VAN WERT, Ohio (WLIO) - The city and county of Van Wert are bringing a new vibrant way to see the area and all it has to offer.
The office of Visit Van Wert was helped by professional cartoonist Jim Hunt, who illustrated a cartoon style map of Van Wert and all of its places that visitors can check out. The map is part of an effort to revitalize tourism to the area and give exposure to what folks can see while in Van Wert.
From the sounds and scenes at the Niswonger Performing Arts Center to the recreational summer fun at Franklin Park, there's something for everyone while in Van Wert. Executive director of Visit Van Wert, Kim Fleming says the map can useful for all ages.
"It gives you the places that are very vibrant within our community," said Fleming. "We have distributed probably 500 black and white copies with crayons around different restaurants, so kids can color, kind of like Where's Waldo? Where have you been? Where haven't you been? That really excites them with the location of things. They've heard of certain parks, but maybe they haven't been there."
Fleming also highlighted that while Van Wert may fit the bill of small town Ohio, it has no shortage of things to do for residents and visitors.
"What people don't realize is that last year, we had 378 events - now, that's not one per day, there are several sometimes that are located in the same weekend, but that's a large number for our size of community," said Fleming. "We are a collection for the calendar of events, and it's free. We are interested in helping people discover what's coming up, because that is what people want to know.?"
If you're interested in finding out more about what's happening in Van Wert you can visit their office at 140 Main Street or find them online as well as Facebook or Instagram. The next big event they have planned is the Main Street Block Party on Friday, August 8th from 4 to 10 PM.
