2022 Year in Review: Entertainment and Recreation

South Bend Tribune
·4 min read

The Morris turns 100 and other entertainment highlights

The Morris Performing Arts Center dubbed its $30 million Morris 100 Campaign "The Neverending Encore," as shown on the marquee April 27, 2021, the day officials announced the campaign.
The Morris Performing Arts Center dubbed its $30 million Morris 100 Campaign "The Neverending Encore," as shown on the marquee April 27, 2021, the day officials announced the campaign.

With most venues open and booking shows again on a regular basis, the entertainment scene in South Bend made big strides again toward normalcy in 2022.

But no story was bigger or more consequential for the future than the Morris Performing Arts Center’s 100th anniversary, timed to coincidence with the theater’s reopening at the completion of Phase I of a multiyear renovation project that will bring new amenities, infrastructure and programs to the venue.

Through the years:From the Palace to the Morris Performing Arts Center

The city celebrated it with the two-day Morris 100 Fest on Sept. 30 and Oct. 1 that culminated in a concert by Barenaked Ladies and South Bend natives The Bergamot, all of which — including the Morris’ history — The Tribune covered in a special section Sept. 28.

Past performances:Past performances: Onstage at the Morris

Other entertainment highlights from 2022 include:

• Hailing from South Bend’s west side, Los de San Rafael qualified for “Tengo Talento Mucho Talento,” a popular national TV show that’s the Spanish-language version of “America’s Got Talent.” The trio of teenagers didn’t win, but the band has since become a staple of local Latinx performances.

• In addition to the Morris, two other South Bend institutions marked significant anniversaries in 2022: The South Bend Museum of Art turned 75 and celebrated with the special exhibit “Around the Bend,” a reorganized main exhibit and changes in staff, with a new emphasis on being more engaging. Throughout the year, The History Museum celebrated the 125th anniversary of Copshaholm, the Oliver family’s mansion that now serves as the museum’s main attraction. Events included special tours, lectures and the “Copshaholm 125 Arts Competition.”

• Garth Brooks became both the first and second act to perform at Notre Dame Stadium when he returned for a concert May 7. That followed his October 2018 show at “The House That Rockne Built” that later aired on CBS.

Gallery:Photos of Garth Brooks' concert May 7, 2022, at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend

• After two pandemic-caused delays, Billy Joel finally made his way back to campus for his June 25 concert at Notre Dame Stadium. He had previously performed at Notre Dame in 1996 and 1984.

Photo gallery:Billy Joel brings the melody to Notre Dame Stadium with June 25, 2022, concert

• South Bend Civic Theatre and the South Bend Symphony Orchestra joined forces for a production of “West Side Story” in October at the Morris.

• For the first time since 2006, the SBSO accompanied Southold Dance Theater for its production of “The Nutcracker” in December at the Morris.

Plans for regional fieldhouse

Plans for a $38 million regional athletic fieldhouse got started late this year as Mishawaka Redevelopment Commission began the process to set up the bond issue for the facility that should bring in 30-40 sports events annually.

Fields of dreams:City, developer forge ahead with first phase of Mishawaka Fieldhouse proposal

Card & Associates, the sports development company that will manage the property say the facility could bring in as much as $65 million from sports teams renting hotel and motel rooms and spending money in area businesses and restaurants.

The first phase of the project — consisting of 10 indoor courts for a variety of sports — is planned to be built on Veterans Parkway north of Douglas Road on 49 acres the city has provided in northeastern Mishawaka. Four baseball fields and future expansion for the possibility of ice rinks are now set as a second phase that is not yet determined.

The state’s Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative — or READI — further helped the project with a $5 million grant awarded in September by the South Bend-Elkhart Regional Development Authority. About $1 million a year will come from the Hotel-Motel tax revenues and from money generated from operating the facility.

Falcon soap opera

Four eggs appear in South Bend's peregrine falcon nest on the evening of Monday, April 18, 2022.
Four eggs appear in South Bend's peregrine falcon nest on the evening of Monday, April 18, 2022.

Peregrine falcons returned in spring to the nest box atop the County-City Building in South Bend but failed to hatch eggs for the first time in several years. It was part soap opera, part mystery.

Maltese, the female who’d been hatching eggs there since 2017, came back, but her mate for four years, Peace, didn’t. Experts presumed that he may have died. But a new mate showed up from Fort Wayne, named Flash. So did a female intruder who fought Maltese and tried to take over the nest. Maltese prevailed and laid four eggs with her new mate, Flash. But Maltese went missing from the live camera’s view for at least two weeks. And the intruder returned for more scuffles with Maltese.

Sadly, none of the eggs hatched.

Coal Line Trail opens

The first half of the new, 1.5-mile Coal Line Trail in South Bend was completed in South Bend this summer, providing a link from Lincoln Way West to the Riverside Trail.

This much-anticipated trail with lights and benches revitalized an old rail corridor that had become overgrown and filled with trash and water drainage, especially near Portage Avenue, under which it now passes.

Contractors are now working to convert an old rail bridge over the St. Joseph River into a pedestrian bridge, which will lead to the trail’s second half, ultimately connecting to the East Bank Trail.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Year in Review entertainment recreation south bend