Hi everybody.

I'm Ed Leon.

Welcome to the 260 where we cover life and community in Northeast Indiana.

On this episode, a look into the master plan that guides local tourism, getting to know your food thanks to local Food Week, and a curtain call for the retired dean of the College of Visual and Performing Arts of Purdue Fort Wayne, John O'Connell.

It's all right now on the 260.

Tourism is an important driver of our regional economy.

That's why Visit Fort Wayne is operating under a ten year tourism master plan, designed to bring visitors to the area, while creating a better place for those of us who already live here.

The plan envisions Fort Wayne and Allen County becoming a welcoming, vibrant and inclusive and universally accessible destination by 2033.

The effort was informed by residents surveys, visitor surveys, stakeholder interviews and community workshops.

It's a bold vision to leverage tourism to position Fort Wayne as a premier destination in the Midwest.

Here to update us on the tourism master plan is Jessa Campbell, director of destination development and communications for Visit Fort Wayne.

Welcome to the 260.

Thanks for having me.

So this is a this is a very expansive plan.

Talk a little bit.

First of the economic impact of tourism in Allen County right now as we stand now.

Well, I think for residents, maybe you don't see it day to day, but visit Fort Wayne we do.

We see the leisure families coming into our zoo, coming for a weekend getaway.

Our convention attendees, tournament attendees, they're coming every single week, weekend day to enjoy our community.

And that's around 9 million or 9.1 million visitors every year.

And they spend around $1 billion in economic.

Ed: So it's $1 billion in revenue.

Wow.

Why was a master plan necessary?

Yeah, absolutely.

We've done this in the back end.

And our previous predecessor did this.

He helped support with giving information, advocating identifying opportunities.

And it was a great opportunity as this transition into our new CEO of past four years is having Jill Boggs kind of look at what is that future for Fort Wayne and having our community identify that as well.

So we really wanted to have a front facing effort with the tourism master plan, and took that year long effort in 2023 to build it and launch it, then in 24 to really identify where should we go, what should we do alongside our community?

So we're in year three?

We are in year three.

And there are six focus areas, right?

Let's talk about some of those focus areas and what they are.

Absolutely.

Accessibility is that number one, it is the foundation throughout the whole plan... Ed: Why is that so important?

Well we've seen it with Turnstone Adaptive Sport to the event we hold in Fort Wayne.

And those are really critical to our community.

And something through our conversations, the surveys that people really wanted to see more of and celebrate, we have a great opportunity, market opportunity to carve out a path that Fort Wayne is known for, accessibility.

And so with all of that, we identified and was like, why don't we do it big and put it as part of every single recommendation through the plan and live as its own recommendation?

Is that process already underway Jessa: It is.

So we launched this April the Accessible Destination Action Plan.

That's that first step in progress with the recommendation is really identifying how do we weave this into our community, as well as the other 18 recommendations.

And progress is already happening.

We see that with the Arts United Center, Fort Wayne International Airport, there's things going on already, but how can we help support it, bring it all together and communicate that with visitors as well as throughout the whole community?

All right, let's talk about downtown.

Another big rust, right.

It's a big impact for us.

It's also one of our bigger drivers for our community and visitors.

It is its own attraction.

People want to come and enjoy an accessible downtown.

Experience is beautiful.

It's clean.

We've got the riverfront there and so that helps us.

One build a brand for our community outside of our region with people from Indianapolis, from Lexington, Louisville, even beyond, to help showcase really what we're all about here in our community.

But it's also a great thing to do.

People love to come and enjoy our riverfront, enjoy a TinCaps baseball game.

So how do we bring that all together and also grow it?

Group businesses is another area.

Yes.

Ed: Explain what that is.

Definitely, it really identifies kind of those core aspects with sports tournaments and our convention business.

So Allen County War Memorial Coliseum and the Grand Wayne, how do we make sure those are great facilities into the future and really market ourselves well, as well as a strategy for bringing in groups?

And then really where we've seen progress is within the sports world.

We've seen a Ruoff mortgage stadium come online.

We see the developments out in City of New Haven, City of Fort Wayne with the field houses.

And we've also launched a sports commission at Visit Fort Wayne.

At our past Power of Tourism event, we've launched the Allen County Sports Commission, really just formalizing what we're already doing at Visit Fort Wayne.

And every one of the, you know, facilities that you mentioned, they have their own, their own leadership, their own planning.

How do they coordinate that?

All with Visit Fort Wayne?

Definitely not us leading it for sure that we want to take the lead from them and how ever they need support.

We want to identify that.

We often do that through our sales efforts, going out to sell Fort Wayne, but also find groups that would be a great fit to slot into the convention calendar at the Grand Wayne or at the Coliseum and see kind of really what would be a great fit in being unique and trying to just fit in something that maybe wasn't on their radar, but we could bring in and that we know would be a great fit for our community.

How much of your contribution is marketing?

Oh, a big portion of our efforts is marketing.

We have two teams of actually, there's more than two teams.

We have four teams in our office, but sales and marketing are those core features.

And marketing helps both with sales efforts as well and talking with clients, talking with people who want to bring an event here, as well as talking to those people who want to visit and enjoy a weekend getaway or those convention and tournament attendees.

So it's really just spread throughout our core focus.

As you get visitors that come in and want and then get to experience Fort Wayne, what do you.

I don't know if you do exit interviews or you know what kind of feedback you get, but what are people saying about visiting Fort Wayne?

We do a brand perception study.

We do kind of try to get their surveys after they visited or requested a visitor guide, and we're often hearing that they were surprised by their experience.

Very quality experience, what they love, the quality attractions, activities we have and also affordability.

They can come here and enjoy a great meal for the fraction of the cost in bigger cities, as well as it being a really safe and beautiful place to visit, easy to get around.

We hear that often with downtown Fort Wayne.

So who funds all of this, by the way?

We are funded... Ed: Wheres the money, Follow the money Jessa: Exactly We are funded through the hotel innkeepers tax.

So nothing for our residents.

But when a visitor comes and stays in a hotel, there's a tax on that and portion of that comes to visit Fort Wayne.

So we really are focused on trying to get the most impact from those visitors and having them stay longer.

When they stay overnight, they spend more and they explore more of our community, and it helps us as well, obviously.

And part of what you're trying to do, though, is also make it more attractive to live here.

Right.

And so so what's in it for us residents?

Well, absolutely.

That tourism is not only a visitor driver, but it also is a community driver and an economic one as well.

So when we're enjoying the zoo or facilities like the Coliseum, those visitors tournaments, conventions are helping to augment those fees to help sustain it.

Same with restaurants.

Is bringing in money into those restaurants that maybe they could survive on with residents only.

But it helps just augment that whole experience and really just helps build up that community in place, making that our community in residence and brings residents into our community.

So how do you think we're doing on the on the plan?

How do you feel about it?

I'm really excited.

About what's underway already, what's underway already, and that that you can point to.

I have to hear my boss in my head of like, we don't have to do everything at once.

I am very excited about all of the recommendations, and we've seen progress on many of those, but specific to visit Fort Wayne's lead on those projects, we've seen progress in accessibility in music and sports in assessing our labor hospitality.

At the time when we were doing that study, there was a labor crisis.

We needed support within the hospitality industry, so we knew we needed to do a study of assessing where we're at.

We're not in a terms of a crisis now, but we plan to do another study five years time and support that.

You mentioned music.

There's the new music office.

What talk about why music is so important to visit to the tourism and to our identity as a city.

Yeah.

So, identified in Greater Fort Wayne inc.s act plan, also in the tourism master plan.

So really we knew it was something our community wanted to see more of.

It's been the most highly anticipated recommendation within both of our plans.

And so we had to do it right.

We did a study in 2024 or no.

2025, and then just launched that study alongside the Music Office.

And what we've really seen is that one people identify with that.

It's part of our story here in Fort Wayne, what people know us as and that we've seen creative economies, culture.

It helps drive that narrative of what is attractive not only to a visitor, but also to a potential resident potential workforce development opportunity, and to potential businesses.

All right.

So exciting.

We have to have you back.

And for another update soon you can learn more about Visit Fort Wayne Tourism Master Plan at their website.

VisitFortWayne.com Thank you so much for being on The 260.

Jessa: Thank you for having me.

When you buy a tomato at the grocery store.

Do you know who grew it?

Chances are that's a big fat no.

But ten days this summer, Northeast Indiana is opening the gates to dozens of farms, orchards, markets, restaurants and artisan food producers so families can meet the people behind their food.

It's called Local Food Week, and it's become one of the region's fastest growing celebrations of agriculture, community and just plain old good eating.

Joining us are Karen Petersen, executive director of Northeast Indiana Local Food Network, and Alexis Wagner, board member and local Food Week chair.

Welcome to the 260.

Thanks for having us.

So tell me a little bit about the philosophy behind Local Food Week.

Well, Local Food Week actually started seven years ago.

This is our seventh year born amongst the pandemic, when there wasn't a lot to do when people needed to be separated.

So it was determined.

Let's do some farm tours.

Let's get people close to the agriculture that they love.

So that's where it all started.

But it's grown substantially since then.

So the idea of buying and consuming locally grown foods, that's a kind of a big, a big idea that's been happening all across America.

How does this did you align to that?

Does this feed into that or or is that the philosophy that you guys adopted during the pandemic?

Well, I think it all started with just really trying to get to know those that produce the food that we love.

So... Ed: Why is that important?

Well, I mean, I think, you know, people will invest in those that they know.

Anytime you go to a local food producer and meet them or see their farm, I think you're more inclined to buy from them.

Buy from your neighbors, which is something that we feel strongly as a big part of our economy.

And agriculture is huge here, so we'd love to see that grow.

You know, this is you may not know the answer to this, but does it cost more to eat locally?

It depends.

I mean, I think some things you might find.

You pay a premium for.

I think some of the arguments against that are some of the flip side of that is that when you buy local, you're buying something that's most recently come from the ground.

So you don't have those storage issues and things.

Things last a lot longer.

So there's a lot less food waste when you buy local.

Yeah.

That's important.

So what makes this you talked about year seven.

What makes this year special?

I would say so we have 117 events and we have 15 new hosts.

And so while we have some returning hosts that we're very excited to have again, there are 15 new places that people can experience and just see what else they have to offer.

Okay.

You got you brought the the companion guide.

And this is you know, it's a it's a it's day by day.

It tells you everything that's going on.

What are some of the can't.

You got to hit some of these things.

What are the can't miss events that that you want to target or kind of shout out.

Alexis: Well I mean I would say that there's something literally for everyone.

There is.

Ed: There is, there is.

Karen: So, If you want to sit at a, at a restaurant and be served delicious local food amongst air conditioning, we have an event for you.

If you want to grab the family and go out and experience a farm tour on a hayride, we have that for you.

So there's opportunities for education and things like that.

So really, we, we pride ourselves to have something for for every person in the community.

And as the chair you've you've helped line up some of these events.

Right.

And what what what are your conversations like with the local food producers or farmers, you know, what are you what are you telling them?

What are you inviting them into?

Yeah.

So we invite them to share what they do with people in the area.

And so we kind of let them guide the conversation.

And so sometimes we know that they grow a specific fruit or vegetable.

And if they want to have a class on how to make a syrup or if they want to show their farm off or just we kind of let them pick what is the most meaningful.

For them.

I read you can is there a beekeeping classes as well?

I mean, is there there's.

We have many hosts that bees and beekeeping as a part of their establishment.

So Grit And Grace homestead is actually a brand new event for us this year out in South Whitley.

They're going to have a bee bed on site, which is brand new, so they do a lot of local honey.

Ed: What is a bed?

Well, I don't want to not do it justice.

So I would encourage you to go to Grit And Grace and find out more.

But it's a it's a therapeutic treatment with bees.

Wow.

So very exciting.

I don't know, I might be kind of afraid.

Afraid of that one.

What are some other.

Are there cooking, Are there cooking classes that people can take?

Yeah.

Alexis: So there's one where you can make an elderberry syrup so.

Karen: Fearless Cook and Ruby Moon are doing an event up in Noble, which is really exciting.

Again, new hosts.

So so yeah, we'll have the opportunity to learn how to cook too What do the chefs and the farmers and the food producers tell you after the event?

You know, what was what's the experience like for them?

I would say that the feedback that we get is that they're thankful they did it.

Many return every year.

I think they acknowledge it.

It's a little bit of work to open up their farm in the height of season, or for a chef to offer something new and distinct on their menu, because that's one of the things about Local Food Week that's unique is it's while many of these artisan producers and food growers and restaurants support local, they always do something special during local food week, so it's a great opportunity for them to showcase their talents.

Is there is there a staple that has become part of this, the experience of Local Food Week that you you really want to hit a certain amount of places, or is there a is there a home base for it?

So there isn't a home base, but one of the things that we're doing this year that we're really excited about is to encourage people to attend multiple events.

We are offering a raffle for tickets to our fundraiser, which is a local food throwdown, which happens in October.

October 5th at the Grand Wayne Center.

I'm sorry, not the Grand Wayne Center at the Pearl Event Center downtown.

So if people who visit an event will get a chance to enter a raffle to win two tickets to the Throwdown.

What do you think surprises people when they, you know, after they've gone to farms and seen they get a little bit of a peek behind the curtain, right.

What do people tell you that about the experience from the, you know, from the customer side?

I think they're just very surprised about what they can learn and what they can experience.

So like walking amongst sheep or things that they didn't know, or maybe they see it, but they don't quite get to be as immersed in it as the farmers do.

And so getting to hear directly from the farmer, and then sometimes the farmers will sell their product that same day, and so they can purchase directly from the farmers well and build that relationship.

And are people able to then continue to buy directly from the farms?

Oh, yeah.

The farms do a great job of letting customers and patrons of local Food Week know where they can purchase their purchase, their their produce or their their their local food items.

And like Alexa said, many have food available on site.

Most of the events are free, so it's a good opportunity to get out there and you know, and just see what comes from our lands to our tables.

And if you get the opportunity to support local agriculture and purchase something while you're there, that's wonderful.

Yeah, that's a great message to end on.

Local Food Week is July.

24th through August 2nd.

Learn more at NEIFood.org Thank you so much for being on the 260.

Thank you.

Appreciate you guys.

If you've attended a play, studied theater, worked in the arts, or participated in Fort Wayne's.

Cultural scene over the last several decades, there's a good chance John OConells influence has touched your life.

Somehow, whether you realize it or not, as dean of the College of Visual and Performing Arts at Purdue Fort Wayne University, he's had a hand in shaping Fort Wayne theatrical and cultural identity.

And he joins us today for a reflection on how Fort Wayne's arts community has evolved during his time and career here.

John, welcome to the 260.

Thank you Ed.

Glad to be here.

Great to have you here.

You have such a long history here in the community, in this studio.

As a matter of fact.

In this very corner.

Yes, it's very studio.

Absolutely.

You hosted a show here.

Hosted a show for two years, live for first year.

And I said, that's enough of the live stuff.

And then we did some taping of shows for another year.

It was terrific experience.

Arts Weekly is what it was called.

Ed: When you arrived in Fort Wayne, you'd been in New York.

You'd been in other places.

What?

What was the cultural scene like here?

So the cultural scene.

You know, I came to chair of the Department of Theater, and so my, my sort of influence immediately was on what was happening in the theater scene in Fort Wayne, and it was considerably smaller than it is now.

I would say there was mainly four main theaters.

There was Arena, there was a civic, there was a university, and there was First pres, and really and then the youth theater, of course, which has been around for many years.

Yeah.

But since that time four, five new theaters have started since then that are sort of semiprofessional.

So the theater scene has expanded tremendously since I've been here.

What has surprised you most about the evolution of the cultural scene in.

Fort Wayne?

So you know, what's surprising me the most is how many young people that I've trained have decided to stay around the influence of young people in today's theater scene?

The art scene, actually, although both the visual arts and the performing arts, the influence of the young people in Fort Wayne has really changed.

And I just, I love that they're staying in Fort Wayne and they're producing great art for residents and northeast Indiana.

Yeah.

You may have answered my next question, which, you know, sometimes the university can be a little bit insular, but, you know, how has the work that you've been able to do resonated throughout the community?

And maybe it's the legacy of those young people who are staying.

I think it is the legacy of the young people that are staying.

You know, people think that I should train New York actors all the time.

And many times I say, you know what?

I just want you to practice your craft wherever you can do that.

So the fact that they're staying around and doing it here is terrific.

Yeah, we we can be insular.

I think we were a little bit when I arrived in 2007, and I immediately started directing in the community.

I directed at the Civic Theater, I directed at First Pres and for the Youth Theater, and some of the new faculty join me in that.

And so our outreach really became part of our focus.

Has theatrical training changed or evolved over your time as an educator?

Yes, it has.

How so?

I guess when I started training back in 19... you know, exactly.

It was really technical.

We were like, you know, stand up straight.

Let me hear you.

You know, we need a lot of voice in body training.

We didn't do as much inner creative training about what the self divisive work can be.

And so our theater department actually has become very focused on the the work that's created in the rehearsal hall, being more centered on the actor's journey.

And I would say that wasn't my training when I was teaching and early teaching theater.

So you had to pick that up?

I had to I didn't I let my colleagues do it.

I'm still I'm still old school.

I'm still I'm still stand up straight and let me understand what you're saying.

It's, you know, the the devised work is called devised work.

Excuse me.

Yeah.

So the devised where Jeff Casazza my colleague does and does does a majority of that.

Yeah.

I don't have that.

I don't have that knowledge of how to sort of craft that in the rehearsal hall.

So that's and that's good for our students, right?

Our students should be dealing with directors that come from several different points of view.

So it's really great that they do devise work with Jeff Casazza but they do Shakespeare work with me.

So when you're out and you're in the community directing a production, is that is that an extension of your educational mission?

Oh, absolutely.

Yeah, absolutely.

I think it's just part of our outreach.

You know, everyone who knows or works with me knows that my first focus is the College of Visual and performing arts, even when I work out.

All right, take take me down memory lane.

What have been some of the highlights?

What are the.

What are the memorable things that really stand out to you?

Well, you know what?

That's very interesting.

Two of my highlights have been with the Fort Wayne Youth Theater.

Ed: Okay.

John: So in 2012, when I started as interim dean of the college, I. We did a collaboration with the Youth theater, and we did a huge production of Oliver!

There were 25 students from the Youth Theater and 25 of my students and some community members, some 50 cast members.

And we did it downtown at the at the Performing Arts Center.

But we built the scenery in our studio, so our students had the sort of the learning opportunity to build scenery, put it into a truck, take it somewhere and put it up.

And that was an incredible experience.

With 50 students, 25 youth theater.

We sold out seven performances downtown.

It was terrific.

The other highlight for me would be the Shakespeare that I do at First Pres and at Purdue Fort Wayne.

Is there something you can point to and say, I'm really most proud of that.

What are you most proud of from your career here at PFW?

Well, to be honest, the work as a dean.

So I was chair for five years and I was dean for four, 14 years.

I think I'm most proud of the fact, as I walk out the door of raising money to build an art gallery for my.

I have to say, I have wanted an art gallery for my faculty and my students.

It's the first day of being a dean.

We don't have an art gallery.

We have a gallery that is the lobby of my visual arts building.

It's not really a gallery.

And now as I walk out the door, we've raised money.

The Dorothy and Paul Shaffer Fine Arts Gallery broke ground two weeks ago.

I think I am most proud of getting that for my faculty and students before I leave, because they deserve a dedicated, secure art gallery.

Ed: I know we have some images that we're showing.

It's going to be spectacular.

John: Yea, It's going to be spectacular, yeah.

Ed: As you mentioned, walking out the door as you as you walk out the door, what you got to be being hit by a lot of emotions as you as you leave.

What you know what what strikes you?

What do you want to share with with the viewers as you leave this post?

I am most grateful for the amount of students I've heard from in the last month.

Over the many years that I've taught, who have sent me wishes of gratitude, congratulations, comments on how I impacted their lives.

I am most grateful for the impact I have made on students lives.

Ed: Yea, and you don't even realize that when that's happening.

John: I don't, I don't.

Not at all.

Not at all.

I have one student who works in Houston for the baseball team down the Astros.

Is that correct?

Ed: Uh-huh, yeah.

John: Well, he sent me.

They won the World Series one year, so he sent me a World Series ring.

I have a World Series ring sitting on my desk, and I have it right in front of people when they come in and they say, what's that?

And I say, it's a World Series ring.

Thats a lot of bling.

That's a lot of a lot of fake bling, but a lot of bling yeah.

Yeah, but he sent me a really gracious note with it, you know, and he said that, that, that I have impacted his life so much that I deserve a World Series ring.

I thought that was so great.

What's next for you?

Next for me is a little bit of travel.

I'm going to go to Europe in October.

We have a lake home in Columbia City.

We'll spend a longer.

We won't be coming back in August, but also.

So I gave up my professional directing career.

When I became Dean, I couldn't really leave to do the professional work around the country, so I hope to reengage with some of those professional theaters and get my professional directing career back on track.

Well, we wish you nothing but the best.

Congratulations and and thank you.

Thank you for.

Joining us.

John O'Connell is retiring as dean of the College of Visual and Performing Arts at Purdue Fort Wayne.

John, wish you the best.

Thank you so much for having me.

Appreciate.

All right.

That's all the time we have for this episode.

I'll see you next time on the 260.