Beth, you might check out the Downtown Blueprint, www.yourdowntown.com, and sign up for the listserv to find out what is going on. West Central has had an art fair the past couple of years, associated with their annual neighborhood walk in the fall. I'm not sure whether they are doing this in 2004, but you can check out their website at www.westcentralneighborhood.org. They are a volunteer group and someone with enthusiasm and good ideas who is willing to be part of the solution would be welcomed.

Another way that people can support downtown is by frequently patronizing the merchants who are there. There's a nice candle shop on Wayne Street, as well as Cottage Flowers which is across the street from the temporary library location, and fun gift shops at the Museum of Art, History Center, and Botanical Gardens, plus there are a lot of restaurants, and people so often flock to the suburbs to shop that these locally owned businesses can have trouble making it. Meters are not used after 5 p.m. and on weekends, so park all you want!

I'm a media professional no longer living in Fort Wayne who tries to keep in touch with friends and doings there. ... I recently finished Florida's Rise of the Creative Class and was left with a few thoughts regarding Fort Wayne. I'd love to hear anybody's thoughts on them.
@ Florida mentions "Authenticity" in architecture and culture as very important. While FW has a lot of very nice downtown buildings, I'm left uncertain what legacy or authentic link to history Fort Wayne (or most midsize cities, frankly) has. (Florida uses Motown music for Detroit as an example.)
@ He discusses how safety and nice areas (parks, paths, etc.) are basically expected in areas that will draw creative people. Fort Wayne seems to me to have a leg up on many smaller, mainly manufacturing-related cities with its parks, River Greenway, and stock of large and small homes near downtown.
@ Florida says very little about organized religion as a strength, and kind of implies it might be repellant to many creative types, but I'm wondering whether Fort Wayne's strong religious ties might be part of the authenticity and musical heritage? Could it make sense to "market" the city's religious heritage to creative types who also happen to be people of faith? (I know a few Fort Wayne residents who were drawn to the city over other places because they sensed a value on religion there that wasn't at the other places.)
@ Is there any chance one of the city's colleges (Taylor, St. Francis, IPFW) could be induced to locate a few departments, such as an evening MBA program and a daytime Fine Arts program, into a downtown building or two? Savannah's College of Art and Design (SCAD) has a presence in dozens of buildings throughout Savannah that seems to really stimulate artistic foot traffic, and my home now, Ypsilanti, has the Eastern Michigan Univ. school of business in a building in its historic downtown (with an attached parking structure, unfortunately).
@ Many Fort Wayne residents enjoy Christian Popular music. Many smaller Christian artists don't draw huge crowds. Any way to sponsor/drive some Christian music events into open-air venues downtown?
@ Rise of CC mentions influx of immigrants as a way of boosting creative capital...any chance of Fort Wayne doing like some other cities/states and actively seeking Creative, perhaps business-owning and entrepreneurial immigrants from India, Turkey, Taiwan, etc.? Offering Visa, ESL and higher-education help (if needed) for a guarantee to live in the area for 5 years? Not talking about a "hand-out" but recruitment of smart, hard-working people (and their families) who would like to live in an uncrowded, secure place in the U.S....and would help make it grow?

I hope these items from a fan of Fort Wayne are of interest.