After a 6-0 vote, the Three Rivers Festival board decided to file for bankruptcy Monday, Feb. 10. The yearly festival, held in Fort Wayne, has been cancelled. Photo from Three Rivers Festival.

News Release

FORT WAYNE — The Three Rivers Festival, held nearly every year in Fort Wayne since 1969, is canceled after its board filed for bankruptcy Monday, Feb. 10.

The nine-day festival, formerly the second largest in Indiana, was traditionally held in July. Attractions included a midway, carnival games, a parade and Junk Food Alley, a series of shops selling festival fare such as elephant ears and fried food.

An attempt by the board to raise $300,000 to pay off the board’s debts and $150,000 to fund this year’s festival failed, with just $1,250 raised by its Monday, Feb. 10 deadline.

Many factors contributed to the nonprofit’s debt, including reduced sponsorship, attendance and increased operation costs.

Downtown development at the historical location of Junk Food Alley, Headwaters Park, forced the attraction to move to an area without food and electricity. This added costs of generators and water disposal. In addition, outside food trucks began replacing local ones, which charged greater prices for carnival food.

Attendance has also been going down for several years, with the hiring of an outside marketing ground bringing few extra festival-goers.

Finally, competition from other local events was also an issue. Over 30 unique events, including other festivals and a weekly farmers market occur in July, according to Visit Fort Wayne.

The cancellation of this year’s festival and the board’s bankruptcy put the future of Three Rivers Festival in question.