Indy, the city that never sleeps! Wait, what?

After a few days of training in the office, I can tell I will really like working as an educational consultant.  But being in Indianapolis right now is difficult when all of this great stuff is happening in Erie, like Block Parties, 8 Great Tuesdays and Beer on the Bay.  Even though I’m far away from somewhere I know fun events are happening, that doesn’t mean there isn’t anything fun to do in Indy.  After perusing some websites and hearing what some of the locals like to do, here are some things we just might have to take advantage of while we’re here.

1.       The Indianapolis International Film Festival is from July 21-24 at the Indianapolis Museum of Art.  Featured films include Another Earth (the story of a young female student and male composer whose lives become connected on the night a duplicate Earth is discovered), Apart (a film directed by a Purdue University alum that follows two people with a rare psychological disorder who explore their dark past) and We're Glad You're Here (the tale of a young girl who returns to her college town of Bloomington and rediscovers herself).   Bloomington… Purdue… is our geographic location that obvious?  I’ve never been to a film festival so I was unsure of the price.  But the Indianapolis International Film Festival is $10 for an individual ticket or $80 for the festival. I don’t want to discredit the talent of these artists, but that seems a little steep for me right now in this moment in time. So we will see!

2.       World Comedy League Championship from July 21 through July 23 at the Athenaeum Theatre.  More than 200 improvisers from all over the world will descend upon Mass Ave, Indy’s arts and theatre district.  Each night, teams will compete for laughs and a good time, culminating in a championship match for the Meaningless Cup. ComedySportz is one of the most popular and longest running comedy shows (18 years) and Indianapolis, for the first time ever, is the host. Maybe I can make my breakthrough here and now! I’ll be on SNL before you can say Lorne.

3.       The Lawn at White River State Park. Why is this cool? One, because it’s a state park. And two, because it is hosting some really awesome musical acts this summer.  Seating 5,000, the Lawn is consistently ranked by Pollstar magazine as one of the world’s top 100 outdoor concert venues.  This summer’s acts include: OAR, Wiz Khalifa, The Decemberists, My Morning Jacket with Neko Case, Carnival of Madness, Guster with Jack’s Mannequin, Earth, Wind and Fire with the Indianaoplis Symphony Orchestra, and the Avett Brothers. Oh yes, and Ke$ha. How could I forget my favorite lady? Reading through that list with Ke$ha included makes me think, “one of these things is not like the others!” But whatever, she’s individualistic, as are the other artists performing, so in a sense she must belong.  We are only here during the OAR concert (which is tomorrow), Wiz Kalifa on August 2, and the Decemberists on August 5. So again, who knows if we’ll go, but it’s nice to know how wonderful of a series this state park has going on. So save the state parks-- they're important!

4.       Indiana Medical History Museum, as the nation’s oldest surviving pathology laboratory and state-of-the-art facility from the late 1800s and early 1900s holds more than 15,000 artifacts from the study of mental and nervous disorders. Yes, this is a little peculiar to place on a must-see list, but just think of how many strides and advances were made in the last 100-200 years in regards to mental health. I think this would be an eye-opening trip, but wouldn’t want to make anyone else suffer. So I just might have to get a taxi and tackle this one myself.

5.       Garfield Park Conservatory, another unique interest of mine, is home to over 10,000 square feet of indoor tropical plants in full bloom and a European-style garden that has three different season displays each year. Again, this might be a just Tina excursion.

Oh, and there might be some NASCAR-related events going on? Maybe like the Brickyard 400 or the Indianapolis 500 or something? But until NASCAR drivers begin racing solar-powered cars, I will not be at a race.  Aside from NASCAR and the extremely hot weather (which is happening across the country, so I can’t complain), Indianapolis isn’t too bad of a place! To be perfect in my eyes, all it needs is a beach and my friends.

P.S. Indy’s city page was very helpful in outlining place to go and things to do!