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The Caring Place to kick off Christmas festivities in downtown Valparaiso with first annual Holiday Cookie Walk

By: Garrett Spoor
Last Updated: November 11, 2025

Christmas might be coming to downtown Valparaiso a little early this year. On Saturday, December 13, The Caring Place will be hosting its first annual Holiday Cookie Walk from 12–4 p.m. During the event, the local community will also be able to check out a variety of participating businesses in the area.

“We have 20 downtown businesses of restaurants and local shops participating,” said Deana Duvall, development director at The Caring Place. “Tickets went live a few days ago, and every ticket that you purchase comes with a fun little map. It tells you what businesses are participating and you’ll get a holiday box to put all of your goodies in.”

The Caring Place is an equal opportunity organization serving people who have experienced domestic violence and sexual assault. All of the proceeds from this event will go to help survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault in and out of shelter.

As this event helps the Valparaiso community get into the spirit of Christmas and the season of giving, it also serves as a season of learning for The Caring Place. With this being the first Holiday Cookie Walk put on by the organization, there’s a lot of optimism that this will quickly become one of its staple events.

“We would love for this to become an annual tradition,” Duvall said. “When I was trying to come up with ideas that would be mutually beneficial, I figured that this is something we don’t have. We’re hoping that it’s so wonderful that by next year and beyond, we will continue to have more businesses that want to participate.”

The holiday festivities will be on full display. Christmas carolers, holiday treats, downtown lights, and an appearance from Santa Claus will complete this afternoon of Christmas goodness.

“We have something for everyone of all ages,” Duvall said. “It’s great for kids and adults alike. It’s an opportunity to grab your friends and family to make a day downtown. You can stop in for lunch at Blockhead and get some of the holiday treats there. We have plenty of opportunities to do Christmas shopping. There’s a wide variety so that even the adults can be a kid at heart for the day.”

Not only is Duvall excited for how this will benefit the domestic violence survivors and The Caring Place as a whole, but it opens a door for increased community engagement in a way that spotlights what makes Valparaiso a great place to be.

“This event definitely supports what we’re trying to do at The Caring Place and helping out our domestic violence survivors, but my idea behind this was to support our community that so generously gives back to us,” Duvall said. “Some of our local downtown shops give to us all year round, so this is a great way for us to show the community the businesses that help us out. It’s a great place to buy unique gifts that you’re not going to find on Amazon or Target. This is right here in our town, owned by people in our town, and we’re thankful for their support.”

The Caring Place is a 45-bed shelter that serves clients in its shelter and additional community clients. With an event like this, there’s hope that it can continue to educate others and spark the conversation of what presence the organization has in the community.

“Domestic violence isn’t an easy subject to talk about, but it’s unfortunately very real,” Duvall said. “We hope that these activities will help engage our community in having fun as they can learn more about us. We have one day every year when Santa comes into the shelter and another day when the Easter Bunny comes in during the spring. It’s a community environment, and we want the community to know what a true resource this is.”

The participating businesses in the Holiday Cookie Walk include:

Six Cypress Boutique

Ella Jayms

Blackbird Cafe

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