Music, basketball, volleyball and softball will be on the minds of thousands of visitors coming to Fort Wayne over the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. weekend.

The MLK Challenge Volleyball Challenge returns for a second year at the Memorial Coliseum and will bring in an estimated 10,000 attendees from January 16 through 18. Meanwhile, Spiece Fieldhouse hosts its popular Gym Rats MLK Classic (3,600 attendees) on January 17 and 18 and Plex South welcomes its Winter Softball World Series Qualifier (500) from January 16 through 18.

In downtown Fort Wayne, the Indiana Music Education Association Professional Development Conference (3,000) will convene at the Grand Wayne Convention Center for a third consecutive year. The conference will feature a large trade show, educational workshops and performances at the Historic Embassy Theatre.

Fort Wayne’s restaurants, attractions and hotels will feel a generous bump in business as a result of these four events, as more than 17,000 people and $1.82 million dollars will enter our city over three days.

Visit Fort Wayne, the Fort Wayne/Allen County Convention and Visitors Bureau, is the not-for-profit organization whose purpose is to expand Fort Wayne’s economy by attracting convention and leisure visitors. Each year, millions of dollars from visitor spending generate increased commerce, sustained jobs and enhancement of Fort Wayne’s image.

Source: Visit Fort Wayne; Inside INdiana Business