WARSAW — The community gathered in a spirit of generosity and hope on Sunday, Oct. 12, at Tippecanoe Lake Country Club for the 5th Annual Power of Pink Champagne Brunch, benefiting the Kosciusko County Cancer Care Fund.

The annual fundraiser supports local patients undergoing cancer treatment, helping to ease
the financial burden that often accompanies care. This year’s event featured the ever-popular designer purse auction, with 17 purses up for bid. The auction was skillfully led by
Master of Ceremonies Scott Wiley who kept the energy high and the audience engaged
throughout the morning.

Adding a touch of glamour and fun, two Wawasee High School athletes and one Warsaw
High School athlete modeled the purses as they were auctioned. Their enthusiasm brought
smiles and helped spark some friendly competition among bidders. One purse even inspired
an exciting bidding war, ultimately selling for an incredible $4,000.

“The generosity we witnessed today was just amazing,” said Event Chair Julee Rauch. “The
outpouring of support means so much, and the success of this event will help so many people in our community who are facing one of life’s toughest battles.”

The Power of Pink Brunch continues to grow each year, bringing together friends, families,
and community members united by compassion and a shared commitment to making a
difference. With another successful event in the books, the Kosciusko County Cancer Care
Fund is poised to continue providing critical assistance to those who need it most.

The post Power of Pink Champagne Brunch, benefits Kosciusko County Cancer Care Fund appeared first on News Now Warsaw.

WARSAW — Mild temps and dry conditions on Friday night — ten night before Christmas — helped bring out a large crowd for Downtown Warsaw's Christmas Celebration.

This year's celebration was rescheduled from Dec. 1 because of heavy rains and the change turned out to be worthwhile as a large crowd turned out for the annual Twinkle Light Parade that featured more than 50 entries, many lit up with Christmas lights.

Throngs of people lined up along Center and Indiana streets for the parade as children scavenged large amounts of candy from streets.

The parade included retiring Warsaw Mayor Joe Thallemer who concludes 12 years of service in City Hall at the end of the month, and entertainer Suzie McEntire who is returning for her tenth annual Country Christmas Concert at Lakeview Middle School on Saturday night.

Scott Wiley, member relations manager for the Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce, called the night an overwhelming success.

Friday's event was also the first time it included a Christmas market, which attracted 22 vendors.

Hundreds of children were able to meet Santa and get their photo taken at the Warsaw breakfast optimist Santa house. Two horse-drawn carriages provided nonstop rides which were free to the public and provided by Main Street Warsaw.

The food plaza featured six restaurants, Wiley said.

Wiley said the combination of music, food, and the parade made it feel "like being in the middle of a Hallmark movie … minus the drama."

"Our new Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce and Main Street Warsaw event coordinator, Mackenzie Parker, did a wonderful job of organizing this event that had many moving parts,” Wiley said.

Main Street Warsaw had support for the event from Kensington Digital Media (which promoted the upcoming Ornament Smash), the city of Warsaw and the Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce.

The event was sponsored by Dr. Dane and Mary Louise Miller Foundation.

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WARSAW — Downtown Warsaw will have a new holiday attraction for Christmastime beginning this year.

Main Street Warsaw planted a 15-foot concolor fir on the southeast corner of the courthouse lawn early Thursday afternoon.

The tree is from from Dogwood Hills Tree Farm in Middlebury.

According to one online source, the concolor Fir can grow to upward of 130 feet tall.

Christmastime festival organizers have tried using temporary trees for Christmas celebrations at the relatively new courthouse plaza in the past without a lot of luck so they opted for a permanent tree.

"We've been wanting to have an actual tree down here for a long, long time, because every year, we debate on what to do with our annual Christmas tree, so we finally got permission and blessing from the courthouse to actually plant a tree here," said Scott Wiley, member relations manager for the Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce.

"It'll be a beautiful addition to the courthouse grounds all year-round," Wiley said.

The planting of the tree comes just in time for Warsaw Main Street’s downtown Christmas celebration on Dec. 1.

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WARSAW — It would be hard to imagine a bigger turnout for Spooktacular than the one held Friday night in downtown Warsaw.

Buoyed by unseasonable warm weather, Friday's annual Halloween event attracted long lines of costumed children and parents who snaked across the intersection of Center and Buffalo streets in order to collect candy from dozens of businesses.

The event  began at 6 p.m. and merchants quickly found themselves scurrying to buy extra supplies of candy.

"This has got to be the biggest ever," said Scott Wiley, Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce Member Relations Manager, while standing amid the crowd. "This is crazy."

He said they were fortunate for the pleasant weather, which maxed out with with temperatures in the mid-70s.

That's not often been the case in past years.

"Two years ago, it came down in buckets," he said.

Friday's event was organized by Main Street Warsaw in partnership with Kensington Digital Media, the city of Warsaw and Warsaw Breakfast Optimist Club.

Food trucks provided an additional dimension and many businesses from outside of the downtown business district also participated, Wiley said.

Additional event sponsors included Family Express, Miller’s Senior Living Community and Dane and Mary Louise Miller Foundation.

[caption id="attachment_84763" align="aligncenter" width="696"] An assortment of costumed creatures showed up for Friday Night's event. News Now Warsaw photo by Dan Spalding.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_84762" align="aligncenter" width="696"] One event organizer speculated the turnout was bigger than ever. News Now Warsaw photo by Dan Spalding.[/caption]

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[caption id="attachment_84818" align="aligncenter" width="696"] Cory Benz, with Titus Funeral Home and Creation Services, hands out candy from the back of a hearse. News Now Warsaw photo by Dan Spalding.[/caption]

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Additional News Now Warsaw photos below by Sonya Keener.

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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.

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