• Fine Dining
INSIDE
• Live Jazz • Lunch & Dinner • Catering
Community Calendar ��� A17-19
Monday Night's - Craw fish broil on the patio
Art Festivals ���������A16 ��������������������������� A6
235 E. Superior St., Fort Wayne 260.426.3442 • www.clubsodafortwayne.com KPC Media Group PROOF Corrections must be made by Noon, May 30, 2017 Friday, 5/19 or ad will be assumed correct and run as is.
INfortwayne.com
Live storytelling events draw a crowd By Megan Knowles mknowles@kpcmedia.com
MEGAN KNOWLES
Story slam founder Ben Larson begins the event on May 18. The Trap Door hosts the live storytelling events once a month.
Fired up for RibFest Barbecue masters prepare for showdown The big guns of the national barbecue circuit are returning to the Fort Wayne RibFest, and the Summit City’s own “Big Rick” Jordan is ready to show them how it’s done. Jordan and ACME Bar & Grill colleague Johnny Pentangelo will represent the 1105 E. State Blvd. restaurant June 15-18 at Headwaters Park in downtown Fort Wayne. Returning to RibFest after about 10 years on the sidelines, the ACME will have some local competition, too. Low ‘N’ Slow of Fort Wayne prepared the People’s Choice Award-winning ribs at the 2016 festival. Timmy’s Pizza & BBQ of Garrett served the Reserve Grand Champion Critics’ Choice brisket and the Reserve Grand Champion People’s Choice ribs. Timmy’s owners Tim and Neza Johnson will be back for more in 2017, again serving the barbecued chicken feet that premiered in 2016.
Festival calendar
For a complete list of upcoming area festivals, check out Page A16. For a list of other area activities, see the Community Calendar on Page A17. DMH Low ‘N’ Slow owner Dave Hart, longtime friend Mike Welch, and a Hart family reunion will smoke and/or roast the ribs, pulled pork, brisket and turkey legs that RibFest visitors expect to find at the first booth on their right each June. Hart has been cooking, catering and competing for 17 years. “A friend helps me and usually my family flies in and helps me do RibFest,” he said. “I’m kind of considered the little guy compared to the national guys. They do hundreds of cases of ribs where we do maybe 30.” Each case contains about 19 slabs of ribs, he said. Jordan, Pentangelo, the Johnsons and Hart will tell you a lot about their special recipes. No one will tell the exact recipe. They’re in business, after all, and this is a competi-
tion for bragging rights and a big chunk of a summer’s income. RibFest co-director Mark Chappuis revealed that ACME would enter the fray this year. “They’re throwing their hat in the ring to take home the trophy,” he said. “You know the ACME’s been around in Fort Wayne for 60 years or more. Their slogan is ‘Where Neighbors Meet’ and it’s a really cool little Cheers type of neighborhood bar and grill, with excellent authentic barbecue. We are delighted to have them in this year.” Chappuis and his wife, Cindy, operate RibFest. “We’re a little, family-run operation,” he said. Local athletes and police and other celebrities sample and judge the food, while the public selects the People’s Choice winners. See RIBFEST, Page A14
of it and the straightforwardness.” It is clear others love it too – a rainy May evening saw the Artlink lab full of people waiting for the show to begin. Greetings contain not only “Hellos” and “How are yous?” but also the phrase, “Are you telling a story tonight?” even among people only newly acquainted. “There’s definitely a cathartic element to it,” Larson said. The event is so popular, in fact, that the Trap Door has already outgrown one space. The program started at One Lucky Guitar, but moved to Artlink when the size of the crowd demanded it. The story slams aren’t the only storytelling events the Trap Door hosts. Every other month it hosts a showcase, which involves longer and more curated storytelling, organizer Becca Bell explained. “(At) those we have See SLAM, Page A14
FEMALE HAIR LOSS
www.danwalters.com
DW
Dan Walters, Inc. HAIR RECOVERY
260-489-5268 Dan Walters and Dr. Agnesi 8113 Lima Rd. Fort Wayne, IN 46818
INfortwayne Publications
gsnow@kpcmedia.com
3306 Independence Drive, Fort Wayne, IN 46808
By Garth Snow
Though only taking place in earnest since October, the Trap Door’s monthly story slams already are attracting quite a following. “We usually get 80 to 100 people,” organizer John Cheesebrew said. The event is hosted by the Trap Door, whose tagline is “a curated collection of real life stories,” story slam founder Ben Larson said. “We put on these shows monthly where people get up and tell true stories without notes in front of an audience,” he said. During a story slam, those interested in telling a story can sign up throughout the night. Their names are put into a hat from which they are drawn. The only rules are that the stories must be true, must have happened to the storyteller and must be no longer than 10 minutes. A panel of judges
grade is the stories based on delivery, content and overall presentation. The judges’ top storyteller, as well as one picked by the audience, receive cash prizes. But the focus is more on the social rather than physical rewards. “The experience is really good because…we see a lot of these people who are at these events out and about but it kind of changes your perspective on how you see people,” Cheesebrew said. “There are a lot of experiences that people shared that kind of give you a better understanding of what makes them kind of who they are.” This sense of connection with others is exactly why Larson wanted to bring live storytelling to Fort Wayne in the first place, he said. “I’ve been really interested in storytelling podcasts for a very long time…and I just fell in love with the format,” he said. “I love the personal aspect