Beth is amazing and Her art is just as great! I love the aesthetic of her studio- it's very classy,…read morebright, and welcoming. If you go during the day yiu get to see her in action as she paints beautiful portraits of flowers and local scenery. She's always happy to talk about her art and her inspirations. Everything is fairly priced and affordable- especially considering she is such a well known artist! Also, on first Fridays she always has an open house with snacks and drinks and it's personally my favorite time to go. My advice: GO CHECK HER OUT NOW!

From the owner: We feature original art by award winning Indiana Artist, Beth Clary Schwier. Beth has been featured…read moreon HGTV as a featured artist for 5 years. She currently is featured artist at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in their permanent collection, the Art of the Game. Come see for yourself, Beth’s vibrant and exciting paintings.

If it's related to the arts in Lawrence, there's a pretty good chance that Arts for Lawrence has a…read morehand in it. Started as a non-profit in 2006, Arts for Lawrence is the largest non-profit arts organization in Lawrence and Indy's northeast quadrant. The organization serves as the steward for the historic Theater at the Fort and offers a remarkably diverse array of affordable arts programs at Theater at the Fort, Fort Ben Cultural Campus, and the Visual Arts Campus. VERY often, these activities are provided at no charge to the community. This was the case for this past weekend's Shakespeare at the Fort: A Midsummer Night's Dream directed by longtime Indy radio personality Matthew Socey. At one point, I was contemplating placing a memorial for children lost to violence in the Fort Ben area - It was Arts for Lawrence that responded and had some dialogue about the idea. Essentially, I've found the organization pretty amazingly responsive when it comes to exploring ideas for creatively improving the lives of Lawrence residents. The musical chairs at Fort Ben? Arts for Lawrence is behind this wonderful, family-friendly installation operating daily from 9am-10pm. (I do agree with some who've observed it would have been ideal to include at least one accessible swing). The Fort Ben Cultural Campus as launched in 2021 with the former Fort Harrison Communications Building moved to the campus and re-established as a Visual Arts Center with monthly exhibitions, a ceramics studio offering classes for all ages and abilities, and upstairs area offering additional classes. Programs include festivals, theater performances, outdoor concert series, art classes, art exhibitions, poetry readings, and more. Food trucks often appear at outdoor events. Being right by Lawrence's City Hall, this area seems to have become a central locale for many of the City's sponsored community activities. Arts for Lawrence also has a strong equity statement on their website indicating a desire to ensure that arts programming is accessible to all. The Visual Arts Center is now open from 6-9pm daily and during festivals. Additional features include the Sterrett Center, Marching Sidewalk, Lawrence's public art, the amphitheater, and an app offering AR/VR experiences. Arts for Lawrence only assumed stewardship of Theater at the Fort in 2016. They began a vigorous upgrading of the 1929 theater and while it's certainly not perfectly accessible (what 1929 building is?), it's dramatically improved and there's an attitude of access. As a city, Lawrence fairly recently established a commission on disability. It took me quite a while to realize that many of the activities I attend here in the Fort Ben area fall under the umbrella of Arts for Lawrence. I'd imagine it will only improve once the currently under construction Fort Ben branch of the Indianapolis Public Library is completed. There's so much to love here and Arts for Lawrence is behind much of it and they've become a guiding player in the growing Lawrence arts scene. With friendly people, great events, and opportunities for all, I'm definitely a fan of Arts for Lawrence.

I love coming to support local artists here! I have been a few times now for Crossroads Dance Indy…read moreperformances and I love it every time. The venue feels small, but still fits an audience of 100+. The staff are always so friendly and do a good job of guiding you where to go. The restrooms are always clean as well. The parking situation isn't super great, however. I usually park in the lot across the street, but there isn't a ton of room on show nights. You'd have to find street parking if it were a busy night. Plan extra time just in case!

As someone with a disability who is also a creative, there's no question I resonate with ArtMix's…read moremission to transform the lives of people with and without disabilities through the creation of art. ArtMix is an Indianapolis-based non-profit organization that has been in existence since I was a kid in school, though it began life as Very Special Arts. They have four core programs, a variety of special projects, and quite a few opportunities to support them ranging from visiting their art gallery to joining them for First Fridays and others. As they note on their website, in the early days of public education for those with disabilities it was uncommon for us to be integrated into regular classrooms. An organization like this was used to fill in that gap. While I was often discouraged from creativity, this was an organization that encouraged it. The fact that I'm now a published writer, film critic, producer, and occasional actor is proof positive of how positive their influence can be. It should be noted that shopping in their gallery is by appointment only. Like a lot of non-profits, they have a small staff. The core programs for ArtMix include urban artisans, entrepreneur artisans, community classes, and artists-in-residence. In terms of accessibility, despite being in a challenging building they do well with ramps at the back entrance (and free parking in the back lot). The building itself is locked - there's a call box that you'll use (again, they request appointments). First Friday events are cool, the gallery is wonderful (and does support artists with disabilities. Yay.). I'm very pleased with this organization. It's only gotten better over the years. While I'm no longer that student sitting in a classroom, ArtMix reaches out even more these days and is truly a community organization. If you've never checked them out, I definitely recommend it.

Interested in supporting local artists, giving back, and purchase beautiful art? Art mix is the…read moreperfect place for this! I went for the second year to their holiday open house to do my yearly ornament shopping for family and friends. There are beautiful, one-of-a-kind ornaments, plates, bowls, and other ceramic pieces. All of the pieces are carefully made by the artists, fired on-site, and then made available in their gallery. I have been thrilled by the items I've purchased and the recipients love them!

Billed as Indiana's largest four day festival, the Riley Days Festival has been going on for a long…read moretime (I remember going in the late '80's when I lived in New Pal.) I had forgotten how large this event had become. They close down the National Road (US 40) and State Road 9 the first weekend of October each year. So, you can imagine that this event, which covers multiple blocks is one you need to be willing to walk a fair distance to get to. (Note: A shuttle does run from the County Fairgrounds for those who can't walk as far.) I found some street parking several blocks from one corner of the event. Tents line each side of the streets. Some house small business items. Some promote churches or politicians. Other vendors forego the tents and set up State Fair type food wagons of just about any type of food that can be eaten without a knife and fork (or plate). And the place is packed. You can't hurry through to get a quick view of what is here. The crowd meanders and stops unexpectedly, so even if you know where a particular vendor is, you have to allow time to get there. And when you do, there will most likely be a line. Seriously, if you can't make a sale here, you probably should just close your business. People were stopping at just about every tent. I am not sure what activities and entertainment they have since I wasn't planning on staying for any of those. If you like browsing through a huge number of tents to look for something unique or interesting, then you will probably like attending this festival. Just make sure you bring your best walking shoes. Review #3130

The Riley Festival is a big event every year for the town of Greenfield. The town itself has grown…read moreover the years. They have some very nice restaurants, car dealerships, bowling, a theater, and a Movie Theater. Look for the special chocolate shop and antique store. Now, back to the festival. I am a music lover since I have played piano and guitar for 59yrs. I also sing. What I was getting to is that I saw 4 different platforms where there was live entertainment. Some was rock and roll and some was very mellow. Something for everyone. There was food trucks and booths all around the square. The smells wafting through the air and our nostrils drove us crazy. As we walked through the crowd and twisted lines we tried to decide which place we would settle on. Tony set his mind on a BBQ place and got Potato Salad for a side. That was $10.00. It was also a joke. There was about three tablespoons of pulled pork on...wait for it...on a hot dog bun!! He also had about 4 small spoons of potato salad. I decided on a plate of Fried Veggies for $8.00. They were ok, but not the best I've had and super greasy. We walked around some more, ran into friends, bought some Christmas gifts, finished shopping. Decided we wanted the Apple Dumplings with Ice Cream. Well, those were the best thing we had!! I definitely have to learn to make them. Next time I will skip the food and go straight to the apple dumpling booth. There's only one so you can't miss it. The Cakehole is here with many flavors of cupcakes. Don't miss out on the best cupcakes ever!!

My family had an amazing time at the winter days for Piney acres! Your price for your Trainer…read moretractor ticket also gets your kids activity crafts and hot chocolate and cookies and a meeting with Santa! The meeting with Santa was one of the best experiences we've ever had with a Santa Claus! They have a separate Santa Shack and families can go in one at a time so it's a more intimate and meaningful experience than having a line of people crowded behind you while you're trying to talk to Santa. The Santa was so jolly and sweet and my kids were all smiles the entire time. We had time to take pictures without a crowd around which we really enjoyed as well, and I'm definitely making these shots our family Christmas cards for the year! I'd love if there was a way for the farm to cover the train and tractor with a clear tarp if possible so that it wouldn't be so cold while you're looking at the lights. But also understand that you will be outside on about a 20 minute ride while you enjoy the lights so make sure you bundle up!

Drove 40 minutes to attend the kick off to the Autumn season. The mood was very 'whomp whomp'. At…read moreother farms in the area the Autumn season felt 'festive' - with music playing, decorations and smiling staff. Piney Acres seemed not quite ready for visitors. First, the pricing for entrance at the register didn't state what was charged for children under 16. Instead I paid the adult price for myself and two kids under age 6. The farms website says children up to age three pay $5. My son just turned three. Not a huge deal but kind of annoying. For $30 we couldn't go on the train or the big slide or the fossil dig. We could go on the cow train but I never found anyone standing near it. Did I have to go find someone? I still have no idea. My son wanted to do it. The fun things we did do were play in the 'sand' (more like fine gravel) play area, see the pigs and goats and pick pumpkins to buy. One thing we wanted to do but didn't was the bounce pad. It was filthy! Covered in sun baked mud. My oldest was really disappointed. The staff here were nice when we interacted with them, but they all seemed very preoccupied with talking amongst one another. I waited quite a while to have someone tally up my pumpkin order. No one seemed to know who was in charge of that task. I will say I bought a fair number of pumpkins and was fully expecting the total to be over $50 and it was only $29. So I guess I am calling it even on the overcharge for entry.