Have you heard the news? Summer is back in The Bend! Gone are the days of freezing temperatures, bone-chilling winds and record-breaking snowfall. Now, you can enjoy the sunshine on a warm summer day, the cool splashes of water as you go white water rafting and the sounds of live music filling the air. Whether you are an adventure seeker, sports fan, concert goer, or foodie, the South Bend Region will make sure your summer is one to remember!

Live, Local Music All Summer Long

During the summer months, performances take place outside nearly every day of the week with great local musicians performing across the community. Keep a look out for some of these great summer concert series.

red table plaza lunchtime concert series

May 31-August 30 (Monday-Thursday) | 11:45am-1:15pm | Studebaker Plaza

Take a seat and enjoy your lunch as you listen to free acoustical performances by local artists.

central park

June 7-July 4 (Thursdays) | 6:30-8:30pm | Central Park

It is almost Friday! Celebrate the end of the work week with family, friends and great live music.

Merrifield Park

July 12-August 2 (Thursdays) | 6:30-8:30pm | Merrifield Park

Celebrate the end of the work week with family, friends at great live music.

Fridays by the fountain

June 1-August 31 (Fridays) | 11:45am-1:15pm | Jon R. Hunt Plaza

This free, outdoor lunchtime concert series (in front of the Morris Performing Arts Center) features live entertainment from local Blues, Jazz, Rock, Folk and Country bands.

Battell Park Bandshell

June 4-August 27 (Mondays) | 7:00-8:00pm | Battell Park

This family friendly concert features some of the best local musicians from around town.

Eberhart-Petro clubhouse deck

June 6-August 1 (Wednesdays) | 6:30-8:00pm | Eberhart Golf Course

This free concert is a great way to start off your weekend and is fun for the whole family.

Chris Wilson Pavilion

June 24-August 26 (Sundays) | 7:00-8:00pm | Potawatomi Park

End your weekends in the summer with a Sunday night concert in Potawatomi Park at the Chris Wilson Pavilion. Best of all, it's free!

Go! Cubs! Go!

Nothing can beat seeing a South Bend Cubs game during a summer evening in downtown South Bend. Four Winds Field—the Best Single-A Ballpark in the Country according to BallparkDigest.com—has something for everyone. There is the Tiki Hut Bar and inflatable fun zone beyond the left field wall as well as batting cages, a splash pad, and playground in the right field corner. With tickets, parking, and concessions being reasonably priced, the Cubs become South Bend’s team to cheer for every summer.

See the remaining 2018 Home Schedule (June-August) here.

Outdoor Adventure in South Bend

Be sure to take full advantage of this warm summer weather by heading outside for some adventure and fun. You can go ziplining through the trees and white water rafting in downtown. Don’t forget to visit Indiana’s first zoo and say hi to all your favorite animals this summer in South Bend.

Rafting in Downtown South Bend

June 10-August 26 (Saturdays & Sundays) | 12:00-5:00pm (Saturday); 12:00-4:00pm (Sunday) | East Race Waterway

Battle Class 2 rapids as you go white water rafting on the first man-made white water rafting course built in North America. Rafts vary in size and can accommodate groups from 2 – 6 people. Make sure you bring a towel and a change of clothes because when we say you will cool off on a hot summer day… we are not kidding!

Thrills and Fun at Edge Adventures

May 30-August 31 | Times Vary (Closed on Tuesdays) | Rum Village Park

Take to the trees of Rum Village Park as you make your way through obstacles and ziplines that range from 16 – 60 feet in the air. There are three aerial ropes courses at Rum Village Park that vary in difficulty for participants of all skill and experience level. Afraid of heights? Don’t worry—With the 100% ON BELAY system, you are securely tethered to a safety line throughout the course.

Visit the Animals at Indiana's First-Ever Zoo

Monday-Sunday | 10:00am-5:00pm | Potawatomi Zoo

Home to over 500 animals, the Potawatomi Zoo is Indiana’s first ever zoo! The South Bend zoo has all your favorite animal friends, such as lions, tigers, and monkeys, as well as many you may have not seen before, including the okapi, the river otters, and the kookaburra.

Fun Summer Events

Along with all the fun summer attractions, there are plenty of awesome, upcoming events this summer in The Bend. Check out a few of this summer’s featured events below. To view a full calendar of events, click here.

Best. Week. Ever. 2018

May 28-June 3 | Times Vary | South Bend Area

Riverlights Music Festival

June 1-2 | Times Vary | East Bank Emporium Parking Lot

35th Annual Sunburst Races

June 2 | Races Begin at 6:30am | Four Winds Field

51st Annual Leeper Park Art Fair

June 16-17 | 10:00am-6:00pm (June 16); 10:00am-5:00pm (June 17) | Leeper Park

DTSB Summer Restaurant Week

July 9-22 | All Day Long | Downtown South Bend

Urban Adventure Games

July 28 | 8:00am-12:00pm | Wayne Street Parking Garage-South Bend

Art Beat

August 18 | 11:00am-7:00pm | Downtown South Bend

Geoff Colvin's Talent is Overrated

By George Cressy, III, Ladue, Curran & Kuehn

Colvin’s deep dive into what makes world-class performers provides the vocabulary and conceptual framework you need to think and talk about “talent.” With ample citations to studies, Colvin presents the path to elite-level performance in any field, achievable by any person. While instilling one of the strongest senses of “yes, I can,” Colvin wonderfully explains why both common answers to "Why aren’t people all around me awesomely, amazingly, world-class excellent?" are dead wrong; it is not because of 1) hard work or 2) God-given gifts.

It’s not because I have a deep narcissist streak that I now believe I could be a chess Grandmaster and that I will be Michiana’s premier real-estate attorney. The wonder of “talent” has vanished; Mozart’s, Jordan’s, Kasparov’s and Welch’s abilities are primarily the result of deliberate practice (a term I hope a few readers recognize as Anders Ericsson’s).

The gist of Colvin’s message is: “talent” (as an innate trait) probably doesn’t exist, and if it does, it’s probably irrelevant. A bold claim, yes.

Mozart, history’s original child prodigy, often comes to the refuting mind, and Colvin elucidates the history. Wolfgang was born to a famous composer and performer, Leopold. A domineering father who started young Wolfgang on a program of intensive training in composition and performing at age three, Leopold was also deeply interested in the study of how music was taught to children. Leopold was apparently only a so-so musician, but he was a highly accomplished pedagogue—can you even believe it? Also, Wolfgang did not produce original compositions until he was 21 years old, having 18 years of expert training. Last, it turns out he did not compose entire works in his mind. Manuscripts show he was constantly revising and rewriting entire sections, jotting small pieces down to be referenced months and years later.

What about Tiger? His father, Earl, was a young men’s teacher and had a lifelong passion for sports. Tiger was born into Earl’s second family, when Earl was retired and had lots of time to teach. And Tiger had professional coaching at age four, and never let up.

And beyond the anecdotal narrative, hundreds of studies during this age of genomic research have failed to identify talents in our genetic code.

I’ll leave it to Colvin to explain what deliberate practice is and isn’t but suffice it to say deliberate practice is not work and it is not play. Deliberate practice is designed, and it is not much fun. The point of deliberate practice, contrasted against thoughtless repetition, is to continuously seek out that realm of performance just beyond your current abilities, i.e., always be trying to do those things you’re not good at.

The upside of that downer is that most people won’t do it. Your willingness to deliberately practice your trade is what will truly distinguish you from your peers.