KENDALLVILLE â A magician, dancers, singers, instrumentalists and a comedian are among the contestants for the 2021 âNoble Countyâs Got Talentâ show Thursday at 7 p.m. in the grandstand at the Noble County Fair. Admission is $5 per person.
Chet Smith of Albion will be master of ceremonies for the evening. Smith has emceed multiple events, including the Miss Noble County Pageant and the Chain Oâ Lakes Festival parade. Josh Ogle, theater director at East Noble High School, is the showâs producer.
Judges include Chris Spalding of the Fort Wayne Ballroom Company and Jen Netting, who has directed productions for Gaslight Playhouse and worked with multiple Fort Wayne area theater organizations.
You can almost smell the popcorn, taste the ice cream, the greasy but good fair food and hear the crack and screech of fireworks.
Many area festivals and fairs are slated to return in 2021 after COVID-19 wiped out most events a year ago.
âThings are definitely happening in LaGrange County,â said Phyllis Youga, executive director of the LaGrange County Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Shipshewanaâs MayFest went off well, with some new events planned and returning events forthcoming.
âWe are seeing a great response,â Youga said. âWe are very pleased with the recovery.â The popular flea market in Shipshewana resumed in May at 85% capacity. Businesses sheâs talked to are also happy with the rebound.
ALBION â The Albion Town Council Tuesday voted 5-0 to open up a gravel lot it owns to public parking, adding an extra 15-20 spots to what has become a very congested downtown area.
Due to the construction of a new county annex on the block to the west of the Noble County Courthouse, the downtown has lost:
⢠spots on the west side of the York Street across from the Noble County Courthouse;
⢠the parking lot at the former prosecutorâs office where the courthouse is being built.
A recent day saw multiple steel trucks attempting to deliver their loads to the construction site. According to Albion Town Marshal Scott Cole, when one truck was inside the fenced-in area waiting to be unloaded, the other steel trucks had nowhere to go, further adding congestion to the downtown.