Posted Under "Festivals"

Ladies, do you enjoy playing tennis or golf? What about supporting a good cause while having fun with your girlfriends?

Then round up a doubles partner or a golf team of four for the Vera Bradley Classic!

Grab a girlfriend and head to the Vera Bradley Classic!

Vera Bradley will be holding its annual Vera Bradley classic on June 1, 2012 – June 4, 2012. This amateur women’s golf and tennis charity tournament is the largest in the country.

The tournament will kick off with a two day women’s doubles tennis competition at Wildwood Racquet Club. One hundred and fifty women will be competing in the tournament playing in various divisions.

Following the conclusion of the tennis tournament, there will be a Tennis Celebration Dinner. The celebration will include a cocktail party, dinner, a featured exhibition match and a silent auction to benefit the Vera Bradley Foundation for Breast Cancer.

The golf tournaments will be held on Monday, June 4^th at the Fort Wayne Country Club and Sycamore Hills Golf Club. There will be a 9-hole and 18-hole tournament that players can choose to play in. Over 400 women will participate in the day.

Monday evening there will be a Golf Celebration Dinner. The night will include a cocktail party, dinner and a silent auction.

If you want to support the Foundation, but are not a tennis player or golfer you can still get involved!  There are opportunities to volunteer at the various events happening throughout the weekend, or you can also pay to attend one of the celebration dinners.

The 2011 Vera Bradley Classic raised $945,185 over the weekend, and since the tournament was established in 1994, it has raised more than $8.2 million dollars for breast cancer research.

 Event Schedule:

Women’s Doubles Tennis Tournament
Friday, June 1, 2012 – Saturday, June 2, 2012
Wildwood Racquet Club
508 North Hadley Road

• Match Play Schedule Depends on Player Rating

Tennis Celebration Dinner
Saturday, June 2, 2012 at 6:30pm
Wildwood Racquet Club
508 North Hadley Road

Women’s 9-Hole Golf Tournament
Monday, June 4, 2012
Fort Wayne Country Club
5521 Covington Road

• Morning Tournament begins at 7:30am
• Afternoon Tournament begins at 12:00pm

Women’s 18-Hole Golf Tournament
Monday, June 4, 2012
Sycamore Hills Golf Club
11836 Covington Road
Assigned Tee Times

Golf Celebration Dinner
Monday, June 4, 2012 at 6:00pm
Sycamore Hills Golf Club
11836 Covington Road

To register your team or learn more, visit www.verabradley.org/classic

The annual Auburn Spring Collector Car Auction will be held June 1 – 3 at the Auburn Auction Park in Auburn, Indiana.

Auburn Auction Park

Whether you’re shopping the swap meet for that elusive part, or hoping to find the car of your dreams in the car corral, you’ll see why the Auburn Spring Collector Car Auction is a great place to buy, sell and celebrate all things automotive.

Over the course of the weekend hundreds of motor cars and motorcycles will cross the auction podium and hundreds of vendors will set up shop in the swap meet field and in the car corral.

Restored cars aren’t the only things for sale in Auburn. Also available will be a large collection of memorabilia, including scale models from Danbury Mint and Pocher, a selection of mascots and hood ornaments, neon signs and original paintings from the Automotive Fine Arts Society.

This is a fun-filled weekend the entire family will enjoy. At the Auburn Spring Collector Car Auction, you’ll find a community of passionate car lovers where you can trade, buy and sell with total confidence. Together Carlisle Events and Auctions America by RM will enhance the collector car hobby by providing automotive enthusiasts and their families with an unmatched event experience and level of service.

Sale dates:

• Friday,  11:00 am – 8:00 pm ET
• Saturday,  11:00 am – 8:00 pm ET
• Sunday,  11:00 am – 6:00 pm ET

Admission:

• $10 day pass per person
• $25 weekend pass per person
• Children 12 and under are free

Preview Dates:

• Thursday, May 31
• Friday, June 1
• Saturday, June 2
• Sunday, June 3

Auburn Auction Park
5540 County Road 11-A
Auburn, IN  46706
1-877-906-2437

I moved to town just over one year ago. A job that was too good to pass up lured me away from my hometown and Southern roots. Luckily, the job has exceeded my expectations and so has Fort Wayne. I am a Southern girl, happily transplanted to Northeast Indiana.

Weekends, when you are new in town, can be tough. The combination of not knowing anyone and lots of free time can result in misery. Luckily, it did not take me very long to discover that Fort Wayne has a lot of opportunities to do, learn, and have fun. In fact, a year later, I am still finding new and fun things in Fort Wayne. If you are new to Fort Wayne or if Fort Wayne is your hometown and you want a new perspective, here are two of this newbie’s favorite Fort Wayne things – parks and art.

One great benefit of miles and miles of flat land is that you can create parks. Everywhere. Fort Wayne has parks. Everywhere. Where I am from, the mountains of Southwest Virginia, parks are either located on narrow strips of land by the river or on the tops of mountains where mountain top strip mining has created flat usable land. The benefits of those types of parks is that you either have a nice cool shady place by the river or a beautiful view from the mountain top. But here, there is so much land that you can take an old farmstead and turn it into a working farm for a park or take a swath of land downtown and create a rose garden. Options abound. Fort Wayne’s many parks and recreation areas provide great choices for group or individual fun. If you are looking for a nice place to spend a Saturday morning or afternoon you will never have to look far for a park in Fort Wayne or Allen County.

Salomon Farm Park

Both Foster Park (on the city’s south side) and Salomon Farm Park (to the north) have fantastic walking trails that link to the Fort Wayne trail system and offer beautiful views. You may golf or walk by the river at Foster Park, while at Salomon Farm you can check out the summer farmer’s market or other farming activities that may be available throughout the year.

Lakeside Park and Rose Garden

All Fort Wayne parks are pretty, but none are quite as special as Lakeside Park. In the late spring and summer Lakeside Park’s rose garden comes alive with blooms and the sweet aromas. It is a nice little oasis in the midst of downtown. You can take a stroll through the flowers than sit by the lake and enjoy lunch or just take in the view. On occasion you might even get to witness a wedding in the rose garden!

Headwaters Park in the heart of downtown Fort Wayne is an essential spot for all newcomers. When you arrive in town, check out the Calendar of Events so that you can keep up with all the festivals and events at Headwaters Park. There are fun times to be had all summer long. You won’t want to miss GermanFest or Three Rivers Festival!

The best thing about Fort Wayne parks is that they are filled with Fort Wayne residents, whom you will find to be friendly and kind. This is a great way to get to know your community and have a big time.

It was a surprise to find that Fort Wayne has an active and interesting arts scene.  No, it is not New York, Los Angeles, or Chicago, but interesting art is alive and well. Fort Wayne is home to many talented artists. If you are looking for handcrafted jewelry, sculpture, paintings, or mixed media, it is here. A good place to start is the Fort Wayne Museum of Art. It is lovely.  The Museum hosts Thursday evening events in the gift shop and art openings regularly. Other galleries and festivals thrive in the area, including a monthly event called Last Saturday where local galleries and businesses downtown host art-related events. A must see gallery is The Orchard Gallery located in the Covington Plaza. You can find all kinds of treasures at The Orchard. It is worth a visit. Speaking of Covington, the Covington Art Fair in the Covington Plaza on Jefferson Boulevard is an eclectic collection of local, regional, and national artists. It is an awesome local art event. You can find everything from photography, paintings, and sculpture to jewelry made from recycled bowling balls. The arts scene in Fort Wayne is rich with talent, treasure, and interesting and kind people. To find out what is going on with local artists check out Artlink, Arts United, or the Downtown Improvement District calendars.

The best thing about being new in town is the excitement that comes with discovering all the new, fun things to do. In Fort Wayne there is enough to keep that excitement alive for a long time; in my case it is at a year and counting.

If we took a poll, most people who live in Fort Wayne would probably not be able to name many of the military skirmishes that took place in the area 200+ years ago. Members of Historic Fort Wayne, Inc. want to change that.

Historic Fort Wayne brings Fort Wayne history to life.

A series of monthly special events are planned in 2012 that should convince anyone that while it may cost more to live in the Summit City than 200 years ago, it’s much safer and saner than it was then.

The next event at the Old Fort is the Muster on the St. Mary’s. Members of the Historic Old Fort, Inc. and Friends of the Fort will be costumed and ready to depict the lives of soldiers and countrymen from 1812. Visitors are encouraged to discuss living conditions, commerce, family life and health with the re-enactors while strolling among areas of the fort. Special areas of the Fort will be available for the public, including the Doctor’s office, the Officers’ Quarters and the Village. (When special events are not planned at the Fort, these areas are typically off-limits to visitors.) Moderately priced souvenirs can be purchased at the Kekionga Mercantile.

Upcoming events include a re-enactment of the Revolutionary War in July and a siege of the Miamis in August. The 1812 Siege of Fort Wayne in September promises to be exciting!

Muster on the St. Mary’s

Saturday, May 19, 2012 11:00 am-8:00 pm
Sunday, May 20, 2012 11:00 am-4:00 pm

Admission of a free will donation is appreciated.

Historic Old Fort
1201 Spy Run

Directions:
The Old Fort is located over the bridge on the north side of Spy Run Ave. Go to Fourth Street and park at Lawton Park. The fort can be reached after a short stroll down the River Greenway.

For additional information contact Historic Fort Wayne, Inc. at 260.460.4763 or visit their website.

There’s still time to register for Fort Wayne’s inaugural cycling event — the Fort-4-Fitness Spring Cycle — which takes place Saturday, May 26.

The Spring Cycle is set to be the premier cycling event in the Fort Wayne area and comes on the heels of the successful and popular annual Fort-4-Fitness Health Festival in September, which includes a Half-Marathon, 10K, 4-Mile Run/Walk, Kids Marathon and Seniors Marathon.

The event starts at Headwaters Park in downtown Fort Wayne and features a competitive route and a family fun tour of the city. The competitive “Tour de Fort Wayne” offers cyclists distances from 19.7 miles to 35.2 miles to the longest route at 45.25 miles. A casual three-mile family bike ride called Bike the Fort, will follow.

The event will also feature a mascot race, bike rodeo and a pro cycling Twilight Criterium event, a race from late afternoon to evening which features multiple short track, multiple lap, high speed events. Outside of the biking events, there will be fun and activities for the entire family during the day of the event, including food, merchandise vendors, information booths and attendance by local biking club members.

Registration is available online now through May 24, and starts at $20 per individual for the Tour de Fort Wayne. Act now as rates increase May 15. Fort-4-Fitness is a non-profit organization entering its fifth year of events, focusing on the promotion of health and fitness through an active lifestyle.