Tourism officials expect a growing economic impact.

by Shari Held

2014 promises to be bigger and better as far as income and interest generated by visitors to Northwest Indiana, Chicago and Southwest Michigan. New events are making their debut to the area while old favorites are growing.

Here's a look at some of the events scheduled to come to Northwest Indiana and the surrounding area, the trends the tourism experts are seeing and the anticipated economic impact, when available.

LAKE COUNTY

The Radisson Hotel at Star Plaza in Merrillville will be the site of the 21st Annual Indiana Challenge (February 19-22). Merrillville has hosted this professional and amateur dance competition more than 10 times. This year it's anticipated to draw 400 people, sell 500 room nights and have an economic impact of $125,000. The Salvation Army Conference returns to the Radisson Hotel at Star Plaza once again (June 4-7). Although all events are held at the Radisson Hotel at Star Plaza and Star Plaza Theater, this conference, which brings 1,000 visitors to the area, sells out hotels citywide. Expectations are that 1,400 room nights will be sold and the total economic impact of the conference is projected to be $350,000.

June 11, the Lake County Fairgrounds in Crown Point will host the Hot Rod Power Tour sponsored by Hot Rod Magazine. The tour travels to seven cities in seven days, showcasing 2,000 hot rods. This is the first year the public event has been held at Crown Point, and approximately 2,000 people are expected to attend. It's anticipated that 700 room nights will be sold for an economic impact of $175,000.

The National Softball Association's Girls Fast Pitch World Series will take place in softball fields all over Lake, Porter and LaPorte counties (July 20-25). Previously the three counties hosted the event in 2009 and 2012. You won't want to miss the opening ceremony on July 21. The popular event typically draws 10,000 people to the three-county area, selling 5,000 room nights and having an economic impact of $1.3 million.

LAPORTE COUNTY

Michigan City will host the International Harvester Collectors Winter Convention (February 27-March 1) in 2014 for the first time. The event, which should attract up to 500 attendees, will take place at the Stardust Event Center. Approximately 300 room nights are anticipated to be sold for the event, which should translate to an economic impact of $200,000 for the area. The National International Harvester Collectors Club provides a worldwide network for the preservation of the history, products, literature and memorabilia related to the International Harvester Co. The Stardust Event Center will also host the Eby-Brown 2014 Expo (April 23-25) for the third consecutive year. Around 1,200 participants are expected to book 1,000 room nights during the three-day event and its economic impact is anticipated to be $345,000. The Eby-Brown Expo, which brings together leading convenience store suppliers and wholesale food distributors of tobacco, candy and other convenience store products, is not open to the public.

The second annual Maple City Grand Prix (May 29-June 1) will be held at Soldiers Memorial Park/Stone Lake in LaPorte. Sponsored by Visit Michigan City LaPorte, the exciting event will feature small racing boats maneuvering around Stone Lake at speeds of 140 mph or more. It's anticipated to attract 25,000 visitors and bring $2 million to the area. “The Inaugural Maple City Grand Prix provided the city of LaPorte with an event unlike any it's ever seen, and with that, created a whole new group of tunnel boat racing fans in the state of Indiana,” says Linda Simmons, director of marketing, LaPorte County Convention & Visitors Bureau. “These fans are creating a national buzz around the race and the city of LaPorte. When coupled with Michigan City's Great Lakes Super Boat Grand Prix, it makes LaPorte County stand alone as a county of its size that hosts two internationally renowned powerboat races and racing organizations.”

This year marks the sixth consecutive year the Great Lakes Super Boat Grand Prix (July 31-August 3) will be held at Washington Park Beach/Lake Michigan. The race is the only offshore race held on the Great Lakes and one of only two freshwater races on the Super Boat International schedule. Saturday night's race boat parade and block party and Taste of Michigan City are not to be missed. After the parade, attendees can have their pictures taken next to (and some lucky ones onboard) the race boats, schmooze with race drivers and sample local food. Saturday night's event draws about 40,000 people annually, and more than 100,000 attendees from all over the U.S. and the world are anticipated during the four-day event for a total economic impact of $7.5 million, including 1,500 room nights sold. The event has pumped $30 million into the local economy over the last five years and has quickly become one of the highest-profile events in Northern Indiana.

One trend Simmons notes is earlier interest. “We've already started seeing exponentially more inquiries into the race,” she says. “Inquiries into lodging, dining, shopping and other amenities, all in respect to next year's race, began coming in the day after the 2013 race ended.”

PORTER COUNTY

The Indiana Dunes are Porter County's No. 1 attraction. Together the Indiana Dunes State Park and the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore draw more than 3 million visitors to the county annually.

Lorelei Weimer, executive director, Indiana Dunes Tourism, says current travel trends indicate that travel nationwide, as well as in Porter County, will continue to increase, with a focus on “unique” and “quality” experiences. She anticipates hotel room demand and revenue to increase in 2014.

Indiana Dunes Tourism, the official destination marking organization of Porter County, offers marketing grants of up to $5,000 to help the venues and organizations in Porter County succeed in hosting sporting events, conferences, festivals and events. The organization will be announcing a new Dunes area “experience” in the near future. Indiana Dunes Tourism is also studying the redesign of its Visitor Center to enhance the visitor experience. Here's a sampling of Porter County events coming up in 2014.

Sporting events continue to have a large economic impact on Porter County, and in 2013 the Indiana Dunes Sports Cabinet was formed to further explore the sports tourism market. The Lutheran Basketball Association Tournament at Valparaiso University (March 27-30) results in 2,400 room nights being booked and an estimated economic impact of $600,000. In addition, Porter County will again be the site of baseball tournaments in 2014, although the dates have not been determined.

In addition to sporting events, Valparaiso University hosts conferences and entertainment events such as the VU Jazz Fest, which draws people to the area each April. Every September Valparaiso Central Park hosts the popular Valpo Brewfest and the Valparaiso Popcorn Festival (September 6) which typically draws about 55,000 people to downtown Valparaiso each year. The free event offers family-fun activities, more than 200 arts and crafts booths, plenty of great food, the five-mile Popcorn Panic and the nation's first Popcorn Parade.

Portage's annual Elvis FANtasy Fest (October 10-12) fills more than 250 hotel rooms each year and pumps tens of thousands of dollars into the local economy. A fundraiser for the Porter County Special Olympics, it's the festival that draws the highest percentage of attendees from outside Porter County. In 2014 it will be held in Woodland Park Community Center.

ST. JOSEPH COUNTY

Carolyne Wallace, director of sales, Visit South Bend Mishawaka, says 4.2 million people visited St. Joseph County in 2012, yielding $447 million in direct visitor spending. The tourism/hospitality industry in St. Joseph County employs 6,238.

“We are cautiously optimistic about the health of the tourism industry in St. Joseph County as 2013 year-to-date occupancy is up 7.5 percent over 2012, demand is up 5.5 percent and revenue is up 11.4 percent,” Wallace says.

Several factors are anticipated to boost local tourism: the August reopening of the University of Notre Dame's Morris Inn and the May completion of a $17 million top-to-bottom renovation of the DoubleTree by Hilton South Bend, the anchor hotel of the Downtown South Bend Convention District. Morris Inn's $30 million rebuild/expansion boasts 58 additional guest rooms (150 total), a new lounge, private dining rooms and a ballroom that will accommodate up to 300 people.

“Add to this the multi-million-dollar terminal expansion at South Bend Airport, the state's second-busiest airport, and it makes South Bend Mishawaka a fresh new destination for meetings, conventions and events,” Wallace says.

The convention lineup for 2014 includes many returning events plus several that are making an area debut.

The entire month of March will be proclaimed “Hoosier Hospitality Month” in South Bend and Mishawaka in honor of the Hoosier Hospitality Conference (March 10-12) at the Notre Dame Conference Center and Morris Inn. More than 300 attendees, representing the state's meetings and tourism industry, are anticipated to attend the event, which is hosted by Visit South Bend Mishawaka. This marks the first time the conference has been to South Bend. The Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center's Science Retreat (May 19-23), hosted by Michigan State University and the University of Wisconsin, returns to Century Center for the fifth time in the last six years. Five hundred faculty, staff, students and technicians are anticipated to attend. The Association of University Architects Annual Conference, which typically draws 800 attendees, is another first for the area. It will be held on the campus of the University of Notre Dame.

Sporting events continue to be a huge draw. Irish Aquatics hosts three swim meetings during the year (January 3-5, May 23-25, July 11-13) at Notre Dame with an estimated total of 750 hotel rooms. Notre Dame is also hosting the YMCA State Swim Meet (March 7-9) for the fourth time. In 2014 the event is expected to bring 500 people to Notre Dame and sell 150 room nights. The annual Junior Irish Soccer's Memorial Day Invitational (May 23-25) attracts more than 2,100 visitors, accounting for over 900 hotel rooms. South Bend's 31st Sunburst Marathon (May 31) draws more than 9,000 runners from all over the world. The 5K, 10K, half-marathon and full-marathon race finishes at Notre Dame Stadium. Pastime Tournaments will hold six youth baseball tournaments (June 12-15, June 19-22, June 26-29, July 3-6, July 10-13, July 23-27) in various South Bend baseball fields. In 2013, the tournaments brought in 4,200-plus room nights.

America's Youth on Parade (July 22-26), a national competition celebrating twirling, music and half-time pageantry, will be held at Notre Dame's Joyce Center for the 45th consecutive year. In 2013 the event, organized by the National Baton Twirling Association, brought 6,000-plus visitors (utilizing more than 4,000 hotel room nights) to the area. Participants range from “Tiny Tot” to Collegiate, featuring famous twirlers such as Purdue's Golden Girl and Silver Twins, and the perennial national champion Penn State Majorettes. Hosted by Hockey Time Productions, eight tournaments from September 2013 through April 2014 (Sept. 13-15, October 4-6, November 8-10, December 6-8, January 17-20, February 14-17, March 7-9, April 25-27) are expected to be a huge draw. Last year seven tournaments produced 7,900 hotel room nights.

OUTSIDE INDIANA

There's always something going on in Chicago. Here's a tiny sample. The 55th Annual Greater Chicago Currency & Coin Show, sponsored by the Illinois Numismatic Association, will take place in the Tinley Park Convention Center February 27 through March 1. More than 200 dealer tables will be featured along with some educational sessions on coin collecting. Also at Tinley Park Convention Center, although a definite change of pace, the North American Reptile Breeders Conference (March 15-16, October 11-12). This is a top opportunity for the general public to meet and interact with many of the world's top reptile breeders.

This year Chicago's McCormick Place will host the American Institute of Architects Convention (June 26-28) for the first time. One of the unique aspects of this convention is that many attendees will spend as much time on tours of key projects as they will at McCormick Place. Last year “tens of thousands” of fans attended the Wizard World Chicago Comic Con (August 21-24), a wildly popular event “where pop culture comes to life” and the public can mingle with celebrities and artists.

St. Joseph, Mich., touted as “the Riviera of the Midwest,” offers natural beauty as well as plenty of activities–many of them “off-season.” Downtown St. Joseph has much to offer, starting with its annual Light Up the Bluff celebration (December 6-February 15) at Lake Bluff Park. “The bluff that our downtown sits upon is lit up with thousands and thousands of lights for four city blocks,” says Susan Solon, director of communications/marketing, City of St. Joseph. The Magical Ice Fest (February 7-9) is the big highlight of the off-season, attracting thousands of people to downtown St. Joseph. 2014 marks the tenth year of the event, sponsored by St. Joseph Today and others. The event features a National Ice Carving Association-certified competition (February 8) that spans eight blocks; “Ice Wars,” a head-to-head competition; magic shows and a SnoBiz Scavenger Hunt. Lighthouses is the theme for the eleventh annual public art display, “Shining Sculptures: Light Up St. Joseph.” Thousands of people visit each year Memorial Day through Labor Day to view the 30-plus fiberglass sculptures along the city streets. “It's so unique to have a public art project dot the sidewalks in your downtown that's fresh and different each year,” Solon says. “This event has brought us increased foot traffic over the past 10 years.”