Snow Foolin

In the middle of the dark and cold winter, there is a bright light shining in the community. It’s Weather the Fort, a family-friendly winter festival happening on Saturday. This annual event is a great way to embrace the cold weather, hang out with family and escape hibernation.
This winter marks nine years since Weather the Fort began, but only two years since it was taken over by Downtown Fort Wayne. Preston Wallace, Director of Marketing for Downtown Fort Wayne, discussed this event in a recent interview with Fort Wayne magazine. “Weather the Fort is an opportunity for families, friends to gather, and be able to bring a younger demographic,” Wallace said.
It is a shared feeling that the months of January, February, and March are harder to get through. This may be especially true for the school-aged kids, who don’t have as many breaks or things to look forward to as they might at other times of the year. “People, especially after the holidays, getting into February, have a desire and a hunger to get back out, be a part of the community.” Wallace said.
When this festival started, it was a 21-and-older event. After the first two years, many people in the community expressed the idea that the festival would be better if people could bring their children and if it were a family-friendly event. This came to pass and now the event is one that families look forward to each year as an opportunity to create lifelong memories.
After Downtown Fort Wayne took over Weather the Fort, there were certain aspects of the festival that were emphasized differently. “Being as community-minded and -centric as we are,” Wallace said, “we’re always constantly evolving in terms of, ‘How do we identify some of those different points to make this a more accessible, welcoming event to people of all ages, races…?’ And I think that we’ve really accomplished that with Weather the Fort.”
One way that Downtown Fort Wayne has helped the festival evolve again this year is with a temporary exhibition permit. At many outdoor festivals in the past, legal drinkers were confined to a small area, usually encompassed by snow fencing. The temporary exhibition permit will expand the area where people can go with their beverages, although Wallace was not able to share the exact parameters.
The Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area (DOR) that was passed by the city council last year is not in effect yet, Wallace said.
Alcoholic beverages will be provided by Dana’s and Night Train, two nightspots that will soon be launched on the Landing by Be Better Hospitality. They will serve domestic and craft beer, cocktails, mocktails and hot mulled cider at the festival.
The wristband and ticket systems that were used in the past for the purchase of food and beverages have been abandoned in favor of “cash transaction or credit card transaction with each of those individual businesses.” Wallace said. There will be no mobile concessions. Attendees will be encouraged to buy food directly from eateries on The Landing.
As this is a family-friendly festival, there will be many activities for younger kids. There will be the chance to meet the royal family of Arendelle. Princess Anna and Kristoff will be at the event from 4 pm – 6 pm. They will be available for meet-and-greets and photos.
“We partnered with Your Party Princess,” Wallace said. “We’ve literally seen lines out of doors and around the corner for young families to be able to bring their kids by, and (those kids) dress up in their own costumes,” Wallace said.
There will also be rock painting and other hands-on activities.
And what would a winter festival be without ice carving? This has traditionally been one of the more popular elements of Weather the Fort. Carving will start at 3:30 pm. The resulting sculptures will be placed around the downtown area after the event.
Live music will play throughout. Fort Wayne has a wide pool of local talent and Downtown Fort Wayne takes that into consideration when selecting the musicians. “We’ve got some really great local talent; we see that with all of our events that we put on throughout the year.” Wallace said.
Downtown Fort Wayne takes care to offer a variety of genres. Making sure that there are multiple vibes every year to draw in different audiences is key. “Whether it’s a little bit more upbeat or a little bit more mellow, it’s gonna cater to a different audience.” Wallace said. The first band, Wallen Road band, will take the stage from 3 pm – 5 pm. After them, The Be Colony will perform from 5:45 pm – 7:30 pm.
Before the festival ends, there will be one final show for the guests. Last year’s festival saw the debut of a fire performance from Pyroscope Entertainment. Downtown Fort Wayne is happy to announce the return of this outstanding show. It will begin at 7:45 pm. The festival ends at 8:00 pm.
“There’s just a lot going on,” Wallace said. “I mean, really, there’s something for everybody.”
Weather the Fort: Free, 3 pm to 8 pm Saturday, The Landing, Columbia Street, downtownfortwayne.com/weather-the-fort