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July 10, 2015
Three Rivers Festival keeps pace with change By Garth Snow gsnow@kpcmedia.com
PHOTO BY GARTH SNOW
Band dad Craig Harmeyer sits in with the Snider High School jazz ensemble in the first Music in the Park, at St. Joe Township Community Park. A Snider brass ensemble will perform from 7-9 p.m. July 29.
St. Joe Park awaits Snider brass By Garth Snow gsnow@kpcmedia.com
Mother and daughter shared a park bench, an umbrella and an evening of music. Rain fell on St. Joe Township Park that evening, just as it fell
throughout Fort Wayne throughout June. But the first Music in the Park went on as planned. A Snider High School jazz ensemble played Miles Davis and other standards from the shelter of the gazebo. A Snider dad joined in the music.
Band director Kevin Klee surveyed the scene. Music fans wore raincoats and hovered under plastic bags. Courtney Jodway sat with her mother, Mandy Fanger, at one of those benches at 6033 Maplecrest Road.
“It was really fun, relaxing despite the rain,” Jodway said. “And it was a little nostalgic for me because I was in the band.” That was barely three years ago. Jodway played See BRASS, Page A8
Executive Director Jack Hammer said the Three Rivers Festival will thrive by embracing both change and tradition. The 47th annual festival will be July 10-18. “We’ve brought back some things from the past,” Hammer said, “but we’ve retooled it so that we can address what would be a successful event today, vs. 25 years ago. “The festival over the years has tried to be responsive to the community, and what is in popular culture at the time. We continue to do that and to include new parts of our community. The International Village was around 20 years ago, but it was basically a place for people to sell food. We’re bringing it back as a mini-festival, where 10 groups represent many groups that live in Fort Wayne. They
do offer food, but they also offer handmade foods, and there’s always entertainment.” The festival has revived the raft races, and has brought back the bed race. “They have become some of the favorites. Those are the heritage events that people look forward to each year,” he said. The raft race was canceled, though, because of a record June rainfall. “The increased speed and height of the rivers, along with an excess of debris on the shorelines and in the rivers, have left the rivers unsafe to host these events,” Hammer said. The river tours also were canceled. Fort Wayne has celebrated the Three Rivers Festival since 1975. Hammer recently marked his fifth anniversary at the job, and will be overseeing his sixth festival. Emily Maggart has See PACE, Page A6
26th Allen County Fair packs week full of fun By Mariah Martz mmartz@kpcmedia.com
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The Allen County Fair again will include the demolition derby at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 1. See dates of nearby county fairs in the Community Calendar.
Rife, otherwise known as the “Evel Knievel of ATV,” performing a few of his most daring stunts scaling cars. “He’ll start off with jumping over five to six cars and then will work up to 10 to 11, so that’ll be fun to watch,” Love said. Rife recently made an appearance on the
Discovery Channel’s “Heirs to the Dare,” a show about adrenaline junkies and daredevils. His performance will take place on the fair’s opening day at 7 p.m. Festivalgoers will also enjoy an influx in rides this year contributed by North American Midway EnterSee FAIR, Page A14
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The annual Allen County Fair is expected to be bigger and better than ever this summer. The weeklong fair will return July 28 for its 26th year. Complete with 4-H competitions, food vendors, rides, live music and truck pulls, each day is packed full of activity. “It’s a really unique experience because you have all of the 4-H animals and exhibits as well as a full carnival and activities for all family members,” said Michelle Love, pageant director for the fair and secretary for the Allen County Fairgrounds board. “We really try to tailor the event as something that is open to people of all ages.” A new event introduced this year will be the ATV stunt show featuring Henry
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