Huge TechFest event slated for area high school students

A fun-filled day of games, competitions, workshops, and informational booths about area careers, colleges, internship opportunities, and much more is coming to Fort Wayne.

The first annual Northeast Indiana TechFest is Saturday, April 16, from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. at Sweetwater Sound headquarters, 5501 U.S. 30 West, Fort Wayne, Ind.

TechFest is an opportunity for local high school students to engage in a full day of video game tournaments, problem-solving team competitions, photo-editing contest, workshops about careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) in Northeast Indiana, and much more. Local universities and colleges will also be on hand to provide information about majors related to these subject areas.

The keynote speaker at 3 p.m. is Zach Klein, Fort Wayne native and entrepreneur. He is co-founder of CollegeHumor.com, Vimeo and Busted Tees, and chief product officer of Boxee.

Gold-level sponsors of the event include ITT, Atos Origin, and Aaron’s Sales and Leasing.

Some of the games scheduled for the event include:

• Madden Football: Contestants will compete head-to-head throughout the day until one person stands alone as champion. The winner gets a $500 scholarship with prizes for second and third as well.
• Speed Texting: Test yourself against the area's best texters in the speed texting game! Cell phones will be provided for this fun and innovative contest.
• Mario Cart: Drive with the best of them!
• Dance Dance Revolution: Do you have the moves to be crowned “Best Dance Dance Revolution Dancer in Northeast Indiana”?
• Wii Boxing Tournament: One person will stand above the competition to be Wii Boxing’s Best!
• Guitar Hero: Can you shred better than any of your friends? Do you think you have what it takes to be the Northeast Indiana TechFEST Guitar Hero? The finalists for this competition will get the chance to play on the BIG screen at Sweetwater Sound.
• Wii Downhill Skiing: Make your way down the virtual mountain the fastest and you might just be our skiing champion.
• Closest to the Pin Golfing: Do you think your golfing skills can hold up against some of the best in the area? Are you on your schools golf team or do you just like playing for fun? Now is your chance to test your skills in this virtual golf simulator that puts you in the middle of the action!
• Problem Solving Competition: Your team of 4 participants will compete against other schools for bragging rights in this real-world problem-solving competition. Fort Wayne Metals is presenting a problem that they may very well face and you’ll get to see if you can come up with a solution that they might be able to use. Registration is required for each team member.
• Wii Big Brain Trivia Competition: Your team of four will compete against other teams for the right to say "We’re the Smartest!" in Big Brain Trivia. Registration is required for each team member.

Registration is required and is available at the Northeast Indiana TechFest web site. A link is also available at The Chamber’s web site.

Participation is $10 and students may choose two events in which to participate. Prizes will be awarded to the winning individual or team in each game and raffle prizes will be given away at random throughout the day. Lunch will be offered through Sweetwater Sound’s cafeteria and will cost about $5.50. Non-participating guests are welcome to purchase tickets at the door for $5.

Other sponsors include Coca Cola of Fort Wayne, Sweetwater Sound, The City of Fort Wayne, The Chamber, Best Buy, Fort Wayne Airport, NETech, Aptera, Marriot-Downtown, Creative Signs, Commissioner Bill Brown and Suzette Brown, Indiana Tech, ITT Tech, Ivy Tech, Northeast Indiana Innovation Center, Pizza Hut of Fort Wayne, Trine University, University of Saint Francis, Best Buy Mobile, Champions, Tek Venture, and The Talent Initiative.