complete with life-size cutouts of bushas peeking at you from around the corners and even of Mr. Pierogi himself. Or you can enter the doors of the School City of Whiting and look back in time as you reminisce about your own school years.

The city’s history as a refinery town can be seen with a display from BP which includes an old Standard Oil tank car. Plus be sure to visit the city’s newest addition – the Northwest Indiana Oilmen Baseball Team!

You’ll feel as if you’re really browsing in the store windows of 119th Street as you continue your tour. See how many small businesses have come to call the city home including Bulldog Brewing Co, Full Circle Art, White Oak Café and more. Don’t miss the classic car from the Cruise Nights or get inspired to build your own car run on an alternative power source and “Race for the Future” in August!

Come view this amazing exhibit featuring the history, character and pride of a beautiful Midwest community. Find out more about the city at www.thesouthernshores.com.

So how do you get featured in Food Network Magazine?

• First, find a popular Christmas movie based on your hometown.

• Next, create an exhibit around it.

• Then, pick an iconic image from the movie and have a local bakery make a cookie of it.

• Finally, let people decorate the cookie at your exhibit. That's how we did it!

Our Leg Lamp cookies were an "On the Road" feature in the December 2011 Food Network Magazine. The magazine was looking for interesting cookie decorating ideas on the internet, and found our exhibit's www.achristmasstorycomeshome.com website.

Thanks to Cakes by Karen bakery in Highland, IN, our annual "A Christmas Story" Comes Home exhibit is home to these delicious Leg Lamp cookies.

Sold for $2 in our gift shop, these cookies have become a popular project for families visiting the exhibit, pouring on the pink, green and yellow icing before they devour their artwork. (I know you can decorate one better than mine pictured here in pink and green).

The "A Christmas Story" Comes Home exhibit is open through January 8, 2012.  

Bring your family by to enjoy the 6 animatronic "A Christmas Story" scenes from the windows of Macy's Department Store in New York, photos with Santa on top of Santa's Mountain 11-2 Christmas Week, letters to Santa, small crafts for $1 and, of course, decorate your own leg lamp cookie!  

Find out more about the exhibit at www.achristmasstorycomeshome.com.

Now through March 24th, the Classic Cars and Quilts exhibit is on display at the Indiana Welcome Center in Hammond. The exhibit is free and open to the public.

More than a dozen antique cars are on loan from the Winamac Old Auto Club and featured in the W.F. Wellman Exhibit Hall. Quilts on display (on loan from the Heritage Quilters of Northwest Indiana) help promote the 21st Annual Gathering of Quilters held on March 18th and 19th at the Patrician Banquet Center in Schererville.

So what's the correlation? These two "hobbies" do have things in common. Both the classic cars and the quilts have been crafted and cared for by loving hands. The passionate classic car owner spends countless hours searching for antique parts, making the repairs to keep the car running and buffing it to a brilliant shine. An avid quilter can spend months on their craft, finding the right fabric, painstakingly adding in every stitch and detail. For many car enthusiasts and quilters, memories, history and knowledge of their hobbies have been handed down from generation to generation.

Come see what the Winamac Old Auto Club and Heritage Quilters have put their hearts and souls into and relive a few memories of your own. The Indiana Welcome Center is open daily from 8am to 5pm and is located at the intersections of I-80/94 and Kennedy Avenue South in Hammond. Contact the Welcome Center at 219.989.7979.

To learn more about the Winamac Old Auto Club visit www.lakenetnwi.net/member/winamacoldautoclub, and for the Heritage Quilters visit www.heritagequilters.com.

For more information about the Gathering of Quilters convention in March, visit www.southshorecva.com/quilt.

Don't miss the live demonstrations from the Calumet Area Leather Guild. They will be selling items and creating leather crafts at the Welcome Center on March 19th and 20th from 10am to 5pm.