A treasured family tradition and the biggest gathering of all walks of people in Fort Wayne is coming with the Night of Lights on Wednesday, Nov. 27, the night before Thanksgiving. 

Well over 50,000 people are expected once again to throng the blocks of downtown to see the traditional lighting of the display of Santa & His Reindeer on the wall of the PNC Bank building, the giant Merry Christmas wreath at the plaza of the Indiana and Michigan Power Company building, and the towering Flagstar Christmas tree atop the walkway over Calhoun Street. 

It’s a timeless celebration of the season, but in recent years it also highlights the burgeoning revitalization of downtown Fort Wayne.

Make a plan

I’m still new to the area, so I got the story from Preston Wallace, director of marketing for Downtown Fort Wayne, which exists to provide services to the designated Business Improvement District. The event is also brought to you by Lutheran Health Network and many other sponsors.

There’s more going on during Night of Lights than you can possibly see, so you need a plan. Before you go, read the 16-page guide handed out by participating groups, or go to holidayfestdowntown.com and click on “2024 HolidayFest Guide” to download a copy. Plan where to park, and take note of streets blocked off for pedestrians starting at 5:30 p.m.

“Night of Lights is a very community-rich, nostalgic, iconic gathering that we’ve been doing for decades,” Wallace said.

The annual event has been observed since 1940 with the first Santa display on the facade of the fondly remembered yet long-departed Wolf and Dessauer department store, which once stood a few blocks nearby but, after being rebranded as an L.S. Ayres, closed in 1979.

“We bring people downtown, where there’s a whole host of different family-friendly activities and events and entertainment,” Wallace said. “There’s typically eight to 12 different lighting locations. We’ll have those throughout the evening, and that really kicks off the holiday season in downtown Fort Wayne.

“And then HolidayFest, as a whole, is an event season that lasts from the night before Thanksgiving and then runs all the way up until Dec. 31.”

Your to-do list

Lightings of displays run from 6-8 p.m. on Nov. 27, starting at The History Center, moving to Fort Wayne Parks and Recreation Community Center, PNC Bank, Ash Brokerage, Flagstar Bank, Trinity English Lutheran Church, Foellinger-Freimann Botanical Conservatory, and Embassy Theatre. 

Historic churches all through downtown, plus the Allen County Public Library, will ring their bells at 8 p.m.

Here are just a few of many things to visit, hear, eat, and drink. Some sites charge admission, so consult the guidebook.

• Food and drink can be purchased, and holiday gift shops are open darn near everywhere.
• The Fort Wayne Philharmonic Youth Orchestra will give a free concert inside Grand Wayne Convention Center at 6:30 p.m. 
• The Allen County Public Library has a crafts station for the kids there, too.
• Walk through the Holiday Lights exhibit which fills Parkview Field, as we wrote about last week. On this night it will include the Christ Child Festival, bringing back a local church tradition started in 1952.
• Meet Santa and his elves and one live reindeer at the historic Baker Street Train Station.
• Promenade past the Holiday Windows at Embassy Theatre, and go inside to tour the dazzling Festival of Trees, with live music and dance on stage.
• Tour Foellinger-Freimann Botanical Conservatory and take the best photo-ops, surrounded by festive greenery.
• See gingerbread houses and artisans at The History Center.
• Enjoy food and confections at Fort Wayne’s Famous Coney Island Wiener Stand and Kilwin’s, and look for hot chocolate and cookies at many locations.
• Do crafts with your kids at the Fort Wayne Parks & Recreation Community Center.
• Watch the Pyroscope light show at Holly Village at the Porch off Calhoun.
• Hear carols sung by the Homestead Show Choirs at the Home Builders Association.
• Visit the Masonic Lodge with Santa and support the ICAN service dog training program.
• The Fort Wayne Children’s Choir will sing in the rotunda of the Allen County Courthouse at 6:30 p.m.

Downtown transformation

I moved to Indiana on short notice and sight unseen in late 2021, and much about Fort Wayne is still new to me. I live in the heart of downtown and enjoy it. 

I’m vexed when I meet people who grew up here who tell me they rarely come downtown, and even that it’s a place they were taught to avoid.

Wallace, a native, finds that frustrating, too. 

He explained what I did not know: Downtown fell into decline and urban decay in the 1990s and didn’t turn a corner until the opening of the current headquarters of the Allen County Public Library in 2007, and Parkview Field, the TinCaps stadium, in 2009. 

“This massive boom of development and growth since 2011, 2012 to where we’re at today has been pretty incredible to see,” Wallace said. “Even five to seven years ago, the boom of what we’re seeing in terms of mixed-use development and the desire and demand to live downtown did not exist to the extent that it does today.”

“There’s a lot to do, not just on the weekends as a destination to come from the suburbs. And so a big portion of what we’ve done in terms of our work with event production is to draw people downtown, to show them all the things that we have to offer.

“We’re starting to see the fruits of our labor in that respect. And so when you draw 50,000 people downtown for a holiday community rich tradition, then that spills over, it has a profound impact on your local economy, and keeps people coming back for more.”

Now I better understand what I, happily, landed in the middle of.

Whether you’re just coming down for one night’s revelry, or coming back often to be surrounded by family fun, commerce, history, art, and culture, we hope to see you on the street for Night of Lights, through HolidayFest, and up to the New Year.