Press release from the West Central Neighborhood Association:
Expanded Arts Fest at 2009 West Central Neighborhood Home and Garden Tour
The West Central Neighborhood Association (WCNA) presents the 27th Annual Home and Garden Tour and West Central Arts Fest September 12th and 13th. The tour highlights gardens, historic homes and other buildings from the 19th and 20th centuries to promote neighborhood revitalization and historic preservation. This year’s Arts Fest is the largest in the tour’s history.
This year’s tour features a vastly expanded West Central Arts Fest along Union Street between Berry and Wayne streets. Arts Fest presents 12 stage performances and a wide variety of artists’ booths. Among those taking the stage will be Possum Trot Orchestra, Lee Miles and the Illegitimate Sons, The Rewinders, Fort Wayne Ballet, Fort Wayne Dance Collective and others. Approximately 35 artists’ booths will be open for display and sale of fine arts and crafts. Mad Anthony Brewing Company will offer food, drink and fun to enhance the tour and Arts Fest experience. Arts Fest is open to the public – no admission charge.
Among the homes featured in this year’s tour are two never before seen on the tour. The recently restored Queen Anne-style home at 1013 West Jefferson Boulevard and a restored classic American Foursquare at 1325 West Wayne Street make their first appearance. The tour also includes the Carole Lombard House, as Cinema Center celebrates the 100th anniversary of the actor’s birth. Among the tour’s other 10 stops are homes, buildings and gardens which display an eclectic mix of history, architectural styles, gardens, and art-and-antiques-filled interiors.
WCNA presents a new and diverse array of history and style each year with no featured home usually appearing on the tour more than once in at least five years. With each ticket purchased WCNA provides a full-color souvenir tour booklet.
Advance ticket sales begin August 21, 2009, and will be at these Fort Wayne locations:
- Antiques on Broadway (1115 Broadway)
- Fabric Works and Drek’s Home Furnishings (218-220 Pearl St.)
- Neuhouser Nursery (8046 Stellhorn Rd.)
- Neuhouser Garden & Gifts (4605 W. Jefferson Blvd.)
- Umber’s Do-it-Best Hardware (2413 Lower Huntington Rd. and 2814 Maplecrest Rd.)
Ticket sales on tour days will be at:
- Arts Fest (Union Street between Berry and Wayne Streets)
- Swinney Park near The Swinney Homestead (1424 W. Jefferson Blvd.)
- St. Joseph Hospital parking lot (Broadway between W. Wayne St. and W. Washington Blvd.)
Other information:
- September 12 and 13, 2009
- Tour: 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Saturday and Sunday
- West Central Arts Fest: 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Sat and 11:00 a.m to 5:00 p.m. Sunday
- Free pedicab and horse-drawn carriage rides
- Tickets are $10 each in advance – $12 on tour days (children age 12 and under are free)
- Tour sponsored in part by St. Joseph Hospital
- Free admission to Arts Fest sponsored in part by the Downtown Improvement District
- For more information and photos go to the Home and Garden Tour page on the West Central Neighborhood Association website or call (260) 385-WEST