Pre-WhoaZone Fun at the Beach

The WhoaZone opened for its second season on June 23 on the Whiting lakefront. Read about it in the Times here.

Weather permitting , it’s expected to provide fun for even more than the 21,000 visitors who visited last year. Hours are 10 A.M. to 6 P.M. daily.

Before you start thinking that we know how to have more fun than previous generations had on the lakefront, take a look at these photos, believed to be from the 1920s. Back then, you could go down a slide and splash into the waters of Lake Michigan. Or, you could get on a swing, let go, and let yourself fly into the water. It was a Swing, Slide and Splash Zone. And the best part…all of this 1920s-style fun was free.

Sheridan Plaza Concert Series Underway

It was a beautiful night for a concert, and a good-sized crowd came out to enjoy it at Sheridan Plaza on Friday, June 15. It was the first concert of the season in Whiting’s newest outdoor concert venue. Sheridan Plaza is located at the north-east corner of Sheridan Avenue and 119th Street in downtown Whiting, on the site of a building which burned down a few years ago.

Sean Wiggins was the performer. She was accompanied by a drummer and another guitarist. They played a mix of rock tunes that were familiar to much of the audience, as well as some of their own compositions.

Photo Caption: Sean Wiggins and band perform at the Sheridan Plaza stage in downtown Whiting.

Photo Caption: Sean Wiggins and band perform at the Sheridan Plaza stage in downtown Whiting.

Two other concerts are scheduled at Sheridan Plaza this summer. On July 20, at 7 P.M., Latin Satin Soul will perform for an evening of dancing and live music with a soulful Latin rhythm. Then on August 24, also at 7 P.M., the Craw Puppies, a favorite Northwest Indiana cover band will play some rock classics. The series concludes on September 1, with a 7 P.M. performance of Howl 2 Go Experience, two dueling pianos playing requested favorites from the audience.

Live outdoor concerts are nothing new to downtown Whiting. The Whiting-Robertsdale Historical Society has a note written years ago by Herb Brown, whose memories of the city go back to the early 1900s. “There was a bandstand on 119th Street near Pennsylvania Avenue,” he wrote, “where band concerts were held by the Masonic Lodge Band.”

Feel free to share any memories you have of outdoor concerts in downtown Whiting over the years.