What time should you be on Main Street this Saturday to watch four people push a coffin down the road with a fifth person riding inside it? The City of Crown Point says the inaugural Coffin Cup starts at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 24. First United Methodist Church, the co-host, says 3 p.m. Both are telling the truth about their own materials, and that's why the safest plan is to arrive earlier than either.
The Coffin Cup's whole design keeps the downtown Pumpkin Walk crowd on Main Street well past lunchtime, so the useful question is when to show up and how long to stay.
The Pumpkin Walk got a second act
The Pumpkin Walk runs 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 24, around the Square. Kids in costume trick-or-treat at downtown businesses, and participating shops put a Pumpkin Walk flyer in the window. The city's Halloween events announcement on GreatNews.Life says the list of participating businesses will go up on the City of Crown Point Facebook page, @CityofCrownPointIN, as the day gets closer. It's free, and costumes are encouraged.
This year the city paired it with First United Methodist Church, 352 S. Main St., to add a charity coffin race right after it. PACE Director Adam Graper explained the thinking in the city's Coffin Cup release on GreatNews.Life:
"We are always looking for new, unique ways to draw people to our historic downtown square. The Pumpkin Walk is already such a big seasonal draw, so we decided to expand the event by partnering with First United Methodist Church. We're excited to see the community response and hope to make this an annual event."
So the plan is to take the families already downtown for candy and give them a reason to stay on Main Street after the treat bags are full. The schedule shows how deliberately the two events overlap.
How Saturday runs on Main Street
The official Coffin Cup packet lays out race day like this:
- 11 a.m. The Pumpkin Walk opens around the Square.
- 11:30 a.m. Teams check in at First United Methodist Church, and their coffins go through a safety check.
- Noon. Every team member attends a mandatory rules meeting.
- 12:15 p.m. The Coffin Parade. Every team pushes its coffin north on Main Street to the Square in costume, and an announcer introduces each team as it arrives.
- 1 p.m. The Pumpkin Walk ends. The packet's next line reads, word for word, "Racing Begins! Heats begin at 3:00 sharp."
- The final. After the timed heats, the two fastest teams race each other for the championship.
The 12:15 parade lands right in the last 45 minutes of the Pumpkin Walk. Anyone still collecting candy on the Square at that hour will see the costumed coffin teams arrive whether they planned to or not. That overlap is the handoff from one event to the next.
Why the start time depends on who you ask
The 1 p.m. time appears in the city release dated Sept. 29, in the city's Halloween guide dated Oct. 1, and on the City of Crown Point calendar listing, which says the Coffin Cup "races into downtown Crown Point at 1 p.m. Oct. 24."
The church's event page says "On October 24th at 3 PM" and places the race on the east side of the Old Courthouse. A church flyer uploaded Oct. 3 also says 3 p.m., "starting at the Crown Point Square, racing south on Main Street."
The packet itself lists both times on a single line. Until the city or the church posts a final race-day schedule, the 12:15 parade is the part of the afternoon you're least likely to miss. If you arrive for it, you'll be on Main Street whether racing starts at 1 or at 3. If you're planning around a nap or a lunch reservation, check the city's Facebook page or call the church at 219-663-1515 before you leave the house.
What's rolling down Main Street
The course is about 100 yards long. It starts near the Square, runs south on Main Street toward the church where the teams staged, and is straight enough that, according to the packet, "no steering mechanism is required." Teams race two at a time, and every heat is timed.
Each racer follows the same build rules:
- Wheels: exactly four, none larger than 10 inches, with the swivel casters and handles firmly attached to the base.
- Size: 5 to 8 feet long and 2 to 4 feet wide.
- Power: runners only.
- Crew: four pushers, one alternate and one "Ghost Rider" inside the coffin. At least three of the four pushers have to stay in contact with the coffin the whole way, or the team is disqualified as "out of control." Crossing the center line into the other lane also gets a team disqualified.
The packet describes the Ghost Rider's official duties as "looking fabulous, waving to the crowd, and enjoying the ride," and adds, "Dramatic screaming is optional but highly encouraged." Helmets are recommended for riders but not required, and runners and riders must be 18 or older unless the committee approves an exception in advance.
Teams that didn't want to build a racer from scratch could get a steel base from Operation Charlie Bravo, a Northwest Indiana veterans organization. Sponsors covered free loaner bases for the first three teams to reserve one, and later teams could buy one for $250. The packet says a purchased base can be used "year after year." Since the city has said it hopes to repeat the race, that's a reasonable thing to build for.
Team entries were due Monday, Oct. 5, and the packet warned that only a limited number of teams could race.
Two funeral homes helped pay for it
The Coffin Cup has no entry fee. Every team races for a registered nonprofit, either one it represents or one it picks. The fastest team wins $2,500 for its charity. The Spirited Award, for the best themed racer and costumes, sends $500 to the winner's charity. The church's event page rounds that to a $3,000 prize pool for local nonprofits.
The city release thanks this year's sponsors: Burns Funeral Home & Crematory, Geisen-Pruzin Funeral & Cremation Services, Centier Bank and Legacy Environmental Services. The sponsorship tiers commit to the theme as well. From the top, they're Undertaker at $2,000 and up, Six Feet Underwriter at $1,000 to $1,999, Pallbearer at $300 to $999, and Skeleton Crew at $250, which sponsors one team's racer.
Pastor Mark Wilkins of First United Methodist Church described the tone in the city's release: "This is going to be the weirdest, coolest race Crown Point has seen, so we invite folks to create a team to compete, sponsor the event, or come on down to watch this momentous race!"
The race rules allow no alcohol on the premises, so it's a daytime family event from the Pumpkin Walk through the final heat.
The rest of Halloween week
The Coffin Cup sits in the middle of a crowded eight days. Here's the full city schedule, all free:
| Date | Event | Time | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat., Oct. 24 | Pumpkin Walk | 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. | Downtown, around the Square |
| Sat., Oct. 24 | Coffin Cup | 1 p.m. per the city, 3 p.m. per the church | Main Street, racing south from the Square |
| Sun., Oct. 25 | CPPD Trunk or Treat | 1 to 3 p.m. | Legacy Fields at Center Ross Park, 851 Center Ross Road |
| Sat., Oct. 31 | Citywide trick-or-treating | 5 to 7 p.m. | Neighborhoods across Crown Point |
At Sunday's Trunk or Treat, Crown Point first responders decorate their vehicles and hand out candy and swag at Legacy Fields. Halloween night trick-or-treating goes ahead rain or shine, and homes that are handing out candy should turn on a porch light.
Then the Square resets for Thanksgiving weekend
After Halloween, the next big weekend downtown follows the same pattern of one event handing off to the next. According to the City of Crown Point's November calendar, the Timothy Grzych Ice Rink at Bulldog Park, 183 S. West St., opens its 2026–27 season on Friday, Nov. 27, from noon to 9 p.m., with hours weather-permitting and subject to change. That evening, the Tank & Tree Lighting runs from 6 to 7:30 p.m., with the tank lit at Goldsborough and Main streets and the tree on the east steps of the Historic Lake County Courthouse.
On Saturday, Nov. 28, the Santa Parade steps off at 10 a.m. from Pointe Plaza, 1900 N. Main St., and a Winter Market runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Wheeler Middle School, 401 W. Joliet St.
For Oct. 24, be on Main Street by 12:15. That way you'll see the coffins roll north to the Square, and you'll be there when racing starts, whichever time turns out to be right.
At Better Homes and Gardens - Connections, we follow the small Crown Point traditions that start on the Square, like a Saturday race that could come back every October. If you're thinking about a home within walking distance of Main Street, we'd love to help. Let us guide you home.
