Grant Goes to Indy Parks & Recreation

Indy Parks & Recreation has been awarded a $350,000 21st Century Community Learning Center grant for after-school programs at eight Indianapolis Public School sites.

The grant will begin in January and continue through May 2013. It will be evaluated for renewal at the end of each grant year.

The sites are IPS 27, IPS 51, IPS 49, IPS 63, IPS 69, IPS 31, IPS 46 and IPS 82.

It's Not Really Indy-Centric, But...

The Indiana Department of Transportation has announced that I-65 north of I-80/94 (the Frank Borman Expressway) and all the ramps at the interchange of I-65 and I-80/94 are open to traffic.

This Indianapolis Observer, who frequently drives to Chicago, is very, very grateful!

Turkey Day

Happy Thanksgiving, Indy!

Christmas at the Lilly House

"Over the top" is a fair description of the holiday decorations now in place in the Lilly House at the Indianapolis Museum of Art. Bradley Brooks, the Lilly House director, changes the decor each year, drawing from the wealth of historical information on what Christmas looked like during the three decades (1933-1966) that J.K. Lilly Jr. and his family were in residence.

You can see what Brooks has conjured up this season now through 11 January. The busiest days at the house are 4 December (the annual open house held in conjunction with the Madeline Elder Greenhouse), 18 December (the winter solstice) and the week of Christmas. If you want to peruse the decorations at your leisure, plan to visit on other days!

Children's TherAplay Foundation

The annual holiday festival and open house sponsored by the Children's TherAplay Foundation is set for 1-3 p.m. 6 December at 9919 Towne Road, Carmel.

There'll be holiday crafts, cookie decorating, photos with the holiday pony, refreshments, face painting, balloon art, live music and a winter plant sale. Admission is free.

For information, contact Breinne Risner, 317:872-4166.

The Children's TherAplay Foundation is an outpatient rehabilitation clinic for children with special needs, incorporating the movement of horses into physical and occupational therapy sessions. Its mission is to provide children who have special needs a foundation for developing life skills through innovative therapies in a safe and caring environment, including equine-assisted physical and occupational therapy.

American Lightning

American Lightning by Howard Blum (Crown Publishers, 2008) recounts the story of a huge explosion in Los Angeles in 1910 that destroyed the headquarters of the LA Times and killed 21 people. (The photo, above, is from the book.)

Of course, there's an Indy connection: "Employing his army of detectives, [Billy] Burns traced the conspiracy, as well as other terrorist acts, to the Indianapolis headquarters of the Structural Iron Workers union and its secretary-treasurer, John J. McNamara, whose accomplices included his brother Jim."

You can read more of David Oshinksy's review of the book in The New York Times. It was in the book review section yesterday (23 November 2008).

The 2008 International Festival Closes at 6 p.m. Today

Hurry to the Indiana State Fairgrounds, 1201 East 38th Street, Indianapolis, before 6 p.m. today. Otherwise, you'll have to wait until November 2009 for the next edition of Indy's International Festival, hosted by the Nationalities Council of Indiana.

See more here.

Taquitos! Gelato! Egg Rolls! It's All at the Festival!

Bring your appetites to Indy's International Festival today (22 November) and tomorrow (23 November). Otherwise, you'll have to wait a whole year to eat your way around the world!

It's all at the Indiana State Fairgrounds, 1201 East 38th Street, Indianapolis (check the website if you need to know more).

Indy's International Festival is NOW!

These photos were taken yesterday (from top, left to right): some of the crowd, miniature Chinese lions, Indian spices, Japanese origami flowers, Polish ethnic costume.

The International Festival is open in Indianapolis today (21 November) through Sunday (23 November) at the Indiana State Fairgrounds, 1201 East 38th Street, Indianapolis.

Great food, entertainment and shopping plus more than you ever knew was possible to learn about international Indy, including how to sign up to study abroad.

See more here, a video by The Indianapolis Star.

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Mark Your Calendars for 2015 and 2016

The NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee has selected Indianapolis to host the 2015 Men’s Final Four. Butler University, IUPUI and the Horizon League will serve as host institutions, while Indiana Sports Corporation will manage the Indianapolis Local Organizing Committee (ILOC).

The 2015 event marks the seventh time Indianapolis has been awarded the NCAA Men’s Final Four. The city has hosted the NCAA Men’s Final Four in 1980, 1991, 1997, 2000, and 2006. Indianapolis will also host the 2010 NCAA Men’s Final Four at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Indianapolis also will host the Women's Final Four in 2016. Butler University, IUPUI and the Horizon League will serve as host institutions. The city hosted the 2005 Women's Final Four, and will also host the tournament in 2011.

Fine Arts And Crafts Fair

Looking for holiday gifts and one-of-a-kind handmade items? Check out the Fine Arts and Crafts Fair sponsored by the Staff Council of Indiana University-Purdue University in Indianapolis.

It's 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Campus Center at IUPUI. Admission is free.

The Staff Council represents all non-faculty and non-union employees of IUPUI. The Fine Arts and Crafts Fair is the group’s first major annual fundraising effort, and proceeds from booth rental will support scholarships for IUPUI students.

(And, here's a gratuitous tip from this Indianapolis Observer. The photo in The Indianapolis Star article today about the IU incubator that's supposed to be IU president Michael McRobbie actually is Gene Tempel, head of the IU Foundation. Yet another example of the cluelessness of the Star's staff about life in central Indiana, eh?)

Saarinen's Miller House to be Part of IMA

Maxwell L. Anderson, The Melvin & Bren Simon Director and CEO of the Indianapolis Museum of Art, announced today that the IMA is moving forward with the acquisition of the landmark Miller House and Garden in Columbus, Indiana. One of the country’s most highly-regarded examples of mid-century Modernist residences, the Miller House was designed by Eero Saarinen, with interiors by Alexander Girard, and landscape design by Daniel Urban Kiley.

Members of the Miller family and the Irwin-Sweeney-Miller Foundation have agreed to donate the house and gardens, along with many of its original furnishings, to the Museum, and have pledged $5 million toward an $8 million endowment for the house and surrounding grounds.

The IMA is raising $3 million for the remainder of the endowment and $2 million for the 18-month renovation of the house, which will entail a careful restoration of many of the original period details. Once the renovation is completed, the IMA will work with the Columbus Area Visitors Center to offer public access to the house and gardens.

Silent Sellers On Display

Just in time for the biggest shopping day of the year, picture windows in downtown Indianapolis will feature satirical art rather than retail merchandise.

“Silent Sellers” created by artist Jodie Hardy feature a mannequin wearing a dress made of yellow caution tape. The collection includes 100 dolls dressed in caution tape dresses and a highly stylized photo spread.

According to the Indianapolis-based artist, the installations are a commentary on the fashion industry’s use of photography and visual merchandising to seduce passersby and the physical and emotional pressures those fashions place on women.

The three public art installations are in the windows of Chase Tower, the city’s tallest building, on north Pennsylvania Avenue. It will be on display until May 2009.

“Behind the Windows,” a Web-based video featuring behind-the-scenes interviews with the artist and model, is available here.

The picture windows project is a program developed by the Arts Council of Indianapolis designed to contribute to the vitality of downtown Indianapolis while exposing visitors and citizens to the diverse work of local artists. The privately-funded project was made possible by the Indianapolis Cultural Development Commission through the financial support of Lilly Endowment, Inc.

Indy's International Festival is Next Weekend!

Thursday is for schools and other groups, but the International Festival is open to the public next Friday through 23 November! Don't miss the best party in Central Indiana. All the details are here!

Don't miss the cover article in today's Indianapolis Star about international Indy (even if they inexplicably overlook both the Nationalities Council of Indiana and Indy's upcoming International Festival -- nobody ever accused the Gannett rag of knowing what's really happening in the Hoosier Heartland!).

Y'all get out to the West Pavilion at the Indiana State Fairgrounds this weekend and see what the changing face of Indianapolis looks like! (Hint: it looks just like "us".)

Architecture For Humanity

Interested in architectural solutions to humanitarian crises? Can you help bring design services to communities in need? Then, consider joining the new Indy chapter of Architecture for Humanity.

AFH believes that where resources and expertise are scarce, innovative, sustainable and collaborative design can make a difference. The AFH-Indy chapter welcomes new members -- those already involved include architects, designers, artists, city officials, construction managers, building suppliers, non-profit organizers, grant writers, people looking for a more sustainable city and people looking to make a difference.

The chapter's next meeting is 6-8 p.m. Tuesday (18 November), and you're welcome to join in at the Church Within, 1125 Spruce Street, Indianapolis.

National Renewable Energy Meeting in Indy

The National Renewables Cooperative Organization is holding its first meeting today in Indianapolis, according to Inside INdiana Business.

The group has 24 representatives from electric cooperatives across the country, including Indianapolis-based Wabash Valley Power. The goal of the organization is to help its member cooperatives develop renewable energy resources and increase the use of renewable energy in the United States.

Country Christmas Cabaret

Take a warm and wonderful trip to the heart of the holidays with the American Cabaret Theatre's "Country Christmas Cabaret".

This merry musical, created by Artistic Director Bob Harbin and Musical Director John Austin Butsch, spotlights traditional holiday tunes mixed with hits by a number of classic and contemporary country artists, including Toby Keith, Conway Twitty, Dolly Parton, Tammy Wynette, Charlie Pride, Patsy Cline, Shania Twain, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Reba McEntyre, Kenny Rogers, and Brad Paisley. Country Christmas Cabaret will open 29 November and run through 21 December.

The American Cabaret Theatre is located in the Athenaeum/Das Deutsche Haus, 401 East Michigan Street, Indianapolis. For tickets, visit the box office or call 317:631-0334 x105. Tickets for Fridays and Saturdays, $20; Thursdays and Sundays, $15.

Veterans' Day Parade Affects Downtown Traffic

Tomorrow (11 November) Veterans' Day activities will be held to honor area military veterans. A memorial service will be conducted from 11 to 11:30 a.m. at the Indiana War Memorial.

The annual Veterans Day Parade Downtown will be from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Marshalling for the parade will begin at 9 a.m. with parade activities completed by approximately 2 p.m.

There will be parking and traffic restrictions along the parade route between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m.

Parade Route:

* South on Pennsylvania Street from Michigan Street to New York Street
* West on New York Street to Meridian Street
* North on Meridian Street to St. Clair Street

Streets closed 9 a.m.-2 p.m.:

* Pennsylvania Street between 9th and New York streets
* Meridian Street between 9th and New York streets
* St. Clair Street between Illinois and Delaware streets
* Walnut Street between Illinois and Delaware streets
* North Street between Illinois and Delaware streets
* Michigan Street between Illinois and Delaware streets
* Vermont Street between Illinois and Delaware streets
* New York Street between Illinois and Delaware streets

Use Ohio, Washington and Maryland streets for east/west travel and Illinois Street and Capitol Avenue for north/south travel.

Sandra Seaton to Speak at Butler

Playwright and novelist Sandra C. Seaton will deliver Butler University’s 2008 Thornbrough Lecture, “Unrecorded History: Dramatizing the Past,” at 4 p.m. 14 November in the Ford Salon at Robertson Hall on the Butler campus in Indianapolis.

The event is free. No tickets are required. Call 317:940-9230 for more information. A reception will follow the lecture.

Seaton’s play The Bridge Party won a Theodore Ward Prize for new African-American playwrights.

Her most recent work, Sally, a solo play about the life of Sally Hemings, premiered at the New York State Writer's Institute in Albany, NY.

The lecture is sponsored by the Indiana Association of Historians and the Department of History and Anthropology at Butler University.

Work by Mark Lewis to Debut at IMA

Mark Lewis’ 2006 work Rear Projection: Molly Parker, premieres at the The Indianapolis Museum of Art on 7 November. It's a short film that looks to the outmoded technique of rear projection that will be on view in the Carmen & Mark Holeman Video Gallery.

London-based Lewis will lecture on his art at 6 p.m. 6 November in the IMA's DeBoest Lecture Hall. There is no charge for the presentation, which will be followed at 7 p.m. by an opportunity to meet the artist and enjoy Puck's Happy Hour with the IMA’s Contemporary Art Society.

Goodwill Hunting

Goodwill Industries of Central Indiana gets a really big plug in today's New York Times. A magazine feature titled "Goodwill Hunting" (Rob Walker's Consumed column) discusses -- quite favorably -- our own Goodwill's decision to hire Young & Laramore to promote the stores in 1996.

Since then, Goodwill Industries of Central Indiana has gone from 23 stores to 40 -- and sales in 2007 were $45 million, up 17 percent from 2006.

Music Academy Benefit Recital

The Fine Arts Society of Indianapolis presents a recital benefiting its Music Academy at 4 p.m. tomorrow (2 November) in the Christel DeHaan Fine Arts Center, University of Indianapolis Campus, 1400 East Hanna Avenue, Indianapolis

A weekly after-school music education program, the Music Academy provides scholarship-based keyboard lessons, music theory, and classical listening to Indianapolis’ economically disadvantaged elementary-age students.

The recital features a variety of Indianapolis musicians, including UIndy faculty, as well as advanced Music Academy students. Tickets are $15. For information, call 317:788-3255.