By Dan Spalding
News Now Warsaw
WARSAW — It’s a big entertainment weekend in Warsaw and Winona Lake and here are some of the highlights.
Lonestar
A large crowd is expected for Friday night’s annual Country Concert for St. Jude featuring Lonestar at Central Park in Warsaw
The free concert begins at 6:30 at the Glover Pavilion with the opening act, Adam Calvert.
Lonestar will take the stage at 8 p.m.
The Country Concert for St. Jude is offered by the Warsaw Parks and Recreation Department with sponsorship from Willie 103.5, the Dane and Mary Louise Miller Foundation, Zimmer Biomet and DePuy Synthes.
Third Friday
Third Friday is moving its entire program to Fribley Field in the 700 block of East Market Street.
Scott Wiley, with the Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce, said it’s not the first time they’ve temporarily relocated.
He said the long stretch of park, including the football field, works well because of the emphasis on sports activities.
Events include a Punt, Pass and Kick event hosted by Young Tigers football.
Other events include a fitness course hosted by the Indiana National Guard and there’s a basketball challenge hosted by Youg Professionals.
There’s also a talent contest hosted by Kensington Media.
Numerous vendors and food trucks will also participate, and the chamber, along with Colliers Heating and Cooling, will be grilling up free hot dogs.
Also, the Warsaw Public Arts Commission will host a collaborative thumbprint mural as part of Third Friday.
Third Friday runs from 5 to 8 p.m.
Moving the event this month also helps with the Lonestar concert.
“It frees up parking in downtown Warsaw (for those) who want to go downtown and eat and go down to the Lonestar concert,” Wiley said.
Jazz Fest
On Saturday, it’s the Village at Winona Jazz Fest at the Miller Sunset Pavilion in Winona Lake.
The five hours music fest begins at noon and will be highlighted by a show featuring Two time Grammy award-winning musician, Howard Levy, who is an acknowledged master of the diatonic harmonica, a superb pianist and an innovative composer.
Levy’s show begins at 3:30 p.m.
This year marks the first time Jazz Fest will use the pavilion, which oped less than a year ago.
The entertainment will overlap with the farmers market which has grown in popularity each Saturday this summer.
Nick Hauck, manager of the Village At Winona said merchants in the Village are seeing a boost in foot traffic since the arrival of the farmers market.