INSIDE THIS ISSUE Christmas Concerts .........................................................A5-6 Community Calendar ..................................................B12-14 Downtown Holiday Events ............................................A7-14 Holiday Festivities .................................................B1, B6, B7 Santa Sightings ...........................................................B9, B11
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Serving Northwest Fort Wayne & Allen County
November 14, 2014
Christmas tradition by the pound By Garth Snow
Church bells join lights to greet holiday season By Garth Snow
gsnow@kpcmedia.com
gsnow@kpcmedia.com
Church halls ďŹ ll with visitors and members shopping for cookies of every kind. The cookies are shaped like bells or Santas. The cookies taste of lemon or date. They’re covered with frosting or sugar. The cookie walks take on new bakers and add new memories each generation, as they raise money for church charities and send homebaked goods on to other homes. Bakers from several local churches shared their stories with this newspaper. FILE PHOTO
Agape Church of the Brethren will defy winter once again for the annual cookie walk. Adding caramel apples and buckeyes and crafts to the mix explains why faithful shoppers braved the elements last year. “Seriously, who stands in line outside a church door on a cold December morning just to purchase cookies?� a church publicist wrote. “Well, apparently
Karen Bojrab, left, Linda Menshy and Deb Tubergen bake cookies for a Saint Joseph United Methodist Church Cookie Walk. This year’s sale will be from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 6, at the church, 6004 Reed Road
those who want the best selection at a good price.� The Women’s Fellowship sponsors the annual sale at Agape, 11610 Lima Road. This year’s sale will be 9 a.m.-noon Saturday, Dec. 13. “Last December’s Saturday morning was a miserable, cold, snowy day, and there was a debate
about even opening the doors. Still they came,� wrote publicist Becky Morris. “While sales might not have been as brisk as some years, there weren’t many cookies left by noon.� Church members commit to making 10 dozen or more cookies, which are displayed in the fellowship hall. Shoppers put on gloves
and collect cookies in carry-out containers. “Some need a second or third box,� Morris wrote. “We look forward to seeing them again. The coffee pot is on for sampling while visiting and checking out the craft items,� Morris wrote. See TRADITION, Page A4
Downtown Fort Wayne will light up the holiday season on Thanksgiving Eve, and then church bells will ring in the season. The sounding of the bells is new this year, said Amita Homco, the Night of Lights event coordinator for the Downtown Improvement District. The collective sound follows the ďŹ reworks at Parkview Field. First Presbyterian Church has coordinated with eight other churches to ring bells in unison. “The Night of Lights is a staple. It’s the biggest thing for us. We get 10,000-plus people downtown,â€? Homco said. “We get lots of people in Fort Wayne who want to make sure it’s going to be happening and just checking in, ‘When is the Night of Lights? When is Holly Trolley shopping?’ People are really excited about making time for their holiday tradition.â€? Lightings begin with
Related Story Holiday List: Page A7. the History Center turret at 5:15, then the Christmas wreath at the University of Saint Francis Performing Arts Center, 431 W. Berry St. Crowds also gather to see: Aunt Millie’s Northern Lights, Pearl Street; Santa and his Reindeer at PNC, Main and Calhoun streets; and Wells Fargo Holiday Display and Indiana Michigan Power Christmas wreath at Indiana Michigan Power Center, formerly known as One Summit Square. “It’s also a really nice night because the courthouse is open. You’re allowed to bring your camera and your phone in and take pictures inside the courthouse,â€? Homco said. “The lighting and having cocoa and walking around, the ďŹ reworks — that is probably the biggest holiday fest that we have. It really kicks off the season and gets us in the Christmas spirit.â€? That spirit continues in events that follow.
Fantasy of Lights ready to brighten Franke Park By Garth Snow gsnow@kpcmedia.com
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Many of the Fantasy of Lights displays follow religious themes. Displays also include penguins playing on an iceberg, and skaters on a pond.
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annual light show about 15 years ago, before Linda’s retirement, and stepped up his involvement after his own retirement from Norfolk Southern railroad in 2008. “I set it up, take it down, maintain it, anything that has to be repaired I do that,� he said. “We couldn’t do it without him. We just couldn’t have the show,� said Chris Palmer, the director of volunteers for AWS Foundation. “He’s
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done all the refurbishing.� Stuerzenberger, in turn, passed on a large share of the credit to Craig Schmidt, an AWS Foundation employee. Lynne Gilmore is the executive director of the AWS Foundation. “The event raises money to support grant-making, and it also brings awareness about disabilities,� she said. Gilmore said the event has grown tremendously since its debut in 1995. See LIGHTS, Page A3
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Times Community Publications
About 15,000 visitors will begin arriving at the 20th annual Fantasy of Lights in Franke Park on Nov. 26. Dan Stuerzenberger has been working on the 32,000-bulb display for a month. Actually, he’s been helping to maintain the 71-feature display for 15 years. “We started this year, Oct. 8, bringing stuff onto the grounds,â€? the volunteer said. “It’s an everyday procedure. We work really closely with the [Allen County] Community Corrections. They help us set up the displays, and they’re just a really good group.â€? Stuerzenberger’s wife, Linda, is now retired from AWS Foundation, which sponsors and beneďŹ ts from the Fantasy of Lights. Dan became interested in the