WhatzUp

“Fort Wayne’s got a good heart,” Phil Gerken said after four months of gathering corporate sponsors, local bands and performing artists to donate their time or money for the third annual Spice Fest.

Gerken is a member of the planning committee for the festival, which benefits the Hoosier Burn Camp. Founded in 1998, the Hoosier Burn Camp provides support for children affected by burn injuries and gives them the chance to be a kid.

“Once they’re burned, their life is changed forever,” Heidi Sims of the Northeast Indiana Burn Council said. The camp lets children do outdoor sports and provides services such as psychological programs, Sims said. The camp helps the children’s self-esteem, Spice Fest organizers said. Sims remembers the smiles she saw when she visited the camp in May. Sims might see some of the smiling faces again at Spice Fest because several campers and their parents plan to volunteer.

Ideally, Spice Fest needs about 60 volunteers each day and will accept volunteers the day of the event. Volunteers can help with parking, set up and tear down, game booths and grounds maintenance. Volunteers aren’t the only ones helping Spice Fest. Gerken said local headliner bands were “phenomenal” because they all wanted to participate without charging a fee. More bands wanted to perform than Spice Fest had time for, planning committee member Dan Turkette said. He had to pick and choose which bands would play and even extended the hours he allotted for performances. The music he didn’t allow was rap and hip hop. Dakota Sunrise is one of several local bands donating their time at this weekend’s Spice Fest, which raises money to help child burn victims attend summer camp.