First Fort Wayne SOUP Winner Explains Soundwalk
With the next Fort Wayne SOUP (learn more) micro-grant dinner coming up this Thursday, I caught up with Soundwalk’s Kurt Roembke, the first micro-grant winner, to learn more about his creative project designed to enhance the Fort Wayne community by pairing locally composed sounds with local landscapes. Roembke is a music composer and performer and media professional based in Fort Wayne. He is also a co-worker and personal friend of mine, so I was excited to learn more about this project and just what it takes to be a successful presenter at Fort Wayne SOUP. About Soundwalk Roembke and Michael Sullivan, app developer from Elemental Spark, are developing an immersive smartphone application called Soundwalk, which will pair music composed by Roembke with physical objects within a geographic space. Lindenwood Cemetery on Fort Wayne’s west side is the first area being mapped via the app. “What we’ve developed so far and what we plan to be our final form is basically people take their phone, they download the app, and they really could put it in their pocket at that point,” Roembke said. Once app users are walking, the experience would be hands-free and completely controlled by the app at that point. People will be able to walk from place to place while listening to music composed specifically for each area of the cemetery. Users would then be able to check the app to see what music is playing at certain locations. The music will change based on the physical features of the area or the history behind the people buried nearby. For example, if there is a memorial to a former baseball player, the music might be inspired by that. At Lindenwood Cemetery, app users would be able to jump right into the experience once they arrive at the cemetery. People will be able to start their walks near the entrance, but users could really be able to start from anywhere. Although people can technically use the app as part of a group, Roembke believes many people might choose to make it an individual experience within the space. “There’s something about the nature of walking through a cemetery that feels a little more solitary and less group-oriented,” Roembke said. The initial vision in Roembke’s mind for the app was a two-dimensional sound space where users would walk from location to location and the music would do a seamless crossfade transition. With the influx of mini-grant money from SOUP, Roembke has expanded his vision to create a more interactive user experience with the app. “We basically started to develop it as a three-dimensional sound space,” Roembke said. “What that means is, the app pays...
2017 Middle Waves Music Festival Lineup
Wunderkammer Company was packed tonight in anticipation for the release of the Middle Waves Music Festival lineup for 2017. Ten local music acts will be joining national headliner MGMT and eleven other national acts at the two-day festival of “music, arts, culture and community” on Friday-Saturday, September 15-16 at Headwaters Park. Here is the complete lineup, as of June 26. Headliner MGMT Local acts Belle & The Strange Flamingo Nosebleed Left Lane Cruiser Love Hustler My Apollo Rosalind & The Way Silbo Gomero Three Cities Fatima Washington Zephaniah National acts Thao & The Get Down Stay Down – from San Francisco Super Duper Kyle – from Ventura, California Shannon & The Clams – from Oakland, California The Lemon Twigs – from Long Island, New York Sam Evian – from Brooklyn, New York Flint Eastwood – from Detroit Mike Adams at His Honest Weight – from Bloomington, Indiana Selector Dub Narcotic – from Olympia, Washington City Mouse – from Riverside, California The Murderburgers – from Scotland Rising Over Envy (R.O.E.) – from Chicago For more information about Middle Waves, contact Matt Kelley, Co-Chair, Middle Waves Music Festival at info@middlewaves.com or (260)...
LFW Member Spotlight – Leslie Snare
Have you ever wondered who the people behind Living Fort Wayne are? Or maybe you’re curious about the different things our team does every day that make Living Fort Wayne the go-to destination for all the great things happening in our city. In this new spotlight series, we’ll be featuring a few of our amazing volunteers who will share a bit about their contributions to Living Fort Wayne and what they do outside of their volunteer work with us. Today we are spotlighting Living Fort Wayne’s director-at-large, Leslie Snare! What is your role with Living Fort Wayne and why did you decide to volunteer for our blog? I am currently serving as the director-at-large for Living Fort Wayne, which means that I’m basically the liaison between Living Fort Wayne and Young Leaders Northeast Indiana (YLNI). I oversee the strategic direction of our website and social media presence. Tell us one thing about your life outside of Living Fort Wayne Besides LFW, you’ll probably find me running the trails or in a local race. I’ve got two goals for 2017—to qualify as an Ironrunner with the Fort Wayne Running Club and to complete my first full marathon at Fort4Fitness this fall. If you could live any other place in the world, besides Fort Wayne, where would you live and why? Oh, I’m definitely heading to southern California…I love the laid back vibes of San Diego, plus the mountains, the oceans, and the year round warm weather would keep my running shoes perpetually laced up! If you had a friend coming in from out of town, what is the one can’t miss thing you would show them or do with them in Fort Wayne? That’s a tough one, but I’d have to say I’d definitely take someone to Be a Tourist in Your Own Hometown. Visit Fort Wayne hosts this annual event where a lot of the downtown museums and attractions offer free admission, so it’s a great opportunity to check out the best of downtown, like the Botanical Gardens, the Embassy Theatre, and the historic Allen County Courthouse. If you were going to karaoke tonight, what song would you sing? I’ve never done karaoke, and have terrible stage fright, so it’s definitely not high on my priority list. That being said, you can often catch me singing along to Kings of Leon or car dancing to any number of hip hop or EDM songs. Don’t judge. Keep your eyes peeled for the next Spotlight with another one of Living Fort Wayne’s volunteers. If you’d like to learn more about opportunities to help out with our blog, send us an email at info@livingfortwayne.com...
Wells Street Bridge to host RiverDrums
It all comes back to our rivers. A celebration about the gateway to Fort Wayne is planned on the historic Wells Street Bridge this Sunday, June 19 from 12 to 9 pm. This free public event hosted by Three Rivers Art Center for Kids (TRACK) will feature artists, performers, speakers, and discussions on history, the rivers, and social issues. The theme of the day will be “we are one world, one people.” RiverDrums will also celebrate two important events: Father’s Day and freedom. June 19 is Juneteenth Independence Day or Freedom Day, which celebrates the abolition of slavery. RiverDrums will remember Kekionga, the capital of the Miami tribe, which was the last settlement of Native Americans in the area prior to the founding of Fort Wayne. “I’d like [attendees] to feel inspired,” said Terry Doran, co-organizer of RiverDrums. “We want to demonstrate the best of human nature.” As for “the best of human nature,” Doran sees all kinds of people coming together to freely share in both art and an appreciation for the river. The opening Ceremony will feature the poem “RiverDrums” by Patty Hunter with Cherokee artist Ken Noland on the flute. Abigail King of Save Maumee Grassroots Organization will be “sailing” down the St. Mary’s River. Fernando Zapari, publisher of El Mexicano Newspaper will lead the reflection, “Remembering Kekionga.” The rest of the day’s events are listed below. Performers and speakers Alicia Pyle and Trinell Armour – jazz music performance Ken Noland – flute performance The Chrome Cats – hip-hop performance Jain Young and the Fort Wayne Drum Circle – drumming Blind Uncle Harry – rock performance Fort Wayne Dance Collective – “Pineapple Project” dance performance Indianapolis Chinese Symphony Orchestra – Chinese and Western music performance Ken Noland and Teacher Ka – Native American music performance Kwan Hui – a short demo of traditional Chinese drumming by Shelley Septer – “Backpacks of Hope” discussion (on homelessness) Maleah Heck – “Surviving Child Abuse” discussion Group discussion – “On Being a Dad” Activities for children (and adults) Basche Martial Arts free mini classes Art projects with Peggy Tassler owner, SOZO Art Studio Create a RiverDrums mural with artist Frank Louis Allen Food will be available at the event from Food Not Bombs and King Arthur Trolley Food Truck. For more information, specific times, and updates to the event schedule, go to RiverDrums on Facebook. Make sure to bring a lawn chair or blankets, as the weather hopefully will be warm and sunny. RiverDrums is a presentation of Three Rivers Art Center for Kids (TRACK ), whose mission is to present public programs utilizing the power of art and community dialogue to raise awareness on subjects relating to abuse....
Entrepreneurship Spotlight: Start Fort Wayne introduces Atrium
January 29, 2016: An Exciting Moment for Start Fort Wayne This Tuesday’s announcement of the development of Atrium by Start Fort Wayne is a major development in continued growth of entrepreneurship, startup, and small business activity in Fort Wayne. We at Living Fort Wayne have been keeping an eye on Start Fort Wayne for about six months, and we’ve been blown away by how quickly this nonprofit has grown from an idea to a small group of doers to a little bit larger group of shakers (see who they are). So let’s get to the heart of the matter – Atrium, a new, world-class coworking facility being built in downtown Fort Wayne at 111 W. Berry Street. I sat down with Start Fort Wayne President Dave Sanders at a coffee shop next his first coworking space, CoWork Fort Wayne to get his take on what role Atrium will play in the community. “We chose that name [Atrium], because it’s also part of the heart,” Sanders said.“It’s in the heart of Fort Wayne. It’s part of the heart of entrepreneurship in Fort Wayne.” With a target completion date of October 2016, Atrium by Start Fort Wayne aims to be a place “for entrepreneurs, small businesses, students, and startups to work, collaborate, meet, and thrive.” There will be three membership levels for coworking space users (check out the rates) and private office spaces for premium members. Take a look at Atrium by Start Fort Wayne Atrium is located in 5,500 square feet of space on the second floor the Hoch Associates Building. Hoch Associates will also serve as landlord and partner of Atrium, in addition to doing the design and architecture for the space. Here are some highlights of the space. Staffed check-in area Large conference and training room Two small conference rooms Stage Shared desks for general members Reserved desks for professional members Office spaces for premium members Casual area and kitchen Check out the Start Fort Wayne website for more details on amenities, membership options, and more. After Atrium As nonprofit organization with an eye on the community, Start Fort Wayne wants to help entrepreneurs get educated and find the resources they need to build and grow their businesses in Fort Wayne. “It’s my personal goal, that over the course of two years, while we’re getting this place to profitability, that those [office spaces] have turned over twice, at least,” Sanders said. After businesses outgrow Atrium, Sanders wants to help these businesses find a home and continue to grow their companies in downtown Fort Wayne. “That’s good for everybody downtown,” Sanders said. “It adds more jobs. It adds growing companies downtown.” Get in touch and stay up-to-date...
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