Amish Country Blog

Sweet Creams Soda Shop
700 S. Main @ State Street / Elkhart / 574.970.5568
-Step back in time
-Try the lunch-time grilled cheese with sautéed peppers & onions
-Best noon ‘till 1:30 pm

Michael’s Italian Restaurant – since 1957
Corner of 6th & Harrison / Elkhart / 574. 522.3664
-Great local feel with “Wednesday night regulars”  – mayor, former police chief
-Best Wednesdays 7 – 8:30 pm

Tabletop Soignee at Flytrap’s
505 S. Main Street / Elkhart / 574.295.1400
-Check out the beef “brutzli” served on a cooking stone @ table
-Great a-la-minute Swiss methods
-Cool original art

Thirsty Thursdays @ The Vine
214 S. Main Street / Elkhart / 574.970.5006
-50% off wines by the bottle each Thursday, free tastings – very popular
-Great retro interior

Power Lunch Fridays
McCarthy’s on the RiverWalk / Elkhart
333 NIBCO Parkway @ Elkhart Avenue bridge / 574.293.2830
-The place for bankers/ developers/ players to launch deals
-Best  Fridays 12 – 1:30 pm

I took a much needed break this weekend.  I stayed at the Staybridge Suites, and it was a wonderful experience.

The front desk attendants were friendly, and helpful.

I enjoyed the room layout.  I had a full kitchen, with a full fridge.  That was a convenient since I didn’t want to leave the room that weekend.  I had two flat screen TV’s in my suite–one in the common room and one in the bedroom, both flat screens.  The rooms was quite, I couldn’t hear any outside noise although the property is by a major road.

For breakfast, there were lots of choices, from hot items to fruit and cereal.  They didn’t have hot tea, but I muddled through without it.  It was a good way to start my day.

I had the pool to myself for most of the weekend.  Because this property is new, most travelers don’t know to stay here yet, and I got to take advantage of lots of pool time.  The property also has a theater room, and a workout room, neither of which I used.  There is also on site guest laundry facilities.

So when you want a good place to stay, check out Staybridge Suites.  I’m sure you’ll enjoy the property.

Mindy, Amish Country Northern Indiana Contributor and Visitor Center Specialist

Members of the Maple Leaf Quilt Guild, Heartland Quilters, Artful Quilters, New Paris Puzzler Quilt Guild, Happy Hoosier Homemakers, Zion Extension Club, and Pie Gabba Sew are organized to welcome over 1,000 quilters into Elkhart County on National Quilting Day, Saturday, March 20, 2010 at the Elkhart County 4-H Fairgrounds in Goshen.  Purdue Extension Services Educator, Mary Ann Lienhart-Cross remarks, “The rich heritage of quilting and hospitality make Elkhart County an ideal location to host this 20th anniversary event”.

“The Gathering of Quilters” features a quilt block exchange, a quilt exhibit and show, local demonstrations with product sales, and vendors offering quilt supplies, products, fabrics, notions and kits. Guest speaker, Brenda Papadakis, an expert in applique and Civil War era quilts and designs and the author of the 1996 “Dear Jane” book is the keynote speaker. In her famous book which started the “Dear Jane” quilt craze, Papadakis has lovingly recreated the two hundred twenty-five patterns from the celebrated Jane A. Blakely Stickle 1863 quilt. Brenda will lead a keynote session drawing attendees into the historical context of Jane’s achievement and connecting her to quilting
lives today.

Contact Diana Bennett at 574.642.4194 for information.

Mindy, Amish Country Northern Indiana Contributor and Visitor Center Specialist

The Elkhart County Historical Museum invites girls to bring their American Girl Doll to the museum and learn together what life was like for children growing up in the 1970s.  On Saturday, Februrary 27th the museum will host “The Groovy ‘70s: Featuring American Girl Julie!”

The program will focus on some of the things that helped define the ‘70s.  One example is the environmentalist movement which made great strides in the 1970s.  1970 marked the first celebration of Earth Day and the Endangered Species Act was passed in 1972. “In recognition of the environmentalist movement, the girls will be making kites just like Julie did in her book Julie and the Eagles,” says Oestreich.  “Julie made and sold the kites to try and raise money to save endangered bald eagles.”

Girls will also be making projects featuring some of the fads of the 1970s. “Two of the more famous fads are lava lamps and pet rocks,” says Oestreich.  “So each girl will get to make a lava lamp and pet rock to take home.”  Other fads included roller skating, homemade ribbon barrettes, and pong.  In addition, many girls in the seventies read Judy Blume books and watched Little House on the Prairie.

Girls are welcome to come dressed in seventies inspired attire.  For girls this means bell-bottomed pants, platform shoes, turtle neck shirts, and flower prints.  Hair for girls switched from long and straight in the first part of the decade to more loose and feathery like the hair of Charlie’s Angel Farrah Fawcet in the latter part of the seventies.

Several American Girl related prizes will be awarded to participants including a grand prize of the Julie doll.  Additionally there will be prizes of American Girl story books, activity books, and clothing.  If anyone is interested in donating items to allow for more girls to go home with prizes please contact the museum.

While the bringing of an American Girl Doll to the program is encouraged it is not required.  Everyone is welcome to attend the program whether or not they have a doll.

The cost to attend “The Groovy ‘70s: Featuring American Girl Julie!” is $3/girl. Participants may choose from a morning session from 10:00 to 12:00 or an afternoon session from 1:30 to 3:30. Pre-registration is required.  To register or for more information, please contact Rebecca Oestreich at 574-848-4322 or Rebecca@elkhartcountyparks.org.

Rebecca Oestreich Elkhart County Historical Museum

I love watching the Olympics, and the ice skating competitions are my favorite.  After that I love watching speed skating.  It’s amazing how much talent these athletes have in working a thin little blade against ice. After every jump, spin and dance I wonder how they stay upright.   Then, I want to go out and try these moves myself.

In Elkhart, we have a great facility for working on all your ice skating dreams.  The NIBCO Water and Ice Park is open through March.  It is a beautiful facility on the Elkhart River.   It has a rink, but the best part of the rink is the ice path that goes out of the rink.  I love this feature.  It makes me feel like I’m a great skater…There are no sides to hold onto on this path.  I feel like an Olympic Skater after completing it and not falling down!

I hope when you visit the NIBCO Water and Ice Park you enjoy your moments on the ice.

Mindy, Amish Country Northern Indiana Contributor and Visitor Center Specialist

The snow if falling in Amish Country, and we’re suppose to have 6 to 12 inches by tomorrow night.  The weather man says the snow isn’t so bad, but the blowing and drifting that will follow will make traveling difficult.

The Visitor’s Center is also off Exit 92.   We can update you on current road conditions and make recommendations where to stay and eat.  There are lots of hotels and restaurants in the immediate vicinity.  It makes the decision to stop much easier.

For your safety, here are tips from AAA on winter weather driving to make the next couple days of driving that much easier for you.

Mindy, Amish Country Northern Indiana Contributor and Visitor Center Specialist

Valentine’s Day is one of my favorite times of the year–roses and chocolate, chocolate and food, food and a night out, a night out and no toddler.  What a great way to spend a day.  And the best part is that your significant other usually has to say yes to your ideas for fear of ruining the day.  The Valentine’s package at the Das Dutchmen Essenhaus has all my requirements met, and it is a great place to be when the weather is cold outside.

You can have a wonderful dinner of prime rib, prosciutto wrapped chicken breast, or their famous family-style dinner.   The Mike Vaszari Ensemble will be there to play dinner music–get up and dance if you feel the urge.  A chocolate fondue fountain and a dessert buffet are also on the menu.  Each female guest receives a long stemmed rose- which is great if your partner has forgotten to get you flowers.  Then spend the night in the Essenhaus Inn.  I love that they have thought of everything on my list, and I don’t have to drive more than 20 minutes to get there.  This year, they are even offering massages!

The next day, you can walk over to the bakery and take home some of the best doughnuts you’ve ever tasted.  I think this is a great way to spend Valentine’s Day, and I hope to see you there.

Mindy, Amish Country Northern Indiana Contributor and Visitor Center Specialist

The Wakarusa Historical Society’s Educational Days in Wakarusa, Indiana is now open to everyone. This is usually a program for 2^nd to 4^th graders, and now, everyone has the chance to attend Educational Days. These tours are offered each year several weeks prior to our annual Maple Syrup Festival celebrations. 2010 tours will be available from Tuesday, March 16 through Friday,March 19.

The tours are designed for quality educational experiences and include the following FREE opportunities:

Tour the Wakarusa Historical Museum Buildings

Tour the Maple Sugar Camp. Sweet maple syrup will be available for purchase.

Popcorn fresh from the kettle.

Tour Historic Downtown Wakarusa.

A visit to the Wakarusa Dime Store. (shop at own discretion)

A bus will be met by a tour guide at the Wakarusa Town Cabin, located on Walnut Street next to the Town Park, then transport you to the Maple Syrup Camp and/or to the Historical Museum Buildings and back again.

For more information, please call the Chamber office at (574) 862-4344 between 8:00 A.M. and noon, Monday through Friday. The deadline for reservations is February 1, 2010.

-Deb Shively, Wakarusa Chamber of Commerce

Fifteen quilts made by the Material Girls Quilt Guild will be displayed at the Elkhart County Historical Museum from January 23 – June 23, 2010.  The participating guild is from areas of Middlebury, Shipshewana and LaGrange.  The goal of the exhibit is to demonstrate the continuation of quilting traditions in Northern Indiana as old patterns are renewed through interpretation and fabric selections.  Although all the quilts were made in 2009, many of the patterns themselves are over 100 years old and are family heirlooms.

The exhibit was first conceptualized by Material Girls Quilt Guild member and professional quilt appraiser Donna Kooistra.  Each quilter had to select a traditional quilt block pattern.  Altogether fifteen members of the guild participated in the challenge and made either bed sized or wall hanging versions of their selected quilt.  The participants had the choice to develop an exact replica of a quilt or provide a modern interpretation.  Some quilters took a literal analysis of the quilts by replicating every piece of fabric, but others reinterpreted traditional patterns like Dresden Plates that will include a new twist with modern fabrics. When possible a photograph of the original pattern will be shown alongside the replication.

“I brought the challenge concept to my local guild and they happily embraced the idea and spent countless hours in 2009 researching and reproducing their chosen quilts from history,” says Kooistra. “You’ll be amazed at the various projects and styles of reproductions.”

The exhibit is the first to be developed in a new second floor gallery at the Museum.  Starting in June 2009 the Museum began moving objects from a dilapidated storage room into the new modern storage annex.  The space that was opened after moving an estimated 1,000 items provided over 700 square feet.  Remodeling began in December.  The refurbished space includes new flooring, infrastructure and track lighting.  Long range plans for the space include a permanent exhibit on Elkhart’s band instrument industry.

The exhibit is open during the museum’s regular hours on Tuesday through Saturday from 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

- Rebecca Oestreich, Elkhart County Historical Museum

Eyedart studio gallery invites art lovers and art haters to see an unorthodox exhibit in downtown Goshen. Regardless of ones interest or indifference to art, the exhibit is worth the visit. “Contemporary American and Italian Artists on Paper”, featuring forty-two works by twenty-one artists from Italy and the United States, offers a rare chance to view art created by internationally-renowned, master-status artists. After an eight-week pause in Goshen, the traveling exhibit will voyage to galleries in Milan and Rome, Italy.

The exhibit is the brainchild of Scott L. Hatt, artist and curator from the Spurious Fugitive in South Bend, Indiana, and David Lester Learn. David spent over fifteen years living and traveling in Italy, cultivating relationships with some of the most respectable artists and galleries in the country. Upon returning to South Bend in 2009, Hatt and Learn began collaborating to bring their American and Italian artist-associates together.

While it may seem that Midwestern and Italian artists could not be more disparate, Hatt and Learn saw more connections than divisions between the two groups. “In the twenty-first century, artists around the world are dealing with the impact of globalization on media, art, and technology,” says Hatt. “The exhibit exploits these similarities.”

As a reflection of common issues with which contemporary artists grapple, Hatt established a few basic rules of symmetry: all of the pieces had to be created on paper, trimmed to the same size, matted and framed uniformly. Not shockingly, each artist’s piece stretches the boundaries of their same-sized frames. Stitches, string, photography, paint, pencil, ink, crayons, cardboard, and wax found their way into the works.

Another commonality within this group is a willingness to collaborate without reservation. “The Italian gallery owners with whom we worked were very generous; choosing artists with major art careers in Europe and the U.S.,” said Hatt. “For example, they invited Nini’ Santoro, who generously created two pieces for the show.” Santoro, whose name is less familiar in Northern Indiana, is well known in art history books and in major art hubs throughout the world. Many museums around the world house his work including the Museum of Modern Art in New York.  “Two other Italian artists with advanced careers are Aldo Bertolini and Marisa Facchinetti, both of whom have a concurrent show at the Italian Cultural Institute of San Francisco, California.”

“On the American side,” continued Hatt, “The show features some heavy-hitters including Fred Stonehouse, Adam Benjamin Fung, and Timothy Vermeulen. Stonehouse, a Milwaukee native, has shown his work all over the globe. The Zolla/Liberman Gallery, in Chicago, represents Fung. With both the Americans and Italians, we’re achieving the Spurious Fugitive’s goal of bringing art to our community that wouldn’t otherwise be shown in Northern Indiana.”

So go to Eyedart and enjoy this great show.  Let us know what you thought of it, and leave us a comment.

Mindy, Amish Country Northern Indiana Contributor and Visitor Center Specialist