Harvest at Newfields is back – and much bigger than last year’s inaugural event! It has expanded from a four-day weekend to 24 days in October and now features two separate daily events: Harvest Days and the all-new Harvest Nights! My parents and I went to Member Preview Night yesterday so we got a sneak peek at this fabulous fall festival that officially begins today. (You can check out our visit to Harvest’s weekend event last year here on the blog.) Entry to Harvest Nights is along a winding path under cornstalk arches where…
The Fishers AgriPark officially opened to the public on July 28, and the timing couldn’t have been better for something new to do outdoors that everyone can safely enjoy. The thirty-three acre park offers plenty of room to socially distance. Face masks are required and attendance is limited to a small number of guests through online pre-registration and waiting lists. Ten preview evenings for local residents are being held on Tuesdays and Thursdays through the end of August for a rolling grand opening before regular park hours begin on September 1. My parents and I went…
Happy Leap Day! I am excited to see February end, and the first month of spring begin tomorrow! I love the anticipation that comes with my favorite seasons of spring and summer stretching before me, with winter in the rearview mirror. Even though we had an extra day of winter this year, it flew by since I’ve been so focused on a project at work that’s kept me stuck indoors anyway. March can be a tricky and cold month here in central Indiana, but it always bestows us with at least a sprinkling of beautiful days…
My fall event highlight this year was Newfields’ inaugural Harvest, a four-day, fifty-acre fall extravaganza that featured over 10,000 pumpkins, fall displays, art, animals, kids activities, and local vendors, restaurants and brewers. Of all the wonderful events I’ve attended over the years at Newfields (previously known as Indianapolis Museum of Art), I think this one was my very favorite! My parents and I went on Friday, October 4, and it was a beautiful fall day – sunny, not too hot or cold, crisp with a woodsy smell in the air and leaves swirling around…
Is there anything more cheerful than a field of sunflowers? It’s like a thousand smiling faces quietly greeting you with their beauty. On my recent trip to South Dakota to visit my friend Rebecca and her family (more on that trip will be coming soon!), we drove past several beautiful sunflower fields on our journey west to the Black Hills, and ever since, I’ve been wanting to immerse myself in fields of golden sunflowers! On Sunday the weather was perfect so Mom and I drove up to Kokomo to see Prices Pumpkin Patch’s sunflower…
Earlier this month when I was in Des Moines on business, I had a few hours to spare the day I arrived. I drove 35 minutes north of my hotel to Reiman Gardens, located on the campus of Iowa State University in Ames. The gardens are beautiful in their own right, but I went there specifically to see Elwood, the world’s largest concrete garden gnome! He’s tucked away in a quiet back corner of the garden in a serene space surrounded by trees. Elwood has been a resident of Reiman Gardens since the 40th Anniversary of…
March came roaring in like a lion this year but there were still several early signs of spring to be found in central Indiana even during spring’s coldest month. Longer days and daffodil shoots peeking up through the ground promised winter would be over soon, and the calendar quickly started filling up with all kinds of fun spring events, including the annual Indiana Flower and Patio Show at the state fairgrounds. My mom and I continued our spring tradition with a visit to the show on March 11. Stepping into the West Pavilion, we were met by bright…
Nickel Plate Arts’ seventh annual Welcome to Fairyville event is underway in Noblesville, Indiana with lots of fairy fun slated for Fairy Friday (April 19, 2019) and Sprite Saturday (April 20, 2019)! Some of the activities like the Fairy Trail of tiny homes have been moved indoors, so the merriment won’t be dampened by the rainy and unseasonably cold weather. Fairyville events for Fairy Friday and Sprite Saturday are highlighted below. For complete details, check out the Welcome to Fairyville event page and Important Fairyville Weather Updates plus the latest posts and pictures on Nickel Plate Arts…
An annual Christmas tradition for my mom and me is a visit to The Old World Christmas Village & Market the first Friday in December. Mom and I first learned of this event from an ad in the holiday bazaars newspaper insert several years ago. We were headed downtown to the Holiday Author Fair at the Indiana Historical Society and noticed the market was the same day so we could check it out while we were nearby. That first year we went on a Saturday, but afterwards we switched to going at 5:00 on Friday when the market first…
Christmas will be here before we know it! Now is the perfect time to check out one of the newest and best Christmas events in the Indianapolis area, the Carmel Christkindlmarkt, celebrating its second year. The outdoor German Christmas market is open Wednesdays through Sundays through Christmas Eve, with no admission charge and free parking available right next to the market in the Palladium Center for the Performing Arts’ parking garage. Check out my post from last year to learn more about the heritage of German Christmas Markets and read about my visit to the inaugural Carmel Christkindlmarkt…
For years I’ve been searching for the perfect pumpkin patch. A scenic spot, not too crowded, with a large variety of pumpkins for sale at reasonable prices. The pumpkin patches in and around Indianapolis are geared more towards kids’ activities – like bounce houses, slingshots, and tire climbs – than pumpkin picking. They can be crowded on the weekends and many charge for admission, parking, and activities. Usually I end up getting my pumpkins in Indianapolis at a nice farmer’s market which has a large variety of every kind of pumpkin imaginable. But it’s a little pricy…
Colorful critters invaded Newfields museum and gardens this summer. Summer Wonderland: Spectacular Creatures featured giant animal sculptures created from recycled plastic by Cracking Art, an Italian art collective committed to addressing environmental issues like global warming, fossil fuels, and the importance of recycling. Each lightweight sculpture was fun and colorful, and could be touched by visitors – and even moved around by museum staff – but each also conveyed a serious message about the environment on its accompanying sign. The exhibit ran from June 1 through August 26, and although summer flew by faster than ever, mom and I managed to see…
One of my favorite summer events I look forward to every year is the Indiana State Fair. I like to go at least once a year with my mom. I take off work and we go on a weekday, when it’s easier to find parking and not as crowded. This year it turned out we went on a very busy day though! The second Tuesday of the fair set a new weekday attendance record. We chose the always popular $2 Tuesday ($2 admission, $2 food specials at every vendor, and $2 midway rides), plus lots of rain was forecast…
We had a very short period of spring-like weather here in central Indiana, preceded by a long winter with snow lasting through mid-April, and followed by an early summer, with a very hot, dry May. It was a very unusual spring season that started out with extreme lows and ended with extreme highs. Everything was late to start blooming, and the cooler weather flowers didn’t last long once the 90s hit. There were about two weeks of beautiful spring weather, and luckily they coincided with the day I spent outdoors at Newfields for their Hello Spring and…
Fairy fun for everyone can be found in central Indiana at a magical springtime event called Welcome to Fairyville. Nickel Plate Arts in Noblesville, Indiana puts on the four-day event with lots of activities for families such as fairy tea parties, crafts, storytelling, entertainment, face painting and – my favorite part – a Fairy Trail of miniature homes on Friday and Saturday you can explore for free. My mom and I went to the Fairy Trail last year for the first time and were really impressed with the creativity and number of fairy homes and gardens. Kids, adults and local…