Oddities, and the Mizpah Shrine Parade

Festival goers lined the streets of downtown from West Central to the courthouse tonight to see the Mizpah Shrine Parade. There is something indescribably strange about seeing hundreds of old men march, drive, and roller blade around downtown Fort Wayne in tasseled fez, an antiquated hat from Ottoman times last seen on Aladdin's pet monkey Abu. Eccentricities aside, the Shriners have been some of the friendliest people I've met so far at the festival, and their organization serves a really good cause. I was glad to see such a strong show of American flags in the 300-400 man parade, particularly the eight-horse brigade featuring American flags from each era of its history.

I thought the crowd's reception to the parade was lukewarm. Talking with some I found that many missed seeing the parade in the dark when it was known as the "Parade of Lights," which ended when Indiana switched to daylight savings time. Shriner secretary Ron Harruff told me the change was to keep the parade early enough for the kids, which is understandable. It's a shame. Daylight savings time is nice, but does anyone think 10:00pm is too late to wait for it to get dark?

Have Rain? See the Train.

Rain needn't spoil Three Rivers Festival fun, but it may call for a detour to the History Center on Barr Street, where the Three Rivers and Indiana Northern Train Association Exhibit is being held through Sunday. Association president Blane Ryan was kind enough to give me a piece by piece tour of the group's extensive model train set, which includes a scale representation of trains and buildings in downtown Monroeville. My favorite was a train the association dubs the "Three Rivers Special," consisting of a Bratwurst car followed by Coca Cola cars followed by beer cars. One members of the association showed me pictures of the Nickle Plate Railroad running over Clinton Street back when it had passenger service in the 1950's. Next time you cross under the Clinton Street railroad bridge, try to imagine all the people who boarded trains at these paddocks, which still exist today!



At Sprint Food Alley I tried a delicious sample blueberry roll from Audrey's Pumpkin & Gourmet Rolls, a company owned by Chris Priebe of Mansfield, Indiana (right, in the orange hat). Chris was making his second appearance at the festival, and found time to chat with a fellow vendor and friend of his Steve Greshan, of Miss Piggy's out of Seymore, Indiana. The two cross paths several times each summer on the festival circuit they tell me, and they've found Fort Wayne to be one of their more enjoyable stops. Steve, who has seen the festival grow over the past 20 years, was happy to see family events like the Bed Race return this year, "entertaining community involvement" he said.



After talking with the friendly folks at the Mizpah Shriner's exhibit trailer at Headwaters Park, I feel I have a better understanding of what the Shriners do. Shriner Dave Yarde (pictured) will give you a brief tour of the exhibit and show you where Shriners Hospitals are helping kids across the country. He'll also give you the story behind those mysterious looking Shriners fez caps. Check out the Shriners at the festival, or see them Friday night at 8 pm, for the Shriners parade downtown.

Lastly, today was the opening of the Two Men and a Truck Marketplace. Follow your nose to the smell of incense on the west side of Headwaters, where you'll find arts, jewelry, kitchen accessories, and "The Secret of the Amazon," a fruity elixir said to cure all your aches and pains.(not to be missed!)

Tuesday Night at the Fair: Be tuff! The "dog days" of summer can be wuff!

Cliff Sprunger holds his daughter Joni Bollenbacher's Great Dane, "Phoenix."


Dogs ruled the day at Three Rivers today, with the "Picture Your Pet" event at Lakeside Park and the Northeastern Indiana Kennel Club Pure Breed Dog Showcase at Freimann Square.

I got a chance to stop by both. I don't know when the last time was that I saw so many furry, wriggling dogs in one day. Between the two events I saw all kinds of Man's Best Friend, from Chihuahuas to Dalmatians.

"Picture Your Pet" was open from 3-8 p.m. It was endearing to see families pose with their beloved pets. I was told that some participants dress their pets to match for the pictures, sometimes in Halloween costumes. I was tempted to bring my calico cat, Cleo, in for her own glamor shot.

From 7-9 p.m. members of the Northeastern Indiana Kennel Club presented groomed breeds of dogs in an informative show. Pooches strutted down the walkway and were available afterward for closer inspection. Freimann Square was much more crowded with show-watchers than I had anticipated, and afterwards there was a frenzy as children made a beeline to "pet the doggies." I had a chance to get a good look at the well-groomed dogs up close. My favorites were two Shetland Sheepdogs and a Cocker Spaniel named Faye.

Later in the evening I got a chance to stroll around the festival again. I cooled off in the fountains of Headwaters East, and watched riders scream as they were spun upside-down and around in the carnival area of the festival.


I get wet in the fountains at Headwaters East.

Monday Night at Three Rivers: "Bobby V." and lemon shake-ups

Today was my first day at the festival. Not too much has changed since last year, the same elements are still there (the Meijer Event tent, helicopter rides, Junk Food Alley and Midway).

I noticed as I entered Headwaters Park that there were giant ants drawn on sidewalks and walls. I was told later that the ants are symbolic of the new "Mad Ants" Fort Wayne basketball team. Knowing that, I thought it was a clever way to decorate downtown for the festival.

I met up with some friends and made a beeline for Junk Food Alley. As usual, it was crowded with hungry festival-goers willing to pack their arteries full of fat (myself included). We got lemon shake-ups at a stand to start out on. Walking through the crowd, I ran into a few old friends I haven't seen in a long time. I'd have to say that's one of my favorite things about the festival-seeing people you haven't seen in ages.

We wandered across the street and watched the rock-climbing wall and bungee-jumping. They were both not as intense as I expected, the rock-climbing wall looking easy and the bungee jumping low to the ground.

Later on in the night the festival became even more crowded and diverse. I began to see more men wearing chains and Air Force Ones and girls sporting metallic laced-up high heels and white shorts. It took me awhile to figure out that the ever-growing crowd was waiting on hip-hop singer Bobby Valentino's performance at 9 p.m.

I could hear the "Peace on the Street" and Bobby Valentino performances even outside the tent. Dozens of people crowded outside and peered through the slits in the gates, hoping to see a glimpse of the singer. I could tell from the cheers and the applause inside that concert-goers were satisfied.

The late-night crowd thinned out near 10 p.m. when I said adieu to the festival fun. And now I'm wondering what addictive substances are in Junk Food Alley Food because two hours later, I'm craving another lemon shakeup...



A carnival stand at Headwaters East attracts a few late-night customers.



Fans crowd outside the Meijer Event Tent to catch a glimpse of Bobby Valentino.