Arts United hosts the 14th annual Taste of the Arts Festival, presented by 3Rivers Credit Union, on Saturday, August 27, 2022 from 11am to 6pm at Arts Campus Fort Wayne, The Landing, and Promenade Park. This free festival celebrates the rich diversity of arts and culture in Northeast Indiana. Proceeds from donations, sponsorships, and vendor registration fees help keep admission to the event free.

 

The 2022 festival comprises five block parties of arts and culture programming. Activities include live performances of music, theatre, dance, and comedy, visual art for purchase, tastings by local food and drink vendors, interactive arts and cultural experiences for people of all ages, and buskers throughout the festival. 

Accessibility and sensory-friendliness of the festival will be increased, thanks to support by AWS Foundation. 

 

Taste à la cARTe – August 21 – 30, 2022 (Locations vary)

Dine in with local restaurants from August 21 – 30 for Taste à la cARTe, a culinary arts experience of Taste of the Arts. This new addition returns for 2022, encouraging patrons to explore the culinary arts of Fort Wayne at their brick-and-mortar locations. Participating restaurants include Arbor at The Bradley, Big Apple Pizza, Summit Grill, Three Rivers Distilling, Saisaki and more.

 

Patrons that visit the participating restaurants during Taste à la cARTe with a Diner’s Passport are eligible to win a Passport to the Arts prize package valued at more than $1,000. No purchase is necessary to enter the drawing for the Passport to the Arts prize basket. Learn more about Taste à la cARTe on the website.

 

Arts United would like to remind Taste à la cARTe participants to be patient with servers and wait staff at our local restaurants during this time. Many are understaffed, so please remember to be kind as they navigate running their businesses while continuing to serve our community.

 

FESTIVAL EVENTS
Performances (Arts Campus Fort Wayne, The Landing, Promenade Park, Freimann Square, Rousseau Plaza)

Enjoy more than 60 live performances of music, theatre, dance, comedy, and fashion across 11 stages from 11am to 6pm. WBOI’s Meet the Music Concert follows the festival at the Promenade Park Lawn stage to conclude the activities. See a full list of Taste performers and schedule online.

 

Festival Tastings (Arts Campus Fort Wayne, Calhoun Street)

Patrons can enjoy tastings onsite during the festival from 11am to 6pm from local food and beverage vendors. Purchases can be made directly with the vendors, most of which will accept both cash and credit cards.

 

Tasting Participants include Banh Mi Pho Shop, Chapman’s Brewing Company, Hop River Brewing Company, Mo’s Tacos, The Sassy Vegan, and more. Trubble Brewing will be open in Promenade Park. See the latest list of vendors online.

 

Interactive Experiences (Freimann Square, Rousseau Plaza, and Arts United Center)

NIPSCO STEAM Park features kid-friendly, hands-on activities based in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) by approximately 30 nonprofit organizations in Freimann Square.

 

The Human Library Fort Wayne chapter offers the art of storytelling inside the Ian Rolland Gallery upstairs at the Arts United Center. People of diverse backgrounds are loaned as “books” to initiate a dialogue about challenging topics. This culture sharing activity lets patrons have a conversation with the book.

 

Artlink’s Figure Drawing club will have open figure drawing on the Rousseau Plaza. Artists and non-artists alike are encouraged to join in the drawing.

 

Traditional Arts Indiana Folklife (Parkview Physicians Group ArtsLab)
The culmination of the Allen County Folklife Study, in partnership with Traditional Arts Indiana, will take place during the Taste of the Arts Festival. Traditional dance will be performed in ArtsLab. More details will be available about this area of the festival closer to the event date.

Artlink Market (Main Street)

Artlink Market is a curated marketplace featuring the best in contemporary craft and handmade goods. This year’s Artlink Market at Taste of the Arts will feature 30-50 different local vendors selling their wares.

 

PARTNER EVENTS DURING THE FESTIVAL

Kekionga Plein Air Event (Arts United Center Plaza)

Fort Wayne Artists Guild presents Kekionga Plein Air Event in August, culminating at Taste of the Arts. On August 27, activities include the Paint Arts Campus Fort Wayne competition, wet-paint sale, and Community Artists Program Exhibition and Sale. Competition prizes and purchase awards at 5pm during the Taste of the Arts Festival. Judges will be Christina Body, Greg Barnes, and Vlad Yeliseyev. Learn about the full event.

 

YLNI Farmers Market (Barr Street)

The YLNI Farmers Market is an open-air outdoor market, offering fresh and unique local produce, plants, meats, baked goods and homemade crafts. Shop local vendors along Barr Street between Berry and Wayne from 9am to 1pm. 

 

Fort Wayne Museum of Art will offer free admission during their regular gallery hours, 10am to 6pm. The Quiet Zone will be located in the Overlook Room for festival goers with sensory-sensitivities. Current exhibitions include Broad Spectrum, Clear Vision: The Collection of Carl and Stephanie Beling, Bill Blass: Fort Wayne’s Fashion Designer, Heating Up: New Glass Acquisitions, Garden Party: Outdoor Sculptures by Dorothy Gillespie, and more. 

 

The History Center will offer free admission and art activities from 9am to 5pm. The History Center is home to the collection of the Allen County-Fort Wayne Historical Society, which contains more than 32,000 artifacts, 20,000 photographs and thousands of linear feet of archival materials. The temporary exhibition, Bill Blass: Fort Wayne’s Fashion Designer, will be on display.

 

Artlink currently is presenting two exhibitions. Moments: The Plein Air Movement, in partnership with the Fort Wayne Artists Guild and Explorations by George Morrison. Admission is free.

 

Please note that performance schedules and tasting vendors are subject to change.

 

For more information and updates about the 2022 festival, visit tastefw.org and follow Taste of the Arts Festival on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Taste of the Arts is sponsored in 2022 by 3Rivers Credit Union, NiSource Foundation (NIPSCO), AWS Foundation, Arcpoint Productions, The Landing, Arts Campus Fort Wayne, Riverfront Fort Wayne, Ambassador Enterprises, AEP Foundation, Parrish Leasing, Sweetwater, Indiana Arts Commission, Bradley Co., Current Mechanical, Do It Best Corp., Metropolitan Title, North Eastern Group Realty, PHP, Downtown Improvement District, 1st Source Bank, Fort Wayne Metals, Ferguson, Strahm Building Solutions, Lincoln Financial Group, Pizza Hut, and Rea Magnet Wire.

 

Festival format is subject to change should any public health guidelines for Allen County and the City of Fort Wayne call for heightened precautions. Arts United will continue to monitor the health of the community under the guidance of the Allen County Department of Health and CDC.