FORT WAYNE, IN (August 18, 2021) – Arts United hosts the 13th annual Taste of the Arts Festival, presented by 3Rivers Credit Union, on Saturday, August 28, 2021 from 11am to 7pm 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 2021 festival comprises four block parties and festival trail connectors of arts and culture programming. Activities include live performances of music, theatre, dance, and more, visual art for purchase, tastings by local food and drink vendors onsite and off site, interactive arts and cultural experiences for people of all ages, and buskers throughout the festival. 

Taste à la cARTe – August 22 – 31, 2021 (Locations vary)
Dine in with local restaurants from August 22 – 31 for Taste à la cARTe. This new addition to Taste of the Arts encourages patrons to explore the culinary arts of Fort Wayne at brick-and-mortar locations.

Participating Restaurants include Alto Grado, Mercado, Nawa, Summit City Brewerks, Sweets on Main, Tolon, Trubble Brewing, and Trubble Riverside Café & Tap.

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 here.

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.

Tastings – August 28, 2021 (Arts Campus Fort Wayne, Promenade Park)
Patrons can enjoy tastings onsite during the festival from 11am to 7pm 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 Ambrosia Orchard, Banh Mi Pho Shop, B. Antonio’s Pizza, Chapman’s Brewing Company, Crossroads Kombucha, Hop River Brewing Company, Ivy Tech Grasshopper, Jimmy’s BBQ, Kona Ice, Mad Anthony Brewing Company, Mercadito Taqueria, Shigs in Pit, Summit City Brewerks, Summit City Kettle Corn, Travelin’ Tom’s Coffee, and West Central Microcreamery.

Performances – August 28, 2021 (Arts Campus Fort Wayne, The Landing, Promenade Park, Freimann Square, Rousseau Plaza)
Enjoy more than 50 live performances of music, theatre, dance, and comedy across 9 stages from 11am to 7pm. WBOI’s Meet the Music Concert concludes at 9pm. See a full list of performers and schedule here.

Interactive Experiences – August 28, 2021 (Freimann Square, Calhoun Street, 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 organizations in Freimann Square. Virtual activities will also be available for remote access by Bach Collegium, Embassy Theatre, Homestead High School & eSACS, League of Women Voters Fort Wayne, Maker Labs at Allen County Public Library, PBS 39 Fort Wayne, and Visit Fort Wayne.

The Fort Wayne Public Art Commission hosts the installation of the Calhoun Street Crosswalk mural, designed by Adam Garland. The community is encouraged to help create the mural through a unique balloon paint pop activity. This trail connector is located east of The Landing.

The Human Library Fort Wayne chapter offers the art of storytelling inside the west end of the Arts United Center lobby. 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.

PFW Department of Art and Design will host two virtual reality experiences in the east end of the Arts United Center lobby. The Andres Montenegro and Audrey Ushenko VR/Art installation is a sensory experience for visual art.

Artlink Market – August 28, 2021 (Outside the Auer Center for Arts & Culture and Artlink)
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 approximately 20 unique vendors, including: ADORN Candles & Home Fragrance, The Art Farm, Cat People Press, “I” Wood Artists, Jewelry by Matt Breunig, K1ndgoods, Lan Chi Nancy T. Fritz, Nailed It Together, Old Fort Tee Co., Pursley Design Company, Rada Handmade, Schroeder Pottery, Southern Hospitality, Stitches & Sass, Tactile Melodies, Wandering Press, 0542 Lakeside Art Studio, and 4 Corners Gallery. 

Artlink will also have a tent in the Market featuring artwork by local artists Matt Plett and Grace Yencer. Their artworks were featured on Artlink’s first two jigsaw puzzles, which will both be available for purchase at the Artlink tent.

PARTNER EVENTS
Kekionga Plein Air Event – August 28, 2021 (Barrett McNagny Parking Lot)
Fort Wayne Artists Guild presents Kekionga Plein Air Event in August, culminating at Taste of the Arts. On August 28 from 11am to 8pm, activities include the Quick Draw competition, wet-paint sale, and Community Artists Program Exhibition and Sale take place. Additionally, exhibiting artists will be at Artlink for a meet and greet for Moments: The Plein Air Movement. 

YLNI Farmers Market – August 28, 2021 (Berry Street and 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 3pm. 

Admission Free Experiences (Arts Campus Fort Wayne)
Fort Wayne Museum of Art will offer free admission during their regular gallery hours, 10am to 6pm. Current exhibitions include Alphonse Mucha: Master of Art Nouveau, Movement: Glass Sculptures by Latchezar Boyadjiev, A Love of Light: The Fendel/Rosenbach Collection, Reflections: Glass at FWMoA of the Last Decade, At The Crossroads: Artists of Indiana, and A Century of Making Meaning: 100 Years of Collecting.

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 permanent exhibits feature artifacts that document the people, places, and events important to the history of Allen County and Fort Wayne. Interactive elements offer guests, families and schoolchildren a hands-on experience that tells the story of the local multicultural community

Artlink currently is presenting two exhibitions. Moments: The Plein Air Movement, in partnership with the Fort Wayne Artists Guild and Drainage by Dannon Schroeder. An artist meet and greet for both exhibitions will be from 11am to 1pm.

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

For updates about the 2021 festival, follow Taste of the Arts Festival on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Find more details about the festival at TasteFW.org. Taste of the Arts is sponsored in 2021 by 3Rivers Federal Credit Union, Arcpoint Productions, NIPSCO, Arts Campus Fort Wayne, The Landing, Riverfront Fort Wayne, Parrish Leasing, Franklin Electric, PHP, Ambassador Enterprises, Do It Best, Indiana Michigan Power, Current Mechanical, Ferguson Advertising, Bradley Company, Community Foundation of Greater Fort Wayne, Fort Wayne Metals, Ivy Tech Community College, BKD, Strahm Building Solutions, WANE, WBOI, Downtown Improvement District, 1st Source Bank, Travel Leaders, Pizza Hut, Rea Magnet Wire.

COVID-19 RESPONSE:
Arts United cares about our patrons, our employees and our community. Arts United encourages everyone involved in presenting and attending cultural programs to monitor and follow recommendations by the CDC, Indiana Department of Health, and Allen County Department of Health. 

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the format of Taste of the Arts has changed in order to support the safety and comfort of staff, patrons and participants. This is an outdoor event with limited indoor components that can be socially distanced. The festival footprint has been spread out to encourage social distancing and less crowding. Food elements of the event have been modified to reduce crowding and long lines. Arts United staff will wear masks at all times. Arts United strongly recommends that festival participants wear masks, especially when indoors.  Arts United will continue to monitor public health protocols under the guidance of the Allen County Department of Health, and the festival format is subject to change as appropriate.