Last week I was invited to join some lovely writers for a media tour of Fort Wayne. If I had to choose one word to wrap up our trip it would be ‘booming‘. The city has focused on making things more family friendly and there is an incredible amount of fun to be had for all ages.
Family Fun in Fort Wayne
I live in the Indy area which is only an hour and a half from Fort Wayne, yet I’d never been. My entire Mom’s side of the family is from Fort Wayne and Hunnington, yet I’d never been. Only once I started researching for my trip did I learn that it’s the second largest city in Indiana. To be honest, I wouldn’t have been able to tell you where in Indiana it was. Cut to day 2 of our media tour and I’m already telling my husband we’re coming back this summer because ‘it’s so fun!!!‘
Because we did so much on our three day trip to Fort Wayne, I’m going to separate this post into two parts according to the timeline we used for our trip.
Day 1 in Fort Wayne
Heading to Fort Wayne I was desperately trying to dodge pot holes through the torrential downpour that we were having as our first day of Spring in Indiana. Needless to say, I was a little weary from my drive but my mood quickly changed as I was greeted at check-in of my hotel Courtyard Fort Wayne Downtown at Grand Wayne Convention Center. The lobby was lively with happy voices spilling from the bar area of Conner’s Kitchen and the hotel had that wonderful Marriott smell. The hotel is beautifully decorated and I was excited to see such an awesome view of the Parkview Field baseball diamond from my room’s window.
The Hedge
Once I had a minute to rest, we were wisked off to a welcome reception at The Hedge hosted by Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership and Visit Fort Wayne. TIP: contact these two amazing groups if when you travel up north in Indiana. They know all the things and are so sweet! Along with a beautiful charchuterie spread from the amazing Bird and Cleaver we were able to learn how to use Julie’s printing press to make coasters! Julie Wall just celebrated her 6th year of owning The Hedge where she hosts craft workshops, sells her art and works out of her studio. I suggest stopping there to check out her art and her 100+ year old printing presses and stop by Sassie Cakes next door for some fresh cookie dough.
Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse
After the welcome reception we headed to dinner at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse. If you’ve been to Ruth’s Chris, you know that they have the highest level of dining experiences. The food was specially prepared for us and the service was nothing short of outstanding. I highly recommend the Sweet Potato side dish and the Carrot Cake dessert.
Day 2 in Fort Wayne
Fort Wayne Botanical Conservatory
Day two started off with an Amish breakfast from Rise n’ Roll at the Fort Wayne Botanical Conservatory. Conservatories and botanical gardens are my thing and I was very impressed with the collection of spieces and educational aspect at the FW Botanical Conservatory. High on the list was a kids garden that was staged as the 100 Acre Woods. Furthermore, they have beautiful waterfalls within their rain forest green house and a cactus that is over 100 years old in their dessert green house. This is definitely on my list for our visit in June. I know Sophia will love playing in the children’s garden.
The Landing
After my #plantlady dreaming in the conservatory we went out to The Landing for an exclusive hard hat tour. The Landing is a historical street that they’re completely overhauling to make 70 apartments and 56,000 SF of commercial space while keeping the historic integrity of the existing buildings. Development of The Landing will include unique, mostly local retail and restaurants, a coffee shop and brewpub—all destination-worthy. I love that they’re taking out the ability for vehicular traffic in that area to make it one large area for eating, drinking, shopping and living.
Promenade Park at the Riverfront
When we visit in June, I’m most excited to see the transformation and completion of Promenade Park. Located on the northern edge of downtown Fort Wayne, Promenade Park will be home to gathering spaces for the community, including a pavilion, amphitheater, canopy trail, kids’ canal, playground and more. They’re having a three day festival celebrating the completion June 21-23 which is why we’re visiting in June! I’m really excited for my kids to play in the kid’s canal and check out the canopy trail. A place for major family fun in Fort Wayne! If you’re able to drive to Fort Wayne for your trip, check out my favorite activity books for kids.
I’ll continue the with day 2 in my next post. To say there’s a lot to do in Fort Wayne is an understatement! You can also find a ton of video from my time there in my Highlight Stories on Instagram. In short, I had such a wonderful time, not only meeting new friends but experiencing all of the progression that Fort Wayne is experiencing. I appreciate Visit Fort Wayne for inviting me on this trip and being such amazing hosts.
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