Though a short storm made its way through parts of the county Friday, it didn’t touch downtown Warsaw where Third Friday took place.
During the three-hour event, the community was able to take in the Kosciusko Board of Realtors Cruise-in, food vendors during the Taste of Kosciusko and music provided by local band Dad Bods and the Warsaw Community High School Band drumline. There were also other vendors that wrapped around the county courthouse on every side but the Lake Street side.
Rob Parker, president and CEO of Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce and executive director of Main Street Warsaw, said they’ve had Taste of Kosciusko every year since he joined the Chamber so this was the ninth year for the event.
“We bounced around from different locations, but I really like doing it in downtown Warsaw because this is the heart of our community. Some people like to say this is the community’s living room, so what a great place to gather and nobody likes to gather more than when you have good food and good drink, and that’s what Taste of Kosciusko provides,” he said.
There were 15 food vendors taking part in Taste of Kosciusko, and they could be found along Center and Buffalo streets and even in the City Hall parking lot.
He was looking forward to hearing the WCHS Band drumline, who hadn’t played yet during the interview, but Dad Bods was “rocking it,” he said with great song choices.

    Among the vehicles in the Kosciusko Board of Realtors cruise-in during Third Friday were a 1932 Ford Duce Coupe (R), owned by Denny and Kristine England, and a 2006 Ford Mustange (L), owned by Bill Sherman. Photo by David Slone, Times-Union
  

The vendors around the county courthouse were the “most we’ve ever had,” he stated.
“It’s a great time and a great crowd,” Parker said. Many of the downtown businesses had their promotions going on, inside their buildings and outside.
To get a taste of Kosciusko, the public purchased tickets from the Main Street Warsaw/Chamber booth. Those tickets could then be traded at the food vendors’ booths for samples of their ware.
Kaley Dawson, owner of Bakehouse 23, was one of the food vendors offering samples.
“We’re actually opening downtown (at 108 N. Buffalo St.) in the next few weeks. We’re originally from Pierceton and our store is moving just to have more space. We bake everything on our menu from scratch every single morning,” she said.
They offer cupcakes, cheesecake, cookies, macarons and a lot of different pastries and croissants. They have sourdough bread as well, with a coffee bar in the back of the business where they serve Three Crowns Coffee.
What makes Bakehouse 23 different from any other bakery, she said, is that they’re a storefront.
“You can come in anytime and have a full menu instead of having to just order in advanced. We also, like I said, bake everything from scratch and that’s pretty different from a lot of bakeries, especially like grocery stores,” she stated.
Heather Schuller, job file coordinator with ServPro, explained ServPro does fire, water and mold mitigation.
“So, basically, if you have to call us, you’re having a really bad day. Something in your house is wet, moldy or burnt. And we come in and clean up all the mess, dry out your structure and put everything back the way it was,” she said.
ServPro works with insurance companies to get everything paid for.
To support first responders and emergency service providers, ServPro is hosting a National First Responders Day event from 4 to 7 p.m. Oct. 28.
“Our franchise, that serves Kosciusko and Noble counties, we started this last year on National First Responders Day. We’re putting on an event out at our property,” she said, which include a touch-a-truck, bounce houses, kids activities and other family-friendly activities. It’s a free-will donation for everything. “We’ll have food. We have a T-shirt vendor coming. So all kinds of fun stuff to do.”
Everything that’s donated at the Oct. 28 event will go to First Responders Children’s Foundation. Schuller said that foundation partners almost exclusively with ServPros across the country because ServPro works a lot with first responders.
“That foundation gives money to children of fallen first responders for everything from paying off the mortgage for the home they live in to putting them through college. So all kinds of different opportunities for families of first responders,” she said.