On any given Friday night at a TinCaps game you may find yourself sitting next to Mario and Luigi or even game show host Pat Sajak. And don’t be surprised if Papa Smurf was to show up too – this is because every Friday’s game throughout the season is Theme Night!

Keep your eyes on the video board because your favorite player could look a little like your favorite Star Wars character.  It is very entertaining how the TinCaps organization incorporated Theme Night into every aspect of the game from the music to the on-field contests.  Even Johnny gets involved dressing up like his favorite cartoon or Star Wars character.

The award winning Parkview Field is a great place to be on a theme night. Don't miss out!

It is always fun to see at the end of the sixth inning what the “2012 Hoosier Award Hospitality recipient” Bad Apple Dancers are wearing.  A  few Fridays ago I saw them dressed up as Pac-Man and the ghosts.  These weren’t your store bought costumes either, they were hand made and looked real to life.  The employees really do get into character.

The good news is, it is not just for employees, the fans are encouraged to dress up as well.  Those still stuck in the seventies can wear their favorite clothes without being embarrassed or the big Jimmy Buffett fans can break out their Hawaiian shirts and sway to the music.  It is a really inexpensive way to experience great entertainment and baseball!

Remaining Theme Nights include:

Friday, June 22       70’s Night

Friday, July 6          Country Night

Friday, July 13        Cartoon Night

Friday, July 27        Christmas in July

Friday, August 10    Jimmy Buffett Night

Friday, August 31    Fan Appreciation Night

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The Architecture and Community Heritage group of Fort Wayne (ARCH) will offer its annual Home and Garden Tour on Saturday, June 16, 2012. The tour will be held in the historic Wildwood Park Neighborhood located at the corner of North Washington Road and Freeman Street near Jefferson Pointe. The Wildwood Park Neighborhood has been nominated as a Historic District to the National Register of Historic Places.

Wildwood Park is one of Fort Wayne's favorite neighborhoods

The tour features architecturally significant homes and planned roads and parks designed by nationally prominent landscape architect Arthur Shurcliff. While Shurcliff’s name might not ring a bell to most people, he was quite a prominent landscape artist during the early 20th century.

In 1928 Shurcliff was hired by John D. Rockefeller Jr., and the Boston architectural firm of Perry, Shaw & Hepburn to serve as Chief Landscape Architect for the restoration and recreation of the gardens, landscape, and town planning of Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia. It was the largest and most important commission of his career. He also designed a number of prestigious sites in Boston, including Old Sturbridge Village, the Charles River Esplanade, and the zoological park at Franklin Park. Shurcliff designed Carter’s Grove in Virginia, Greatwood Gardens at Goddard College, Plainfield, Vermont, the Wells brothers’ estates at Sturbridge, Massachusetts (creators and founders of Old Sturbridge Village), and the Richard Crane estate at Ipswich, Massachusetts.

Contact ARCH for more information and to purchase tickets.

Wildwood Park may have been one of Shurcliff’s few designed areas outside of New England. Why did Shurcliff, who lived in Boston, accept a commission for Wildwood Park located deep in the heart of America’s Midwest? The answer is anyone’s guess. That unknown factor makes the tour that much more intriguing.

The tour includes a dozen houses and gardens in a variety of architectural styles. Presentations will be offered about period architecture and style as part of ARCH’s 2012 Community Education Program.

Contact ARCH for more information and to purchase tickets at 260.426.5117 or information@archfw.org.

Saturday, June 16, 2012
12:00 – 5:00pm
Advance tickets: $10; Day of the tour: $12

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As if Fort Wayne doesn’t have enough great festivals, here is one designed to promote the significance of Fort Wayne’s three rivers to the city’s history and current status.

IPFW Riverfest 2012 is Saturday, June 23rd.

But don’t think this is an event filled with lectures and philosophical debates. Just the opposite is true! This one-day festival offers some of Fort Wayne’s most unique opportunities for fun and creativity.

Riverfest is held on the banks of the St. Joe River at the IPFW Campus. The date for Riverfest is Saturday, June 23, 2012. Hours: 9 a.m. to midnight. Cost: Free

One interesting event I’d encourage people to attend is Sayaka Ganz, IPFW art teacher, creating sculptures from scrap materials and river debris. By using these reclaimed objects, she will show how to turn something as common as a soup can or spatula into cool pieces of art. Hint: This would be a great project for families to work on this summer after hiking on pathways throughout the county. You teach kids to help clean up the environment and be creative simultaneously!

The festival celebrates families with Familyfest. Familyfest has a new location in front of Kettler Hall on the Indiana Purdue Fort Wayne campus. Hours: 10 a.m. – 8 p.m.

The festival will also sponsor a river walk/run, sand volleyball courts for tournaments, local vendors selling yummy food, and musical bands playing.

Make time in your schedule to attend this fun event.
St. Joe River
2101 E. Coliseum Blvd.

For additional information, please visit the Riverfest website.

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If you love ribs or anything barbequed, then get ready because the 15^th Annual BBQ RibFest is returning to downtown Fort Wayne June 14-17. Located at Headwaters Park, some of the best, award-winning cooking teams are coming to cook up over twenty tons of BBQ. Along with delicious BBQ, blues bands will be performing on the Blackburn & Green and Coors Light stage under the canopy throughout the festival.

Some of the best BBQ cooking teams from around the nation will come and cook up some of the most arguably delicious BBQ to ever have been tasted. The BBQ sauces range from hot and spicy to sweet and tangy. Everyone is sure to find something that they love.

With RibFest ending on Father’s day, what would be a better gift than to take your father to RibFest and buy him some delicious BBQ ribs, brisket, pulled pork, or chicken?

RibFest begins June 14^th at 12 pm, just in time for lunch. RibFest is open from 12 pm – 11 pm on Thursday, 11:45 am – 12 am on Friday, 2-11:45 pm on Saturday, and 12-  10 pm on Sunday. Admission is free until 5:30 pm. After that it costs $8 for adults (13 and over), $6 for seniors and $4 for students, Military, Fire and Police with ID.

For more information, visit them online.

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It’s time to belly up to the table and put on your rib-eating face for the 15th Annual BBQ Ribfest in downtown Fort Wayne! This event is a local favorite, serving up a variety of mouth-watering BBQ with the taste of home-cookin’, June 14 through 17 at Headwaters Park.

Whether you enjoy spicy ribs or sweeter flavors — there are enough varieties to please any meat-lover’s palate. Vendors this year include Desperado’s, Carolina Rib King, Jack on the Bone, Cowboys BBQ and Rib Company, Big Boned BBQ, Timmy’s BBQ, Texas Pit BBQ and Shig’s In Pit. As usual, this year’s event includes a full line-up of live entertainment from rock to jazz and country music. Sit back and enjoy some live music, a cool beverage and your favorite ribs.

The kickoff party begins Thursday at noon. BBQ Ribfest runs through 10 p.m. on Sunday. Bring dad to the event on Sunday for a Father’s Day treat he won’t forget! Admission prices are $8 for adults ages 13 and older. However, if you arrive before 5:30 p.m. you can receive free admission. Seniors are admitted for $6 each and students (along with any military, police or fire personnel with ID) are admitted for $4 each.

More than 40,000 people attend this annual event which helps kick off the summer festival season in Fort Wayne. Outside of ribs, pulled pork, brisket, barbecue chicken and sides are also available for purchase. Don’t worry — here you are allowed to pig out. Find out more about the 2012 BBQ Ribfest online. Headwaters Park is located downtown at 333 S. Clinton Street.

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