(“The Bachelor” host Chris Harrison at the Downtown Carnival Sunday night)
(Photo By David Slone, Times Union)
Wherever “The Bachelor” Ben Higgins and his date went at the Warsaw Carnival Sunday night, the pack of fans swarmed him to get photos, video and maybe a hello.
Finally, after welcoming Higgins back home and telling the mass of people present what a great representative Higgins was for Warsaw, Mayor Joe Thallemer asked the flock to give Higgins and his date some space so they could actually enjoy the event.
The carnival started letting the public in at about 7 p.m., but Higgins and his date didn’t arrive until almost 10 p.m. An estimated 2,500 people were there throughout the night, with the line going from Main Street south to Market Street. The line stayed that long for about 1-1/2 hours.
Higgins was a contestant on the last season of “The Bachelorette.” After becoming a fan favorite, he was named the next “Bachelor” for the ABC romance reality show, which starts airing in January. Filming has taken place in Warsaw and Winona Lake all weekend, with the carnival set up by ABC for filming purposes.
The carnival featured four rides, four games, food stands, a picnic area and an entryway just for Higgins’ arrival.
Michelle Zawadzki, Leesburg, and her husband brought their two children to the Warsaw Carnival.
“My children wanted to come out to the carnival, and I wanted to see ‘The Bachelor’ and the girls,” she said, noting it was a nice night and was nice of the reality show to put the carnival on.
A pretty avid fan of “The Bachelor,” Zawadzki said when Higgins was on “The Bachelorette” it made that show more interesting and his appearance on “The Bachelor” will be good publicity for Warsaw.
It wasn’t just local people at the carnival – there were “Bachelor” fans from Goshen, Fort Wayne and beyond.
Kayla Ballard and Rachel Adams drove about two hours from Crown Point for the show’s filming.
“I’m a huge ‘Bachelor’ fan ever since the first ‘Bachelorette,” Ballard said. “I was a huge fan of Ben when he was on last season, and the fact he’s from Indiana makes it more fun.”
Adams said they went to Indiana University, like Higgins. He was a senior when they were freshmen, but they didn’t know him in college.
She said Higgins needs a woman who is “down to earth, someone who likes the small town but who likes the city, too.”
Suzie Rueck, Goshen, has been a fan of “The Bachelor” for five or six years. When she found out it was being filmed in Warsaw Sunday, she got three of her friends from Goshen to come down with her.
“He’s very handsome. He seems genuine, wholesome, an honest guy,” Rueck said of Higgins.
Josh Numbers, Fort Wayne, drove his girlfriend Cierra Hickle, Fort Wayne, and two other friends, including Anna Luke, Warsaw, to the carnival.
“I had the day off, so I thought I might as well,” Numbers said, stating he’s watched “The Bachelorette” but never “The Bachelor.”
South Bend’s Tracy Helmus said she was a fan of “The Bachelor,” “The Bachelorette,” “Bachelor in Paradise” and “Bachelor Pad.”
“I’ve watched it all,” Helmus said.
She said Higgins was one of her favorites on the last season of “The Bachelorette.”
Shane Wallin, Goshen, and his wife of three months, Lauren, traveled to Warsaw Sunday because Lauren’s a fan of the show.
“And I’m a fan of hers,” Shane said.
“I heard on the radio they were going to be here, so we made the trip,” Lauren said.
Though she’s watched the show since it started, Shane has only seen a couple of episodes, Lauren said.
“I’ve seen enough,” Shane said.
“Ben’s my favorite though. I like that he’s from nearby, and I like that he seems sweet, realistic,” Lauren said.
Tyler Campbell, Syracuse, and his two buddies only attended the carnival to check out the women who were checking out Higgins, he said.
“They’re never in this town until he showed up,” Campbell said.
The carnival also gave them “something to do until ‘The Walking Dead’ comes on,” he said.
Amy Kerr and Jamie Steele, both of Fort Wayne, have a fun girls night Mondays to watch the show together.
“It’s mindless TV. All the fun drama. (Host and narrator) Chris Harrison,” Kerr said about why she watches it.
Steele said they posted on Instragram so that Harrison knew they were in Warsaw. Harrison was in Warsaw last night, too, and a crowd of gawkers followed him around as well for photo ops.
On Higgins, Steele said, “He seems very sincere. A sweet, good guy.”
Kerr added, “Since we live near (his hometown), he seems very relatable. It also helps he’s very attractive.”
Not arriving until almost 9 p.m. Sunday, Vanessa Avila and Cassandra Kiger, both of Fort Wayne, managed to get in line when it shrank down to Center Street.
“I’m obsessed with everything ‘Bachelor.’ I’m also in love with Ben Higgins,” Avila said.
She said, “There’s nothing about him I don’t like. Maybe the show made him seem that way, but he seems flawless.”
Earlier in the evening, Thallemer said spoke about the event and what “The Bachelor” may mean to Warsaw.
“I just think it’s going to portray Warsaw in a very positive way,” he said. “The production company has done a great job in getting things set up, doing what they need to do. They’ve done a good job with organization, timelines and their requests have been very organized and you can see this event is – it’s organized well and people seem to be having a good time. The weather’s obviously cooperating. But for the most part, Sunday night, late October, beautiful weather, the lights are lighting up the courthouse square in Warsaw – it’s really a beautiful night.”
Thallemer said he didn’t know if the carnival takes away or adds to anything Warsaw already has, but it puts the city in the spotlight.
With or without “The Bachelor” being filmed in the area, Thallemer said the city could look at having a downtown fall carnival in the future.
“Obviously, people are enjoying it. Again, you get the right weather and putting something like this downtown. First Fridays draw well and maybe this is something we need to consider – bringing the big rides in,” Thallemer said.
He noted he never thought there would be a carousel at the intersection of Center and Buffalo streets.
“Again, we got four big rides and a lot of food – everyone seems to be enjoying themselves. So, yeah, I think it’s something we need to look into because it’s obviously working tonight,” Thallemer said.
The carnival featured four rides, four games, food stands, a picnic area and an entryway just for Higgins’ arrival.
Michelle Zawadzki, Leesburg, and her husband brought their two children to the Warsaw Carnival.
“My children wanted to come out to the carnival, and I wanted to see ‘The Bachelor’ and the girls,” she said, noting it was a nice night and was nice of the reality show to put the carnival on.
A pretty avid fan of “The Bachelor,” Zawadzki said when Higgins was on “The Bachelorette” it made that show more interesting and his appearance on “The Bachelor” will be good publicity for Warsaw.
It wasn’t just local people at the carnival – there were “Bachelor” fans from Goshen, Fort Wayne and beyond.
Kayla Ballard and Rachel Adams drove about two hours from Crown Point for the show’s filming.
“I’m a huge ‘Bachelor’ fan ever since the first ‘Bachelorette,” Ballard said. “I was a huge fan of Ben when he was on last season, and the fact he’s from Indiana makes it more fun.”
Adams said they went to Indiana University, like Higgins. He was a senior when they were freshmen, but they didn’t know him in college.
She said Higgins needs a woman who is “down to earth, someone who likes the small town but who likes the city, too.”
Suzie Rueck, Goshen, has been a fan of “The Bachelor” for five or six years. When she found out it was being filmed in Warsaw Sunday, she got three of her friends from Goshen to come down with her.
“He’s very handsome. He seems genuine, wholesome, an honest guy,” Rueck said of Higgins.
Josh Numbers, Fort Wayne, drove his girlfriend Cierra Hickle, Fort Wayne, and two other friends, including Anna Luke, Warsaw, to the carnival.
“I had the day off, so I thought I might as well,” Numbers said, stating he’s watched “The Bachelorette” but never “The Bachelor.”
South Bend’s Tracy Helmus said she was a fan of “The Bachelor,” “The Bachelorette,” “Bachelor in Paradise” and “Bachelor Pad.”
“I’ve watched it all,” Helmus said.
She said Higgins was one of her favorites on the last season of “The Bachelorette.”
Shane Wallin, Goshen, and his wife of three months, Lauren, traveled to Warsaw Sunday because Lauren’s a fan of the show.
“And I’m a fan of hers,” Shane said.
“I heard on the radio they were going to be here, so we made the trip,” Lauren said.
Though she’s watched the show since it started, Shane has only seen a couple of episodes, Lauren said.
“I’ve seen enough,” Shane said.
“Ben’s my favorite though. I like that he’s from nearby, and I like that he seems sweet, realistic,” Lauren said.
Tyler Campbell, Syracuse, and his two buddies only attended the carnival to check out the women who were checking out Higgins, he said.
“They’re never in this town until he showed up,” Campbell said.
The carnival also gave them “something to do until ‘The Walking Dead’ comes on,” he said.
Amy Kerr and Jamie Steele, both of Fort Wayne, have a fun girls night Mondays to watch the show together.
“It’s mindless TV. All the fun drama. (Host and narrator) Chris Harrison,” Kerr said about why she watches it.
Steele said they posted on Instragram so that Harrison knew they were in Warsaw. Harrison was in Warsaw last night, too, and a crowd of gawkers followed him around as well for photo ops.
On Higgins, Steele said, “He seems very sincere. A sweet, good guy.”
Kerr added, “Since we live near (his hometown), he seems very relatable. It also helps he’s very attractive.”
Not arriving until almost 9 p.m. Sunday, Vanessa Avila and Cassandra Kiger, both of Fort Wayne, managed to get in line when it shrank down to Center Street.
“I’m obsessed with everything ‘Bachelor.’ I’m also in love with Ben Higgins,” Avila said.
She said, “There’s nothing about him I don’t like. Maybe the show made him seem that way, but he seems flawless.”
Earlier in the evening, Thallemer said spoke about the event and what “The Bachelor” may mean to Warsaw.
“I just think it’s going to portray Warsaw in a very positive way,” he said. “The production company has done a great job in getting things set up, doing what they need to do. They’ve done a good job with organization, timelines and their requests have been very organized and you can see this event is – it’s organized well and people seem to be having a good time. The weather’s obviously cooperating. But for the most part, Sunday night, late October, beautiful weather, the lights are lighting up the courthouse square in Warsaw – it’s really a beautiful night.”
Thallemer said he didn’t know if the carnival takes away or adds to anything Warsaw already has, but it puts the city in the spotlight.
With or without “The Bachelor” being filmed in the area, Thallemer said the city could look at having a downtown fall carnival in the future.
“Obviously, people are enjoying it. Again, you get the right weather and putting something like this downtown. First Fridays draw well and maybe this is something we need to consider – bringing the big rides in,” Thallemer said.
He noted he never thought there would be a carousel at the intersection of Center and Buffalo streets.
“Again, we got four big rides and a lot of food – everyone seems to be enjoying themselves. So, yeah, I think it’s something we need to look into because it’s obviously working tonight,” Thallemer said.
(Story By The Times Union)
