My favorite season is coming…the changing from almost unbearable heat to warm days that turn into crisp cool, evenings…fall! And with fall come more fairs and festivals. I love the Grabill Country Fair! I love that it starts with the short, scenic drive from Fort Wayne and ends in a small town full of history, home-cooking and country charm.

The homemade ice cream is a great treat that you’re sure to come back for.

The fair begins on Thursday, September 6th and continues through Saturday, September 8th. Activities at the fair appeal to kids and adults of all ages, from magic shows to musical performances and contests from pie and watermelon eating to cherry pit spitting! All of the contests and events are relevant to the bygone era. The parade through the streets of Grabill begins on the 8th at 10 a.m. and is surely not to be missed! Musical entertainment ends each evening with gospel, country and bluegrass performers.

Over one hundred merchant and craft tents are set up and feature children’s items, blown glass, dolls, quilts and crocheted items. There are also local Amish vendors showcasing their handmade wood pieces. Artisans bring their own twist to creating homemade items including chain saw carvings, T-shirt art and hand-drawn portraits.

Handmade foods, crafts and music are staples of the Grabill Country Fair.

And let’s not forget about the food at the Fudergong! Each morning, the day begins with “Breakfast at the Fudergong” a Pancake and Sausage Gravy breakfast from 6:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. The Fudergong offers homemade beef and noodles and freshly made pies from the Grabill Inn on the 6th and 7th from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. On the 8th, High’s BBQ chicken and more pies from the Grabill Inn, from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. I cannot wait to get some of that chicken! Don’t forget the many food vendors that offer homemade rolled pretzels, ribs and lemon shake-ups!

To make things easy, you can park at Leo High School and catch a shuttle into Grabill. For more on shuttle information, a list of daily activities and a map of the area, visit the Grabill Country Fair website here.

The fair’s slogan is, “Grab your family, meet up with old friends and enjoy a look back at a slower pace and a simpler time!” See you in the country!

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If you thought the world’s greatest classic collector car show and sale took place in California, London, or Monte Carlo, you’d be wrong. It takes place 20 miles north of Fort Wayne in the town of Auburn.

Every Labor Day Weekend, the people of Auburn host the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Festival in honor of the cars that were at one time manufactured there and has since put Auburn on the map.

The dates for this year’s ACD Festival are August 30-September 2.

An estimated 300,000 car enthusiasts from around the world arrive to look at the vehicles. Warning: traffic can be heavy. Still, the festival is worth the trip.

The annual Cruise-In, when the owners of hundreds of cars, trucks, vans and motorcycles park their vehicles in downtown Auburn, giving spectators a chance to chat and admire the famous cars from yesterday, is one of the festival’s most popular events.

My favorite event is the Parade of Classics on Saturday. I can barely keep from drooling as hundreds of the most resplendent classic cars I’ve ever seen proceed through Auburn’s tree-lined streets.

Cindy & Frank Guzik of Fort Wayne will drive their 1931 Auburn 898-A in the Parade of Classics.

Each year a different make leads the Parade of Classics. In 2012 it will be the “Year of the Unrestored Car”.

A huge event that coincides with the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Festival is the auction of thousands of classic, celebrity, high-powered sports and race cars, antique trucks, motor coaches and motorcycles at Worldwide Auction Park (I-69 Exit 126, 5536 Co. Rd. 11-A, Auburn–this is the site of the former Kruse Auction Complex).

This is also a fun event but all I’ve ever done is pick out which car I’d buy if I had $100,000 to spare. Like that will ever happen. But it’s fun to dream.

For more information on the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Festival, call 260.925.3600 or go to http://acdfestival.org/festival/

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A century ago farmers relied on steam power to complete arduous agricultural tasks, including threshing and saw milling.  A farmer would cut, bind, and form wheat into shocks in the fields. Then he loaded the dry bundles on a wagon and took them to the thresher connected to a gas-powered tractor. A threshing crew threw the shocks into the thresher’s feeder. It separated wheat from the straw or in the case of corn, ears from the stalk.

Steam-powered saw mills were a common and popular site on farms. A farmer with a wood lot cut logs throughout the winter, thus utilizing his steam tractor in farming’s off-season.

The Maumee Valley Antique Steam & Gas Engine Show

People who appreciate the opportunity to view and appreciate antique farm and industrial equipment can do so at the Maumee Valley Antique Gas and Steam Show.

The Maumee Valley Antique Steam & Gas Engine Show will be held Aug. 16-19 in New Haven at Jefferson Township Park off Webster Road.

The technology farmers and early industry used in the early 1900s will be demonstrated throughout the show.

At the saw mill, visitors can watch how a farmer would have cut boards from three-foot logs and shingles for roofs.

Dozens of amazing machines will be on display.

Antique tractors used for plowing, tilling, and harvesting corn, soybeans, and wheat in the early twentieth century will be on display. Members of the Indiana Blacksmiths Association will provide demonstrations as will the Fort Wayne Flying Circuits model airplane club.

Throughout the weekend, fairgoers may attend a quilt show, flea market, or take a hayride. Spike & the Bulldogs will perform a concert on Friday night.

Concessions will be available at the 50-acre park. A crowd favorite is sweet corn steamed in the husk.

There is a $5.00 daily charge at the entrance gate; children 12 and under are free.

For more information about the Maumee Valley Antique Gas and Steam show go to www.maumeevalley.org.

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This infamous yard sale boasts yard sales that stretch from Iowa to West Virginia, but you can be sure to find a few treasures along Indiana’s own Lincoln Highway. The eighth annual sale runs August 9, 10 and 11.

Yard sales are great way to find your next treasure. Whether you’re searching for a bargain, a treasured antique, your next Pinterest project or Etsy find, you’re likely to come home with at least one thing you can’t live without.

A full listing of all the Indiana BUY-WAY listings can be found here, but I’d recommend making it a day-trip with a few options within driving distance of Fort Wayne:

• Fort Wayne – Breakfast at Cindy’s Diner, located on the Lincoln Highway at 830 South Harrison Street
• Wolf Lake – Sale at Living Water Lutheran Church at 1197 S. US Highway 33
• Van Wert, OH – Lunch or Dinner at Balyeats Coffee Shop for “Old Fashioned” food
• Middle Point, OH – Catch a movie at the Van-Del Drive-In Theatre at 19986 Lincoln Highway

To map your route, use the Official Map of the Lincoln Highway complete with points of interest. It’s as simple as grabbing your keys, map and cash to get shopping. And, if bargain-hunting adventures are your thing, mark your calendar for this event on the second-full weekend in August every year!

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Love pickles? I sure do! I cultivated an appreciation for pickles at a young age. My grandparents always served a variety with our Sunday meal. Inevitably, I’d fill up on them, spoiling my dinner much to my grandmother’s chagrin. My appreciation for pickles has grown as I’ve gotten older; just ask my husband. The past few years, for my birthday, he’s presented me with a jumbo jar of crunchy dills, which I devour within days of receiving them.

If you love pickles as much as I do, and even if you don’t, mark your calendar for St. Joe’s Pickle Festival, which takes place August 9 through August 11 in St. Joe, Indiana. This year marks the 16^th Annual 3-day event and festival goers can look forward to parades, live music, fireworks, kids’ activities, pickle factory tours and more! Rumor has it you can even try pickle ice cream.

Other activities on the schedule include an art and photo show, Firemen’s hog roast, a cruise-in, horseshoe pitching contest, and a tractor pull. For a full list of events, visit The St. Joe Pickle Festival Website.

Never been to St. Joe? It’s just a short 35-minute drive from Fort Wayne. You can view a map online.

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