Looking for a special addition to your summer plans, but looking to find it on the cheap? Why not head to a movie? Rave Motion Pictures and Carmike Cinemas are both offering summer movies for free, or almost free.

Rave Motions Pictures, located at Jefferson Pointe, has the Free Family Film Festival starting June 4. It will for 9 weeks every Monday and Thursday. Admission is free for all. In addition, they offer $1 off their Movie Meal. Doors open at 9:30 am and the movies start at 10 am. All the movies are rated G and PG. The following movies will be shown:

June 4 & 7: Cats & Dogs

June 11 & 14: Legends of the Guardians

June 18 & 21: Yogi Bear

June 25 & 28: Happy Feet Two

July 2 & 5: Journey 2

July 9 & 12: Dolphin Tail

July 16 & 19: Shorts

July 23 & 26: Ink Heart

July 30 & August 2: Happy Feet

Carmike Cinemas, located off Dupont Rd., is offering a Summer Kid Series. It starts Thursday June 7 and runs every Thursday for 10 weeks. The cost of the Summer Kid Series is $2 per movie, which includes admission, popcorn, and a drink. Each movie will start at 10 am. The following movies will be shown:

June 7 : Puss in Boots

June 14 : Chicken Run

June 21 : Over the Hedge

June 28 : Kung Fu Panda

July 5 : Shark Tale

July 12 : How To Train Your Dragon

July 19 : Madagascar 2

July 26 : Bee Movie

August 2 : Monsters vs. Aliens

August 9 : Megamind

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If you’ve never been to the Lincoln Tower Soda Fountain tucked inside the grandiose Lincoln Tower in downtown Fort Wayne, please make an effort to go there this summer. It is a charming step back in time to the 1960s with bar stools, flavored cokes and spritzy sodas of many flavors.

Besides soda drinks, the Lincoln Tower Soda Fountain menu includes sandwiches, baked goods, popcorn and wraps. One of its most popular sandwiches is the tuna with sliced egg on whole wheat bread. Some sandwiches are named after local legal officials based on their preferences. Prices are moderate with sandwiches ranging from $3.75-$4.50.

The restaurant is open from 7:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. As the county courthouse is located across the street, it’s probably to be expected the restaurant’s busiest time is lunch.

The soda fountain has been open since the 1930s. Ilene Stein has owned it since 1985.

The Lincoln Tower Soda Fountain is located inside the Lincoln Tower in Downtown Fort Wayne.

I have a particularly sweet memory of this place. A couple of years ago my son had been accepted at the US Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. We were spending time together before he left strolling around Fort Wayne’s downtown area. We stopped in the Lincoln Tower Soda Fountain to eat. The nice lady who took our order was friendly so I mentioned proudly that Chris was leaving for the military soon. Our waitress insisted on giving him a free soda for his service to our country. It still touches my heart to think of her respect for his decision to serve. It’s a privilege to write about a place that is so loyal to our American soldiers. I’m headed back in there as soon as I can.

And, check out the Lincoln Tower Soda Fountain on Facebook under “Tower Fountain.”

116 E Berry St Ste 101
Fort Wayne, IN 46802
260.422.6688

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Now that the warm weather appears to be here for good, our community is gearing up to head outdoors and stay there for the next few months. For my husband and I, warm weather means riding bikes on the trails, hosting cookouts in the backyard, taking day trips to the lake, and spending time in the garden, but visiting local farmer’s markets tops our list.

Enjoy the tastes of summer!

I don’t think there’s anything better than fresh, locally grown produce, and not only are the products tasty and healthful, but the market gives you the unique opportunity to understand where your food is coming from, as well. Farmer’s markets offer more than just fresh produce. Many feature baked good, garden supplies, personal care items, art, and other handmade wares, as well.

Our region is home to a multitude of markets, so make it a mission to shop local this summer and visit one.

Barr Street Market

302 East Berry Street

Fort Wayne, IN 46802

Season: June-September

Hours: Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Organized by Young Leaders of Northeast Indiana, featuring fresh produce, plants, meats, baked goods and homemade crafts.

http://www.ylni.org/events/barr-street-market/

East State Village Market

Tecumseh Library on East State

Fort Wayne, IN 46805
Season: June-October

Hours: Sundays, 12 p.m.  to 4 p.m.

Featuring fresh produce, plants, herbs, flowers, arts and crafts, pottery, jewelry, and live entertainment throughout the afternoon.

Main Street Market

1936 West Main Street

Fort Wayne, IN 46808

Season: May-October

Hours: Fridays, 3 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Featuring over 50 vendors, offering certified organic produce, locally grown produce, beef, poultry, eggs, breads, and flowers. Also includes artists and fine antique dealers.

Solomon Farmer’s Market

817 Dupont Road

Fort Wayne, IN 46825

Season: June-September

Hours: Wednesdays, 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Featuring fresh locally grown fruits and vegetables, homemade breads and pastries, Indiana honey and maple syrup, and homemade personal care products.

Southside Farmer’s Market

3300 Warsaw Street

Fort Wayne, IN 46807

Season: Easter-December

Hours: Saturdays, 7 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Fort Wayne’s oldest farmers market, featuring 100 stands with locally grown fruits and vegetables, hand-crafted items, antiques, fresh baked goods, eggs, and hormone-free pork and chicken.

http://southsidefarmersmarket.com/

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What is better than summer? How about free movies during the summer? What about free movies during the summer that feature some of Hollywood’s Leading Ladies?

Sound too good to be true? The Fort Wayne Cinema Center, partnering with Indiana University –Purdue University Fort Wayne, has a program going on right now called “Free Flicks – Hollywood’s Leading Ladies.” Movies show on every Tuesday and Thursday at 7:30 pm now through June 19. All movies are shown at the Cinema Center.

Enjoy a classic like Fargo, for free!

These movies are some of the film industry’s classics. Movies that showcase actresses such as Kathrine Hepburn, Betty Davis, Barbara Stanwyck, Doris Day, Marilyn Monroe and Fort Wayne native Carole Lombard have already been shown.

If you missed those classics, don’t fret, because some of the leading ladies still to appear include Jane Fonda, Meryl Streep, Cher, Pam Grier and Frances McDormand.

So bring your friends and come out to enjoy these free classic films featuring some of Hollywood’s most famous and unforgettable leading ladies. Here is a schedule for the remaining shows:

Klute, Thursday, June 7

Silkwood, June 12

Jackie Brown, Thursday, June 14

Fargo, Tuesday, June 19

The Cinema Center is located on E. Berry St. in Downtown Fort Wayne. For more information or the address to the Cinema Center follow this link: http://www.visitfortwayne.com/event/free-flicks-hollywoods-leading-ladies

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We all have special places where we love to take guests to entertain them and show them the unique features of our town. I love to have house guests, especially friends and family who have never visited Fort Wayne. One of my special spots to take visitors is the Grabill Country Store (the “Grabill Store”).

The Grabill Store is a community-owned bulk store in Grabill, Indiana, a small outpost in northeast Allen County. Grabill is a town of around a thousand people, including a significant population of Amish families.

What is so special about the Grabill Store? A stop at the Store is a cultural experience. It is a place where horse and buggy meets four-door sedan and freshly made bread and ground peanut butter meet repackaged gummy worms and trail mix.  The centerpiece of the Grabill Store’s is the Amish bakery and deli. The bakery produces freshly baked bread. You will find perfect loaves of sourdough, wheat, raisin bread, and others. A personal favorite of mine are the trays of fresh donuts made daily and sold fast. You won’t just find glazed donuts either, you will see filled, iced, and flavored. Select a box or bag and take a pile home, you will not regret it.

The Grabill Store Deli offers a hot buffet, deli meats, and cheeses. A perfect Saturday morning activity is breakfast at the Grabill Store. Get there early and have a cup of freshly ground coffee and enjoy a traditional country style breakfast of eggs, bacon, biscuits, gravy, and mush. Or grab a plate of the outstanding sourdough French toast – thick cuts of bread battered and sauteed before being finished off in the oven. It is sweet and fantastic. In case you are not an early riser, you can head to the deli buffet for a lunch of fried pork tenderloin, mashed potatoes, and gravy. Then finish lunch off with a slice of freshly made pie for dessert. The buffet changes daily but these are some of my favorites.

Once you finish your meal be sure to cruise through the grocery offerings. You will find Amish-made fruit jams and spreads, pickled items, pasta, cooking supplies, and spices. The Grabill Store also offers a huge selection of repackaged items – nuts, dried fruit, and candy. Because the Grabill Store purchases these common items in bulk and repackages the items the shopper saves money. Who doesn’t love that? One more thing you will not want to miss at the Grabill Store is the homemade ice creams. Giant tubs of blackberry with nuts, banana, fudge, strawberry, and more await you in the freezer section.

Dining and shopping at the Grabill Store is a pleasure. A visit gives the customer the opportunity to enjoy a good meal and great products. More importantly customers are supporting a truly local business while experiencing the local culture. The Grabill store is a reliable and wonderful place to shop regularly and a great local destination for your out-of-town visitors and guests who want to see all Allen County as to offer.

Where do you take visitors when they come to Fort Wayne?

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