FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WFFT) - Fort Wayne residents celebrated the 10th Annual Winterval downtown on Saturday.
The event looked a little different this year because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Patti Davis with Parks and Recreation says the 10th year should’ve been their biggest, but COVID-19 complicated things.
“You’d normally hope that this was big and grad and much larger but with everything else we had to really downsize this year so there’s still a lot of things to do. There are nine activities to do,” Davis said.
Some of them include Ice Carving and a Polar Bear Search and Rescue.
Marie Shaw was there with her daughter and nieces and nephews. She says it’s great to get out of the house.
“Today we just hope to have some fun outside. Enjoy some things to do around Fort Wayne for once. It’s been a while since we’ve been out,” Shaw said.
Fort Wayne Parks and Recreation organizes the annual event to give residents something to do during the cold winter months.
“It’s a great time for a lot of families to get out and enjoy some of our activities in the wintertime when a lot of time there’s not a whole lot to do,” Geoff Paddock with Headwaters Park said.
Their ice skating rink is one of the many Winterval attractions.
Twelve-year-old Desmond Davidson says he was tired of being cooped up in the house and has been having a lot of fun enjoying all the activities.
Still, he longs for warmer weather.
“I can’t wait until it gets a lot warmer and all the kids can go outside and have fun and go to parks and everything. I can’t wait until the pandemic is over with,” Davidson said.
The Parks Department says hopefully next year the pandemic will be more under control and they can throw an even bigger celebration for their 11th.
