As hundreds of cyclists poured through the Summit City, there was hope that the event would not only bring some exercise and entertainment to the participants but hopefully a changed view of the community in general.
FORT WAYNE – Candy-coated sunflower seeds, red-pepper hummus and peanut butter caramel corn stared right back at Wilma Fulling, 66, on Wednesday afternoon as she proudly examined her bingo winnings.
The gourmet snacks basket, provided by the Decatur Vein Clinic, capped Fulling’s first experience at Super Seniors Day at Imagine MASTer Academy, 2000 N. Wells St. The Walgreens-sponsored event, part of the Fort Wayne Newspapers Three Rivers Festival, featured health care information, live music, free lunch and other activities aimed at the city’s seniors.
The final bingo round, which attracted nearly 200 participants, wasn’t the only highlight of the six-hour fair for seniors. Before that, about 500 lunches donated by Chick-fil-A were served as a Three Rivers Festival rarity – air conditioning – cooled the hundreds-strong crowd.
But all senior events paled in comparison to the new kid on the block – Wii bowling, said Tracy Schultz, Super Seniors Day co-chair.
“I just think that’s been a big hit,” she said. “Wii bowling is just something anyone can do at any age. It connects the generations.”
Dog day afternoon
At 2 p.m. Wednesday, as most of the city’s budding hot dog stands were probably collapsing their umbrellas, Linda Parker and Byron Chase were readying for Round 2 just outside Science Central’s parking lot.
The frank-flipping couple from Stroh was weighing another opportunity to tail WXKE-FM Rock 104 to their next festival stop, Wednesday night’s Bed Race.
Chase, donning a tie-dyed T-shirt from behind his American Gypsy Dog hot dog cart, was leaning toward a second outing.
“The more we’re out with the cart, the more possibilities,” he said, noting the hot dog stand mostly survives off word of mouth. He added that the Science Central location, 1950 N. Clinton St., had produced a “nice little flow” of stomach-grumbling customers around lunchtime.
One-sided contest
When their only opponent hobbled off with an injured ankle, the New Tech Academy team at Wednesday’s Catapult Chaos Competition realized they’d have to defeat a fiercer opponent: themselves.
After crafting a wooden trebuchet designed to launch a flour bag 200 feet toward a target radius, the seven-member group decided to aim for personal records in the absence of a rival structure at the Science Central-hosted contest.
The construction process proved to be a valuable lesson, regardless of career path, said Xochitl Arellano, 15, an incoming sophomore.
“Even if you don’t want to go into engineering, you can still fall back on it,” she said.
And when the team members began debating their victory prospects, a professional zeal was more than apparent.
“So I guess we win,” deadpanned Mason Waggoner, 16.
