INSIDE THIS ISSUE Classifieds..............................................................................A4 Community Calendar ................................................... A14,15 Downtown New Haven ......................................................A11 Healthy Times .....................................................................A10 Find It In Fort Wayne.................................................. A8,9
Serving New Haven & East Allen County
INfortwayne.com
November 8, 2013
Theater readies Christmas icons By Garth Snow gsnow@kpcmedia.com
As she prepares a fabled tradition for another Christmas, Barb Richards talks about a child’s thrill at seeing the Wolf & Dessauer animated characters. When she was about 7, she watched the store’s blinds separate to reveal Santa and company in the windows of that legendary Fort Wayne department store. As she built a 37-year career in broadcasting, Richards often heralded the Thanksgiving Eve unveiling of the characters’ new windows on Harrison Street. In her first year as the Embassy Theatre’s marketing director, she still stands in awe of the assorted penguins and carolers that spend their summers on the third floor of the Indiana Hotel building. With the guidance of David and Kathy James, those characters will spring to life the evening of Nov.
27, during the Night of Lights celebration. Richards says the characters never really rest. “They get busy at night,” she says. Santa, of course, is the leader, she jokes. She describes the plastic-covered, dormant collection as “creepy as heck.” “But I think they’re pretty,” she says. “Some of them are rather works of art. They are kind of fun.” “They all go down into the windows,” she says. “Some of them get reprogrammed to move. The penguins move. Oh this guy moves — Santa has to move.” “Those animals take a lot of work, and each year we have to change the animals so the animated characters do something different. One time they might be picking up a present and the next year they might be putting a star on top of a Christmas tree and their arms have to move differently, or their heads look in a different direction, so that they tell a See THEATER, Page A4
FILE PHOTO BY JANE SNOW
Local organizations and businesses sponsor unique trees for the Festival of Lights. The Fort Wayne TinCaps’ tree stands beside the stairway at the 2012 festival.
Erin’s House finishes move By Garth Snow gsnow@kpcmedia.com
Lights of Love Q Parkview Field. Nov. 21-30, 5-8 p.m. (With the exception of Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 28). Free admission. Memorialize your loved one with the purchase of a luminaria for $25, or a luminaria and scoreboard message for $50. A memorial fundraising project for Erin’s House for Grieving Children, in partnership with Parkview Field. Contact Audrey at Audrey@erinshouse.org, or visit erinshouse.org. Q Parkview Field presents Fireworks Night Wednesday, Nov. 27, at 7:45 p.m. Free admission.
Times Community Publications
See ERIN’S, Page A2
COURTESY PHOTO
Dave and Gail Farragh, the parents of Erin’s House for Grieving Children namesake Erin Farragh, help to cut the ribbon at the new building. Sharing in the moment are Steve Brody, Erin’s House board president, and Debbie Meyer, executive director.
3306 Independence Drive, Fort Wayne, IN 46808
Erin’s House for Grieving Children has a new home. An Oct. 26 ribbon-cutting and open house introduced the public to the facility at 5670 YMCA Park Drive West. “We know everyone is eager to see the finished house,” Erin’s House Executive Director Debbie Meyer said in a news release. “It’s fun and colorful and full of kid-friendly spaces. Most importantly, it’s home.” Erin’s House was founded in 1993, in response to the unexpected death of 5-year-old Erin Farragh in 1989. The agency had found its most recent temporary location in Georgetown Square, in August 2012. Groundbreaking for the new site was held in November 2012. The board of directors
All aboard the Santa Train Santa Claus will visit New Haven three Saturdays in December to welcome children aboard the Santa Train. The 30-minute rides begin and end at the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society home at 15808 Edgerton Road. Rides continue from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Dec. 7, 14 and 21. Each ride costs $4. For details, visit fortwaynerailroad.org. Kelly Lynch, FWRHS communications manager, said the Santa Train tradition began here in about 1994, based on an earlier tradition in Fort Wayne. “And last year was our record — 2,300 people — which is pretty decent,” he said. “It’s gotten so busy in that last two years that we’ve added another caboose to expand the capacity per trip,” Lynch said.
“We like to say it’s a good variation on visiting Santa at the mall, and it’s very affordable,” Lynch said. Larger families have another option available. “For the last three years we’ve been operating Santa charters, which allow families of 15 to 20 people to charter a caboose ride in the evening,” Lynch said. Santa will help to hand out some of the gifts from the family. The wood- and coalburning stove, the Christmas lights, and the Bing Crosby-era music lend to the atmosphere. “We make a 45-minute or hourlong trip with Santa, cookies and refreshments,” Lynch said. “And it’s just a cool way to spend time with the family,” he said. “It’s gotten really popular See TRAIN, Page A4