Katlin Heimann said she normally does not like to celebrate Christmas before Thanksgiving, but for her first Christmas on Broadway, she put that aside.

"It’s still fun. I’m not going to be a Grinch at this moment," she said. "After the fireworks, who’s to say?”

Heimann was one of thousands who attended Christmas on Broadway Friday, the symbolic start to the holiday season in Fort Wayne, organizer Steve Shine said. Each year, the event is held outside the offices of the Shine and Hardin law firm off Broadway.

“It’s been a 21-year tradition that has grown from about 150 people viewing the lighting in 2004 to nearly 5,000 last year,” Shine said. “I think the aura of an old-fashioned Christmas with families gathered around a tree gives the homespun feeling that Christmas on Broadway radiate

See Full Page