Car lovers unite in downtown Chesterton for weekly summer Car Cruise

On Saturday, July 25, the Town of Chesterton hosted its monthly Cruise-In, giving residents a place to show off their unique vehicles, meet fellow car lovers, and spend time with their families.

The Chesterton Cruise-In took full advantage of its venue and several blocks of Broadway in the Downtown were cleared out for the event, with dozens of cars lining the streets, and hundreds of attendees walking up and down the rows of vehicles. All of the cars displayed at the Cruise-In were brought in by Northwest Indiana residents There is no fee required to display them, which fueled the event’s massive turnout.

The Cruise-In, now a staple in Chesterton, was not always around. The community rallied behind Bradley Pikula, for more than 30 years the owner and operator of Mel’s Detail Shop, to get the event up and running.

Pikula was the right man for the job. Thanks to his work at Mel’s, a shop specialized in car detailing, he has numerous connections to Chesterton vehicle fanatics. Pikula worked with the Chesterton Park Department to bring back the Cruise-In roughly 10 years ago and it has stuck ever since.

“I’ve had my shop here in town for so many years, and when it comes to cars, there’s some of us in town that are always doing car stuff,” Pikula said. “So it was just a matter of ‘Hey, do you want to be responsible for this?’ And I said sure. The show’s not a success because of anything I do. It’s a success because of the people that bring the cars down here every month.”

The Chesterton Cruise-In is an event firmly rooted in the community. Many of the cars are brought in by Pikula’s regulars. Local food stands and a local DJ help create a relaxing atmosphere. The businesses on the Downtown strip, too, benefit from the crowd that the Car Cruise attracts.

“It gives everybody a chance to visit Dog Days or Octave,” Pikula noted. “My aunt and uncle have the 219 Taproom around the corner. Chesterton Toys is right there, so people can frequent these stores and don’t have to do anything to hang out.”

Pikula, a Chesterton native, has been a part of this community since he was a boy. He believes that the Cruise-In is a way of providing that extra bit of community to the next generation of Chesterton youth, among whom the car show is popular.

“This is the park where I used to skateboard when I was a kid,” Pikula said. “I used to get chased off of the Cruise-In gives me an opportunity to give back and to have a positive role in the community, and there’s really nothing that beats that.”

For more information on the Town of Chesterton, visit chestertonin.org