Photos from the 2015 NHRA Traxxas Nitro Shootout Lottery on Monument Circle in downtown Indianapolis on Wednesday, September 2, 2015.
Photos by Brian Groce
Monument Circle
2014 Indianapolis Strawberry Festival June 12th on Monument Circle
The 49th Annual Christ Church Cathedral Women’s Strawberry Festival will take place Thursday, June 12, 9-6 p.m. (while supplies last) on Monument Circle. Carryout orders begin at 8:30 a.m. in the basement of the Cathedral. Group presale tickets are available by calling 317.636.4577.
Entertainment begins on the Circle at 10 a.m. More than 300 volunteers will be on-hand to serve an estimated six tons of strawberries and 18,000 homemade shortcakes.
Christ Church Cathedral Women has hosted the Strawberry Festival every summer since 1965.
Festival proceeds benefit local, national and global nonprofit organizations through bi-annual grants.
$7 for the Works: shortcake, strawberries, ice cream and whipped topping. $2 A la carte. Cash only.
2014 Grand Prix of Indianapolis and Indy 500 Pep Rally, May 7th
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Verizon IndyCar Series will be holding a pep rally on Monument Circle in Downtown Indianapolis on May 7, 2014. Various Verizon IndyCar Series Drivers will gather to help the City of Indianapolis prepare for an action-packed, speed-filled month of May.
The Pep Rally will be held from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm on the circle, in the heart of downtown Indianapolis. Mayor Greg Ballard will be issuing a proclamation for “Checkered Flag Fridays” where residents are encouraged to wear black and white to show support for the Grand Prix of Indianapolis and the Indianapolis 500.
GUESTS:
- Mayor Greg Ballard, City of Indianapolis
- Leonard Hoops, Visit Indy. President and CEO
- Doug Boles, Indianapolis Motor Speedway President
- Verizon IndyCar Series Drivers
- Indy Girls
Engledow Group to Distribute 2,000 Plants on Monument Circle September 17
In celebration of National Indoor Plant Week (September 15 – 21, 2013), Engledow Group is giving away 2,000 interior plants Tuesday, September 17 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Monument Circle in downtown Indianapolis.
Engledow employees will be handing out Parlor Palms, a plant that is very easy to maintain and that does well in a variety of indoor lighting conditions, on the south steps of the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument. The plants will be available up to 2 p.m., or until 2,000 plants have been distributed.
Golden tickets will be randomly hidden in 10 plants and will give lucky event patrons a chance to win additional prizes beyond a free plant.
“Indoor plants have lots of documented benefits for office environments,” said Lael George, Director of Interior Plants for Engledow Group. “Not only do they add warmth and beauty, studies have shown they can also actually improve employee health and morale.”
In addition to the plant giveaway, Engledow will be joined on the Circle by several food trucks, including Spice Box, The NY Slice, and Mac Genie.
Engledow will also be hosting a photo contest on their Facebook page. The grand prize is a $100 gift card to St. Elmo’s Steak House. For more details about the contest and to enter your photo, visit Engledow’s Facebook page www.facebook.com/EngledowGroup.
Chase 500 Festival Kids’ Day and Rookie Run this Saturday
Chase 500 Festival Kids’ Day, the state’s largest free outdoor festival for children, will take place from noon to 4 p.m. this Saturday, May 11, 2013. Families can interact with local mascots, race mini cars, bounce in giant inflatables and create arts and crafts. Children can also visit with nationally-known characters and make sashes with the 500 Festival Princesses. Dozens of exhibitors will fill Monument Circle and surrounding streets with food, fun, educational games and more than 10,000 prizes. For the second year, kids can ride a free 70-foot Ferris wheel, race remote-controlled cars and test their skills in a race car simulator.
The KIDZ BOP Kids, the face and voice behind KIDZ BOP, the #1 music brand for kids ages 5-12 in the U.S., will headline the Indystar.com Entertainment Stage at the 2013 Chase 500 Festival Kids’ Day. Local acts will include P.H.A.T., Garrett Godsey, G. Scotten Talent Center and Johnny Magic.
Chase 500 Festival Rookie Run
As part of the Chase 500 Festival Kids’ Day, all kids ages 3 – 12 are invited to join in for the Chase 500 Festival Rookie Run at 1 p.m. It is a non-competitive fun run where everyone goes away a winner. The Rookie Run is a great way for kids to stay physically fit. Kids aged three to five will run a two-block course, runners aged six and seven will race a 1/5-mile course, while runners aged eight to 12 will run the 1/3-mile course. The race takes place on Ohio and Meridian streets, just north of Monument Circle. All participants will receive a goodie bag, a runner’s bib with the number 1 and a finisher’s medal. Pre-registration is $6 and ends on May 9 at 5 p.m. Event day registration is available for $10 at the corner of Pennsylvania and Ohio streets. Sponsors for Chase 500 Festival Rookie Run include Finish Line and MHS.
For more information on Kids’ Day, Rookie Run or other 500 Festival events and programs, visit www.500festival.com.
Event Schedule
- 1 – 4 p.m. on Friday: Ferris wheel construction on north spoke of Monument Circle
- Midnight on Friday: Monument Circle and spoke streets close for event preparation
- 5 a.m. on Saturday: Ohio Street between Illinois and Pennsylvania streets and Meridian Street north to New York Street close for Rookie Run set-up
- 11 a.m.: Rookie Run registration begins
- Noon: Kids’ Day is open to the public; North spoke opens for Food Services
- 12:45 p.m.: Cross streets begin closing for Rookie Run
- 1 p.m.: Rookie Run begins
- 3:30 p.m.: Rookie Run ends, Meridian Street from New York to North streets reopen
- 4 p.m.: Kids’ Day concludes
- 7 p.m.: All streets reopen
Parking Tips: Make a parking plan in advance of event day. Please arrive downtown early to give yourself plenty of time to find parking. Many downtown streets will be closed to traffic and public parking in preparation for the event. Meters will carry a four hour time limit.
Maps
- Map of the Kids’ Day event layout
- Map of the Rookie Run route
- Map of street closings for Kids’ Day and Rookie Run
Source: 500 Festival
500 Festival ‘REV Your Engines Concert’ this Saturday
The 500 Festival will kick-off the month of May with the FREE “REV Your Engines Concert” on Saturday, April 27, 2013 at 7 p.m. on Monument Circle.
The 500 Festival REV Your Engines Concert will feature multi-platinum recording artist Gavin DeGraw and Indiana native Jon McLaughlin. The musicians will be introduced by IZOD IndyCar Series driver James Hinchcliffe and Firestone Indy Lights driver Zach Veach, respectively.
Food trucks and a beer garden will also be available to guests during the event. For more information on the concert or other 500 Festival events and programs visit 500festival.com.
DOWNTOWN INDIANAPOLIS STREET CLOSURES
The northwest and entire south side of Monument Circle including the south spoke to Washington Street will be closed starting at 3 p.m. Saturday and will reopen at 1 a.m. Additional street closures, including Meridian Street from Washington to Maryland streets, may be closed at IMPD discretion.
Source: 500 Festival
Indiana Landmarks offers free tours in downtown Indy
Looking for ideas for things to do with the kids? Indiana Landmarks offers three opportunities to explore Indianapolis heritage in 3D on guided tours, for free, on Fridays and Saturdays through October.
Discover Monument Circle on a guided walking tour that explores the physical and symbolic heart of the capital city, including Soldiers and Sailors Monument in the center and the historic buildings that encircle it. The tour departs at 10 a.m. from South Bend Chocolate Company, 30 Monument Circle. Not only is the tour free, tour takers get a coupon for 10 percent off at the Chocolate Company. Don’t count on a tour if it’s raining cats and dogs though.
Last year, a $20 million restoration turned a vacant 1890s church into Indiana Landmarks Center. Stenciling, gilding, and colored lighting systems turned worship spaces into elegant theaters and reception halls. The tour traces the story of a landmark that once ranked as the state’s largest Methodist church, and the people and changes that revitalized it as a cultural center. Tours begin at noon in the lobby of Indiana Landmarks Center, 1201 Central Avenue.
The Morris-Butler House forced a highway to move. Rather than take a straight course that would have demolished the landmark, the interstate curved to avoid the three-story house. Built in 1865, the house was restored in the Victorian fashion in the 1960s. Tours of the towered house at 1204 North Park Avenue (immediately east of Indiana Landmarks Center) begin at 1 and 2 p.m.
The free tours are timed to allow visitors to take all three tours in a single day. Reservations are not required except for groups of 10 or more.
Indiana Landmarks also offers the three tours, and other city walking tours, for $5/person with a $50 minimum charge on a day and time of your choosing. For more information, contact Gwendolen Raley, Museum and Heritage Tourism Director, at tourism@indianalandmarks.org or at 317-636-5409.
For more information, visit www.indianalandmarks.org.
“Adults Only” DOVE® Ice Cream Truck in Indy August 3
You voted, we listened! After a nationwide vote by fans, Indianapolis was named one of the 10 cities to receive a visit from the special-edition “Adults Only” DOVE® Ice Cream Truck.
This is not your ordinary ice cream truck. The “Adults Only” DOVE® Ice Cream Truck is a fully loaded vehicle designed to help adults relive their childhood ice cream memories in a truly decadent, grown-up way.
Indianapolis-area adults are invited to dip into delicious, relaxing and free activities including:
•An irresistibly rich DOVE® Ice Cream Bar
•A free five-minute massage by a licensed massage therapist
•A free manicure
Friday, August 3
*Beginning at 11:30 a.m. EST:
Monument Circle
100 Monument Circle
*Beginning at 5 p.m. EST:
Kroger
150 W 161st St.
Westfield, IN 46074
*While supplies last
2010 Red Bull Indianapolis MotoGP Festivities
Friday, August 27, 2010
Indianapolis GP Pit Walkabout/Practice Day
Indianapolis Motor Speedway, 4790 W 16th Street
8:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Tickets $10, 12 and under free
Motorcycles on Meridian
Meridian Street, Downtown Indianapolis
7:00 PM – 3:00 AM
From 7 p.m. to 3 a.m. Friday, Aug. 27 and Saturday, Aug. 28, Monument Circle and South Meridian Street in downtown Indianapolis will be a flurry of engine roars and leather. Motorcyclists will gather to share interests and celebrate the Red Bull Indianapolis GP at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The inaugural Motorcycles on Meridian took place in 2008. The streets of downtown Indianapolis were an ocean of bikes and people, moving in waves. The event is for people with and without bikes. Interested parties with no steel horse of their own are welcome to walk around at this free event and marvel at the impressive choppers and sport bikes. On these two nights in August, the motorcycle culture of Indianapolis is open for everyone to enjoy. The entrance for the 2010 Motorcycles on Meridian is through Monument Circle, cyclists should enter the route from Monument Circle and continue onto Meridian.
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Indianapolis GP Qualifying Day
Indianapolis Motor Speedway, 4790 W 16th Street
7:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Tickets $20, 12 and under free
Motorcycles on Meridian
Meridian Street, Downtown Indianapolis
7:00 PM – 3:00 AM
From 7 p.m. to 3 a.m. Friday, Aug. 27 and Saturday, Aug. 28, Monument Circle and South Meridian Street in downtown Indianapolis will be a flurry of engine roars and leather. Motorcyclists will gather to share interests and celebrate the Red Bull Indianapolis GP at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The inaugural Motorcycles on Meridian took place in 2008. The streets of downtown Indianapolis were an ocean of bikes and people, moving in waves. The event is for people with and without bikes. Interested parties with no steel horse of their own are welcome to walk around at this free event and marvel at the impressive choppers and sport bikes. On these two nights in August, the motorcycle culture of Indianapolis is open for everyone to enjoy. The entrance for the 2010 Motorcycles on Meridian is through Monument Circle, cyclists should enter the route from Monument Circle and continue onto Meridian.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Red Bull Indianapolis GP Race Day
Indianapolis Motor Speedway, 4790 W 16th Street
7:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Tickets start at $40, 12 and under free with adult General Admission ticket holder
- 7 a.m.-6 p.m. Public Gates Open
- 7 a.m.-6 p.m. Vendor Marketplace Open, Gasoline Alley Garages
- 8:40-9 a.m. 125cc Warm-Up
- 9:10-9:30 a.m. Moto2 Warm-Up
- 9:40-10 a.m. MotoGP Warm-Up
- 10:20 a.m. USGPRU Moriwaki MD250H Powered by Honda Race #2 (12 Laps)
- Noon 125cc Race (23 Laps)
- 1:15 p.m. Moto2 Race (26 Laps)
- 3 p.m. MotoGP Race (28 Laps)