Three Rivers Festival in Fort Wayne
Manny and James were headed to the Three Rivers Festival in Fort Wayne, Indiana. They had never been there before, though James’ cousin had and told him it was incredible. James and his cousin had an uncle that lived there and James had only visited him once before. Generally his uncle would come to James’ family’s house for the holidays and that was the extent of their annual visits. So, when James asked his uncle Tom if it would be all right if he visited for a few days and brought a friend, his uncle was more than pleased at the idea.
James and Manny got into town a bit early and enjoyed the fourth of July fireworks celebration in the city. Shortly after that, they noticed all of the Fort Wayne hotels filling up quickly and wondered why. The fireworks were over. Uncle Tom laughed at this and told the boys that the people were arriving to attend the Three Rivers Festival. This surprised both Manny and James who expected it to be huge but not that big. The festival was going to begin the next day, which was a Saturday, and it would last for nine days. James wondered if it would change his life and Manny laughed at him. James was prone to over dramatizing most events and exaggerating the significance of them. Still, though, he had to wonder.
The next morning the boys awoke with a sense of wonder that equaled that they experienced as children on Christmas morning. Uncle Tom led them to the main festival area and they didn’t stop all day. They spent a good deal of time looking at the juried art exhibit and were impressed with what they saw. James wondered if he should buy one to bring back to his mother for a gift. Manny was more interested in the festival food than the art though both of the boys seemed to Uncle Tom like they were eating all day. The following nine days were a great thrill and something new happened each day. There were parades, music, great food, and an enormous crowd of people. Manny had a great time and returned home to go on about his business. James however, felt his life had been changed by what he all he did and saw.
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