Three Rivers Festival

Every summer in July, half a million people descend on downtown Fort Wayne, Indiana, for the annual Three Rivers Festival. Patrons of the festival enjoy nine days of fun events, entertainment, and food. In 1968, Dean Phillips of the Fort Wayne Convention and Visitor Bureau came up with the idea of holding a community festival. With the support of Mayor Harold S. Zeis, Phillips, along with Paul Shaffer, Joan White, Bob Walda, Elston Ehrler, Tommy Manny, and Ruth Whearly, hosted a festival th...