09/17/2026
This is the BEST event of the year! Please consider coming out to see your first responders demonstrate their skills. This place, the event itself, and everything about it is just absolutely fantastic!
Take a look at how busy this year's event map is! This Saturday, more than 60 first responder departments, agencies and community organizations will take over the MAAC campus with live demonstrations, hands-on experiences and equipment displays throughout the day.
See K9 teams, live fire and rescue crews, SWAT, water rescue, bomb squad, self-defense, military representatives, two helicopter landings, Touch-A-Truck and more, all while meeting the people behind the work.
Join us for 7th Annual First Responder Appreciation and Demonstration Day (FRADD) this Saturday, September 19, from 9 AM – 1 PM. Admission is FREE, rain or shine!
There will be something happening around nearly every corner of the MAAC campus.
Participating departments, agencies and organizations include:
CN Railway Police Department
Northwest Health Porter
Valparaiso University Police Department
Michigan City Police Department
NWI K9 Search and Recovery, Inc.
Porter County Search and Rescue Team
Chesterton Police Department
Porter County Sheriff's Office
City of La Porte Police Department
Hobart Police Department
Civil Air Patrol – Valparaiso Composite Squadron
U.S. Secret Service
Munster Police Department
Westville Correctional Facility, Indiana
Porter County Central Communications (911)
Indiana State Police
Washington Township Volunteer Fire Department
National Park Service
Porter County Health Department
Lutheran Health Network
University of Chicago Aeromedical Network
Indiana DNR Conservation Officers
Franciscan Health Crown Point
Safe Kids Northwest Indiana
Crown Point Fire Department
U.S. Steel Emergency Services
Burns Harbor Fire Department Inc.
Nwr Swat
Schererville Fire Department
Porter County Career and Tech Center Fire/Rescue Program
Valparaiso Fire Department
Ryan Fire Protection
Portage Fire Department Water Rescue
Hoosier ISR
Valley Fire
DEA Chicago Division
DEA Merrillville
Portage Police Department (Indiana) SWAT
Highland Police Department
Code Red Safety
Hammond Indiana Police Department SWAT
Porter County Sheriff's Office Bomb Squad
Porter County Sheriff’s Office ERT
Indiana Criminal Justice Institute Division of Traffic Safety
PNW Police Department
U.S. Marshals Service – Hammond
NWI First Responder Peer Support Group
Porter County Emergency Management Agency
Porter County Amateur Radio Club
U.S. Air Force / U.S. Space Force
U.S. Army - Valparaiso
U.S. Army National Guard
U.S. Marines
Lutheran Church Charities Comfort Dogs
