The Ninth Annual Fat & Skinny Tirefest will have a different feel from any of its predecessors.
In recent years, poor weather put a bit of a damper on things.
This year that doesn’t to be an issue as clear weather and warm temperatures are forecasted, save for Sunday.
The crowds will be bigger. It’s an inevitable result of the event growing larger and gaining more support with each year.
But perhaps what can be predicted is how the joyous nature will be balanced with melancholy as one of the event’s founders will be there in spirit only.
In October, Robbie Gast, 34, died from injuries resulting from a motorcycle accident in Winona Lake.
Gast was known for the mantra “Livin’ The Dream.” It would often be his reply when asked how he was doing.
Saturday at the Fat & Skinny Expo, the Robbie Gast Ride On Award will be given at 8:30 p.m. to a volunteer who helped show the sort of dedication that Gast himself showed.
“I think the biggest challenge has been going on since he passed away. The last six months we’ve been preparing, having to make decisions. All the little things we knew he was handling, came into focus,” said event co-founder Greg Demopoulos. “That heartache sort of resurfaces. But we know he would want us to move forward. Keep plugging away with the original vision. An event that didn’t cost anything and brings people together.”
It’s an event that was at least partially born out of the common refrain heard in Warsaw.
“There’s nothing to do here,” can often be uttered by those of all ages when referring to Warsaw/Winona Lake.
“How do we provide an event so fun that we can start to change that mindset?” said Demopoulos.
“The thing that’s really been cool is just to know that several of the businesses that we work with, it’s their busiest weekend of the year. I think that says something,” said Demopoulos. “That original idea of bringing people into the community and capitalizing on it.”
A 16-page tab featuring all of this weekend’s events appeared in Thursday’s Times-Union and will be available at the event.
A Community Critical Mass bike ride from the Village at Winona to downtown Warsaw kicks off the weekend at 6:30 p.m. today.
A festival kick-off party runs from 6:30 to 11 p.m. today at Mad Anthony’s Lake City Taphouse in Warsaw.
Events run all day Saturday and Sunday.
Follow staff writer Daniel Riordan on Twitter at @TUNews_Riordan
