‘One Wonderful Experience’ on tap in Van Wert this weekend

Published:  Friday, June 5, 2009 (9 months, 1 week ago)
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VAN WERT — The annual Van Wert Peony Festival and ArtRageous on Main events kick off today with rides and games downtown.
Now in its third year, this combination of Van Wert’s historic Peony Festival and the more recent ArtRageous on Main called One Wonderful Experience is set to open with literally something for everyone.
According to Larry Lee, director of the Van Wert Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, this year’s festival has the potential to be one of the largest in recent memory.
“Recent surveys have shown that people are planning to stay closer to home this year,” he said, adding that he has also been receiving several phone calls and e-mails from people out of the area wanting information about the festival. “If the weather is good, I’m expecting a good crowd in the park and an unusually large attendance for the parade.”
This year, something new will be part of the activities. The Peony Festival Committee has arranged for amusement rides and several carnival games to be in the parking lot at the corner of Market and Central Avenue. There will be rides for children as well as adults. Rides and games will be open 4-9 p.m. today; 4-9:30 p.m. Friday; and 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Saturday.
Other Peony Festival activities will include a craft show in Fountain Park Friday and Saturday beginning at 11 a.m.
Bringing back an old favorite, there will be a Peony Festival Cruise-In on the Central Avenue parking lot on Friday from 6 -9 p.m. Expectations are for a 100-plus vehicles to take part in the cruise-in.
Camp Clay will host the Peony Festival Fishing Derby beginning at 10 a.m. on Saturday.
The ever-popular Garden and Landscape Tours will be open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday and 1-4 p.m. Sunday. There are six locations on the tour including Meadow Lane Farm, the Lincoln Highway Bed and Breakfast, the homes of Kevin and Brenda Merkle, Stan and Mary Knittle, Larry and Emily Riley and Dave and Carol Blair. Garden Tour booklets and maps are available at several locations around town and at the Van Wert Area CVB office at 136 E. Main St.
In addition to the traditional Peony Festival Parade, which begins at 5 p.m. on Saturday, the festival committee has arranged for several short performances to take place at the corner of Main and Jefferson streets starting at 1 p.m. on Saturday. The Michigan City Soul Steppers, a competitive drum and drill team from Michigan City, Ind., will perform at 1 p.m., followed by a performance by Kim Hohman’s Dance Works.  At 3 p.m., W.O.W. Unicycle and Juggling 4-H Club from Findlay will entertain the crowd, to be followed by the Circle City Sidewalk Stompers (a clown band from Indianapolis) and the Fort Wayne Mizpah Shrine Band.
Not to be outdone, Main Street Van Wert has arranged for  several of  its  activities  to take place in and around the Fountain Park area on Friday and Saturday. The art show and sale will be held from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday. There will be 17 food vendors on Jefferson Street both days, serving great festival food.
For children, there will be a petting zoo set up at the corner of Main and Jefferson starting at 11 a.m. on Friday and 10 a.m. on Saturday. Children’s art activities and inflatable games will be available in the park on Saturday beginning at 11 a.m.
Following the grand parade, Main Street Van Wert will present the Jon Justice Blues Band in concert at the Van Wert County Fairgrounds. Opening for Jon Justice will be Van Wert’s own, The Dogs.  Jon Justice was recently sited as Best of Cincinnati 2008 Blues Singer/Slinger. He won the Cincinnati Blues Challenge, representing the Queen City at the IBC in Memphis.  In 2007, Justice was nominated for three C.E.A.’s for Best Blues Artist, Best Live Act, and Best Up and Coming Artist and appeared in a Bootsy Collins’, (James Brown, Parliament Funk, George Clinton) video “BENGAL ROCK”.  Food and beverages at the concert will be provided by the Elks Lodge.
The fairgrounds will also be the site of the Cushman Motor Scooter Show from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.  on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. There will also be a quilt show at the fairgrounds on Saturday and Sunday beginning at 10 a.m. on Saturday and noon on Sunday, and the annual Jubilee Flower Show will be held 1-5 p.m. Saturday and  noon to 4 p.m. Sunday.
The opening program for this year’s Fountain Park Concert Series is Buffalo Rome on Friday. The Peony Festival committee will be operating the concession stand in addition to the festival food vendors.
“This is the kind of weekend that CVB takes great delight in talking about,” said Lee. “It serves to highlight the misconception that people have that there is little or nothing to do in Van Wert. Of course, we encourage people to take a vacation, if possible, explore new places and people. But if circumstances make travel difficult this summer, there’s a whole lot to do right here in your own backyard!”