I was in the Yard District in Fishers playing Pokémon GO and found a PokéStop linked to this mural…read more I decided to go check it out and even posted a picture of it on my story on social media. I think the art is great and the message is wonderful. I wish it was in a more noteworthy visible spot though!

I love when I find public art when I am out and about in the indy area, I was walking through the…read morefishers yard district and noticed this colorful piece and had to take a snap of it. Upon further research, I found out that it was painted by Nekoda Witske, who is a part of the hue mural group, I really enjoyed looking at this since it was bright and just really makes you happy (if you're into colors) and is a combo of a face and a rose. I'll have to seek out more of her work around!

It made my tiny heart glad to see the indoor Fishers Farmers Market so bustling with people and…read moreactivity, especially in winter and especially because the temperature in the morning was a frosty 18 degrees. I anticipated being the only person walking around the market while all the vendors stared at me, but no. Lots of shoppers, lots of produce and bread and tea and honey and sweets and meats and goods, and lots of samples. What I love about farmers markets in general (and this one specifically) is that each person selling their goods is super excited to tell you all about them, how they made them or grew them, what to eat them with or how to use them. On this visit, I bought some tea from the Tarkington Tea booth, a boule of French bread from The Bearded Baker, honey sticks from Dragonwood Honey & Maple and a dried cow hoof for my doggie from Becker Farms. I was eyeing the pea shoots at another stall, but I'll have to come back and buy those another time -- the guy was busy and had a line of customers. This indoor farmers market is located at Roy G. Holland Park, in the community center just off the parking lot. It's nice and warm inside, so don't let the cold temps of winter deter you from visiting the farmers market!

This is a nice winter option for fresh produce. There is a decent selection of vendors at the…read moremarket; organic produce, baked goods, honey, organic dog treats, coffee/tea, bread, and Mathoo's egg rolls. Everyone is friendly and helpful, most take credit cards, some with limits but because they are small businesses I try to use cash. They moved from the big baseball park to a smaller, slightly harder to find park in a neighborhood. The parking lot isn't as big but the building seems about the same. Because it's inside you don't get any issues with weather but because it's inside you also get a concentration of voices and smells that have nowhere to go. It can get a little loud inside. There isn't a hot breakfast option so don't plan on eating here like you can during the summer. If you're looking for fresh delicious produce this is a good market, if you also go to the summer one for entertainment, this is not the same as that market.

Carmel has a dang cute selfie station on Elm Street just east of the Monon. The mural looks like a…read more1960's postcard and stamps with scenes from around Carmel. There is even a mark on the sidewalk to tell you where to stand to take your selfie. This is one of several selfie spots that I saw in the area. I used to call the area downtown Carmel, but the City has rebranded as "Midtown" and Midtown Plaza. The colorful mural was the brainchild of Wilkinson Brothers Design and was unveiled in March 2021.

The mural is the work of Carmel-based Wilkinson Brothers Design and was placed in 2021. It faces…read moreElm Street and is opposite the side of the BIG SCREEN at Midtown Plaza. This mural gives the appearance of a vintage post card and reads "Greetings from Carmel, Midtown Plaza". There are scenes from the city in the cutout letters that include the Monon Trail, Sails, the Coxhall Gardens Clock Tower and City Hall. The card is against a colorful cityscape background cutout with other cityscape silhouettes on it. You will also see stamps of local attractions around the area on the mural including Hotel Carmichael and the Palladium. It is a gorgeous mural that is Instagram ready. The city intends it to be an interactive piece that affords visitors the opportunity to take a selfie. To make sure that visitors get the best possible selfie, there is a decal that tells you where to stand. It is located just outside Java House Coffee Bar and Penn & Beech Candle Co. I love interactive art. This mural is no exception. I was excited about seeing it and I am sure it will be a popular attraction in the area. I will say that it is off of a somewhat busy street, so use caution when approaching. There is free street parking and a garage available to park within a very short walk. I know that this is probably not going to be a long stop, but I still recommend checking it out. You may want to consider planning out additional stops at many of the other attractions in the area, or making this stop part of a larger itinerary to maximize your time and trip such as the Monon Trail or the Sails sculpture that is right down the street.

This little, off-the-beaten-path place is hard to categorize. It's part retail store, part wellness…read morecenter and part classroom. Most would probably call this a "new age" store for lack of a better term. We like to shop here because we love their selection of very affordably-priced crystals - especially the large ones that have been hollowed out a bit to create natural lamps. We've now purchased two of BE's amazing white selenite beauties, one for keeps and one that we gifted. There is something very spiritual and uplifting about this particular crystal, especially in a large size - that even a non-granola type can appreciate. The store also have a nice selection of jewelry - most of it appears to be handmade, some books, and various other "alternative" supplies. There are numerous classes on wellness, spirituality and what Oprah would call "living your best life" topics available here, as well as meditation and yoga. Individual intuitive readings, massage and other healing modalities are also offered. We personally love to see something like this taking root up here in Carmel and we like the friendly, family feel of the store. The only thing I think is unfortunate with BE is its name....I get it and a lot of people in my circle of friends would get it, but from a PR standpoint, I think the owners should have chosen something else. The store was quite busy on our visit, which is good to see - we love little places like this that swim against the tide and we hope BE succeeds. Look for an update soon, as we plan to take a few classes here and see if we like them as much as our rocks :-)

Although they have great coffee and a nice variety of items to consume along with your brew, if you…read morehave time to hang out in the bistro/order area, make time to wander around and check out the mini murals of multiple birds on the walls. I found numerous paintings of birds but because of Covid, I had to stay relatively in place to respect the other customers in the space and to stay out of the way of those doing business purchasing their items. So, my photos don't do justice to the details of the birds that are visible here. Back in 2019, local artist/painter Koda Witsken was hired to add the birds. I wasn't able to find out the backstory of why birds were chosen, but the scale works out fine for the space and the splashes of color amid the dark paneled interior of the shop are delightful. Each of the birds is a different species...I believe all are native to Indiana, but I'm not certain of that. Still, the variety is colorful and required the artist to understand not only color patterns, but wing types and head types to keep the birds from looking like stencils. You can tell these are individually created. The only thing I miss in this collection is that Koda didn't push her imagination onto the shop owner. She really has an imaginative style, but she knows when to reign in her own desires for her paintings in order to please those who choose to hire her. That's a smart business woman that can still enjoy her creativity and make money at it! When you are picking up your morning coffee or a bag of ground coffee for making at home, take time to notice the paintings that are dispersed around the walls of the shop. Review #3792

In 2020, a new abstract mural was added to the alley side of a garage at 1080 Christian Avenue in…read moreNoblesville (near the roundabout of 10th and Greenfield Avenue). The mural is colorful and is a tribute to the nearby actual carousel of Noblesville. The mural was painted by a trio of local artists: Nekoda and Croix Witsken and JD Bills. The mural is a bit difficult to see in whole since the alley is not very wide and so it is hard to get the large mural to fit into your camera screen. But traffic is minimal, so if you find a place to park at the shopping center across 10th, it is just a short walk to this alley which is the road that has the liquor store on the corner. The mural is about a block to the east of the liquor store on the opposite side of the alley. Most notable for me was the horse head that is associated with most carousels. There are also numerous flowers adding shapes and color to the mural as well. Review #3793

Continuously expanding area. Living in Indianapolis, I tend to come for a visit to enjoy some of…read morethe many restaurants in the area. Higher median income and more available space makes this a reasonable choice for new restaurants. Also more parking opportunities. I also love to shop at IKEA. Or attend Fisher Parks events. I do however think that the extra parking fees for out of towners is ridiculously high. Way to be elitist. Unfortunately the continuing construction in this area just makes for a horrible commute anymore.

I'm definitely a fan of the city of Fishers, Indiana. While existing for a long time in the shadows…read moreof its glossier neighbor Carmel, Fishers became an official "city" in 2015 (prior to this, it was legally a "town") and has quickly gained a reputation nationwide for its affordability, safety, and accessibility. Fishers has a population of just over 101,000 and was originally known as Fishers Switch. Salathiel Fisher originally developed land in 1872 that would become Fishers. The area was lightly populated until the 1960s. The connection of I-69 changed everything and Hamilton Southeastern High School came into being in the 1960s. The 1980s saw the expanded development of Geist and the population hasn't stopped growing. A couple years ago, Fishers won an award from the state of Indiana for its proactive efforts in the area of accessibility. In 2025, it was named the #4 safest city in America by MoneyGeek, in 2024 the #1 best affordable small city in America by Realtor.com, and in 2017 Money Magazine named it the Best Place to Live in America. Why? Fishers is an entrepreneurial city with all the amenities you want while also maintaining a certain small town charm. Fishers has an abundance of quality healthcare, the brand new Fishers Event Center, a great arts scene, and a lot of green spaces with trails, biking, and other outdoor opportunities. Fishers is close to both rural areas and a much bigger city. It's within a few hours of St. Louis, Cincinnati, Indy, Louisville, Columbus OH, and other cities. Fishers is a friendly city that has a reputation for being more relaxed than its snootier and roundaboutier (I made that up) neighbor. The Nickel Plate Trail is iconic and is quickly becoming like the Monon with adjacent development increasing opportunities and property values. Despite my sarcasm, I do like Carmel. I love Fishers. If I were ever to leave my Lawrence home, I'd easily choose Fishers as a destination as it offers me accessibility, affordability, and the opportunities I want in neighborhoods I would enjoy. It's amazing to think that Fishers has really only been a city for just over 10 years. I spend a lot of time in Fishers. While i will admit the area around I-69 feels a bit too busy for me, there's so much great stuff in Fishers I mostly just avoid that area. My second engagement (I make bad decisions) was with a woman from Fishers. I don't miss her. I miss Fishers.

This mural is massive. It not only covers Big Hoffas BBQ's main building, front, back, and sides,…read morebut it bleeds over to the building next door. It uses every inch of the building and incorporates flag masts on the buildings roof. It was painted in 2019 by Jackie McCracken and Robert Schaefer. The mural wall is not flat or smooth. It has ridged, kind of like a tin roof, and overlooks Big Hoffas' parking lot. The mural theme continues on into the restaurant. I am not sure of the tie in with Barbecue and pirates, but Big Hoffas is all in and seems to make it work. The mural is very colorful and has a lot going on. In the center you will find a couple of pirate ships sailing off the coast. The front door of the restaurant is used in the larger of the ships. The left side of the mural (as you are facing it), is very interesting. It is actually kind of 3D and has cutouts of a pirate scene with a swashbuckler bursting out of a window of a building and and 4 more pirates down below sitting by a campfire. There are also a set of white angel wings in between those pirates that are like those that are starting to pop up all over the place and where people can takes pictures in front of and make look like they are wearing them. They seem kind of out of place to me, but no big deal. The rest of the mural is mostly a coastal image. I love the artistry and use of color and can only imagine how long it took to paint it. You can not help but be "wow'ed" by this mural. You probably wont spend too much time checking this mural out. It is a lot to look at a digest. I was there about 10 minutes. So, I recommend coupling it with a visit to Big Hoff's to eat some of their delicious "Q". Since it overlooks their parking lot, parking here is easy. I would also recommend checking out that entire mural that includes the patio area and a whole other building next door.

Wow! What a statement piece mural has been added to Westfield. On the east walls (and wrapping…read morearound three other walls) of the Big Hoffa's BBQ and the Main Street Shoppes is one of the largest murals I've seen. The entire length of wall has been turned into a Pirate's Cove with multiple sailing ships, pirates, and even a few skeletons. The north ends of the buildings continue the mural to add images of an island paradise and a cloud covered sea. The mural was created by Rob Schaefer and Jackie McCracken in 2019. There is so much detail to see, I will pick just a few to highlight here. Ship's masts - Not only is there a giant mural, but some construction was done to turn the largest ship's masts into actual wooden structures with crow's nests that stick up above the wall of the mural. As you approach from the east, it makes you think it is a real sailing ship! Pirate theme - For anyone who has dined inside Big Hoffa's, there already existed a pirate theme, so kudos to the artists for taking that and making the entire building a not so subtle advertisement. Insta-worthy - If you can get here when there isn't a crowd, there is a section of the wall with a pair of angel wings where you can take a selfie while surrounded by pirates. This is one of those pieces you have to see for yourself to appreciate how much skill and effort went into creating the mural. The surfaces aren't smooth, but unless you look carefully, you can't tell that there are raised ridges that run vertically which add even more challenge. Although I am rarely a fan of other murals being painted over, (the space used to have a giant village painted in a somewhat primitive style), I can't deny that the visual appeal of this new mural is much greater to me. The next time you are in Westfield, make a point to stop by these shops! Review #3360

I truly just enjoy interesting surroundings and the ability to just stroll around and visit the…read morelittle shops lining the street. Takes me back in time when this was the norm. Gives you a bit of that nostalgic small town feel, even so we all know how much Carmel has grown and become so much more like the big cities.

There's a wonderful mural that was created by the Art Department from Carmel High School. The mural…read moreis located just off Main Street in Carmel and was created in 2007. The mural is entitled "Cityscape" and depicts images from the the Art District with some modern twists. I was touched to see faculty and students given the opportunity to express their creativity in their community. The names of the artists are listed on the south end of the mural. The mural is slightly faded with age. There is a small, lovely garden with benches at the base of the mural with a plaque that honors donors.

This is statues of little children running around, pulling some kind of rope or doing something and…read moreholding hands just playing. I have no idea what it's called what it's called but cool to check out.

Crack the Whip is a bronze collection of seven kids playing a crazy game where they hold hands and…read morerun in a circle leaving the last kid in line having to hold on due to the centrifugal force that "whips" them from side to side. As a kid who played this, the thrill came from feeling like you were about to fly! The problem was that it almost always ended with the last kid or two falling to the ground. But we were kids and it was worth the fun. The bronze was created in 1986 by artist/company J Seward Johnson Jr who many will recognize as the creator of the bronze series in the Carmel, Indiana Arts District. The mural sits right at the entrance to the Sheraton Hotel at Keystone at the Crossing, just north of the fashion mall. Review #1519