If you're looking for a fun, free, and family-friendly Christmas activity, this is it! It's open…read moreevery night from dusk to dawn. There are more than 40,000 lights sponsored by Duke Energy. They even have some nights with live entertainment like local high school choirs or bands from the Ampitheater. There were 3 or 4 other families there at the same time as us but we were able to keep our distance and look at the displays at our own pace. Park in the community center parking lot and look for the giant candy canes to enter the park. There is a large staircase but for easier accessibility, just follow the pathway behind the community center and come out in the park next to the Ampitheater. We stopped in the night after a crazy storm, so some of the displays were damaged and only about half the lights were on. We didn't quite get the full experience but it was still beautiful and a fun experience. I love this park so I'm glad to see they have winter activities too.

We love Feast! The park and neighborhood is alive with fun and filled with love. Great eventread more

First time attending the Feast of Lanterns. Great selections of vendors and entertainment. I love…read morehow can go with your family and friends to enjoy the weather, company, and booths of vendors. Would recommend visiting it if you are in town or just want a chill night out.

The Teeny Statue of Liberty Museum is attached to Tim & Company's Another Fine Mess. I accessed it…read moreby visiting this shop and coming in through the back, but the museum also has its own entrance. The sign outside of the museum says that admission is 50 cents. As far as I know, if you try to enter through the front, the front door is locked, so you'll have to go through Tim & Company's Another Fine Mess anyway. Or you can try to call and arrange a tour. This truly is a teeny museum full of Statue of Liberty stuff! You'll see everything from snow globes to statues to posters to drinking glasses to salt shakers to stuffed animals to clothing all emblazoned with the Statue of Liberty. It's a lotta stuff crammed in a tiny room -- around 650 individual items in a 10' by 16' space. This isn't a "learnin'" museum, in that there isn't much information available about the Statue of Liberty or why all of these artifacts are together in this room. But it's a fascinating museum to visit anyway, because when are you literally surrounded by so many Statues of Liberty? And in such a small room? This is a unique museum in Indianapolis for sure, and quite a hidden gem.

Four stars for this postage stamp sized museum. This place is smaller than your bedroom. It's…read moreprobably the same size as the cubicle you work from in your office. But it's jam packed with more Statues of Liberty than you've seen in one place, with maybe the exception of the gift shop at the Statue of Liberty https://www.yelp.com/biz/statue-of-liberty-new-york-3?hrid=veIzZZ00bJOV6PjEGnFvOg. Not the first Statue of Liberty I've encountered in my travels. There's one in Tokyo https://www.yelp.com/biz/自由の女神像-港区?hrid=Vj_T_TPmTfDT50wMPBeapg and one in Austin https://www.yelp.com/biz/replica-statue-of-liberty-monument-austin?hrid=pKx0eQ3OKTCYvQNCrCAQnA and Las Vegas https://www.yelp.com/biz/paris-las-vegas-las-vegas-6?hrid=-ZgFf6RjqbEsWcaCFDnw0g. Because who doesn't love "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore." [Review 13509 overall, 828 of 2020.]

it's a fun little historical museum about Carmel, Indiana if you have 30 minutes of spare, you'll…read morehave enough time to walk through the entire exhibit. We learned a lot and had a couple of laughs. Which is a win in my book.

For being free this museum has a lot of great history and artifacts that shed a light on the…read morehistory of the Monon Trail in Carmel. Our Museum guide was very informative and helpful.

While much of Indianapolis spent this past weekend paying attention to the NBA All-Star game, the…read morefine folks behind Heartland Film were using All-Star weekend to kick off their latest film festival offering - the 1st Annual SLAM Film Festival. The SLAM Film Festival is a basketball-themed film festival that is right at home in basketball mad Indiana. All-Star weekend was the perfect weekend to kick this effort off with screenings at downtown Indy's Living Room Theatres in Bottleworks. This is a one-weekend only festival that debuted on 2/16/24 and went through All-Star weekend. It featured such films as Hoop Dreams, Above the Rim, Winning Time, Amongst the Trees, and quite a few others including our beloved Hoosiers. Despite the obstacles of All-Star Weekend, the SLAM Film Festival managed to lure in quite a few celebs and others involved with the films screened. The Hoop Dreams screening featured an amazing Q&A with Peter Gilbert, Greg Sorvig, William Gates, Arthur Agee, Steve James, and Aron Phillips and celebrated the film's 30th anniversary. As always, the folks at Heartland are known for incredible hospitality and volunteers and that was on full display during a busy weekend in downtown Indy. It was a hugely bold move to start this festival in the middle of a big weekend. It was a bold move that paid off wonderfully. If you haven't been to Living Room, I suggest you do so. They're great theaters with a perfect mix of contemporary tech and vintage decor. I absolutely love them. This festival reminded me that I really need to get there more often. Some of these films really didn't get much time on the big screen when they were released. It was nice to see that happen and great to see Hoosiers on the big screen again. Boy, that film really holds up nicely. As is always true with Heartland, accessibility was strong and Living Room does a great job with nearby parking available and the theater itself quite good with accessibility. It's one of Indy's newer theaters and it definitely shows in terms of accessibility. The parking is just a little bit from the main door for the most part, though you may get lucky and find street parking. Parking around here is paid, though Living Room has some validation (check their website). This is a great new addition for Heartland Film and I definitely hope it continues. I love it when Heartland dips into these special weekends and I could easily see this becoming an Indy tradition.

This was my second year attending the Japan Spring Festival in Carmel. I think they have rebranded…read moreand changed the name from Cherry Blossom Festival. Last year it was overcast and rainy. That was not the case this year! Lots of sunshine and even more people than before. We arrived about 20 minutes early to make sure to get a good parking spot and secure a place at the front of the line for food. Our first stop was at the Hanami Sushi & Sake Bar booth decorated with lovely pink blossoms. I had the yakisoba with chicken veggies & egg. The flavor did not disappoint. We also had the spring rolls and Karaage fried chicken with spicy mayo. All good! There were very few places to sit (and not much shade) even though we arrived right when they opened. We did find seating near the front row to watch the Taiko drumming ceremony and brief introduction by mayor Sue Finkman. By the time we were ready to purchase a drink, the line for Mega Bangkok Tea and Lucky Maeve's Matcha were about a 20 and 30 min wait respectively. I ordered the YUZU THAI TEA which was fizzy and sweet. My husband had the THAI COFFEE which was super strong and also very sweet. While I was in line, my husband wandered around to check out what else we should take a look at next. He said the line for items at a Japanese grocery store (that serves food too) we frequent in Castleton called "One World Market" was also about a 30 minute wait. We opted out even though we adore their offerings and make special trips to go there to buy standard things you could find at the store on regular basis. At this point, it's around 1 PM and I'm overwhelmed by the crowds and ready to call it a day. Pro tips: Get here before the event begins and determine in advance what your priorities are for food, drinks activities etc. it's also a good idea to divide and conquer so one person can wait in line for drinks while the other waits for food. The takeaway for me is if you don't mind spending most of your day at the festival it can still be fun. Although it's still possible to support local Japanese businesses outside of the event all year long which is what I plan to do.

So cool! Would recommend if you're into Police History or if you have older kids!…read more We stopped in here on a hot Thursday morning. The A/C felt great! It's free to enter but they do have a little area off to the side if you wanted to make a donation. Inside was full of old police cars, motorcycles, flags, uniforms, tons of pictures, and so much more. We brought 2 toddlers and I probably wouldn't recommend that unless they're strapped in a stroller or are very mindful. A lot of the displays have signs that state, "Do not touch." That was hard for them to understand when everything looked so cool. They're only open certain days so check online before you make the trip. I would recommend checking this place out!

The Indiana State Museum is a great place to bring the kids or visitors to see vintage police…read moreequipment and learn about how investigations have evolved over the last 90 years. There is no charge to visit the museum. I took my granddaughter today because she likes mechanical things. There is a scavenger hunt for the kids that helps them learn about different police history. The kids can even do their fingerprints. The museum has about nine iterations of immaculately maintained police cars including a double sided car that is mind boggling. I enjoyed reading about the history of famous resident, James Dillinger. Old polygraph machines, breathalyzers, cameras, and finger print technology are on display. A wall of photos of fallen officers is also a good reminder of how police put their lives on the line to keep us safe. The tour is self guided and takes about an hour to complete. Reservations are not required. Staff is available if you have questions. We picked up a coloring book and a state map. There is also other information available. There is a small gift shop if you want a shirt. Restroom facilities are also available. There is plenty of parking including close handicapped parking.

This is a place that I have only seen on the outside during the Irvington ghost tour. I recently…read morehad the chance to actually visit the inside. What a beautiful building! Located in beautiful historic Irvington you can find the Irvington historical society, located in the Bona Thompson center. The building was actually a part of the original Butler University. It's large and historic, and I think they have kept a lot of the original building in tact. On the inside there are a lot of interesting exhibits, one is on military tattoos which show a lot of pictures of different people with tattoos and the meanings behind them. As well as a lot of older camera parts. There's also some vintage Butler items on display as well. In the basement holds some other displays as well, one on tractors and engines and then one on the angels of west baden springs. All very interesting things! It's worth a visit to check out and lean different things about local and state history!

After hearing from a couple people that I should check out Irvington's Historical Society, I…read morefinally aligned my schedule to be on the east side on a Wednesday afternoon (weekends seem too busy). After parking in the small lot on the north side of the building, I climbed the steps to the entrance and entered the museum. In the central lobby, there are some permanently displayed items including a recreation of the Butler College campus while it was in Irvington circa 1914 and a portrait of one of the area's most influential residents, Bona Thompson. There are exhibit rooms on the left and right and a stairway that leads to more permanent displays which are in various stages of development. The display on the south end was a mixture of photography (antique cameras) and photos of Military tattoos that current college students volunteered to share. The display on the north end was a timeline of the more notable houses in the neighborhood. They were arranged in chronological order of being built with photos, paintings, and sometimes, schematics of the houses. There were narratives about who the people were that built and/or lived in the houses. To make it more interesting, the running timeline shows events outside of Irvington to use as a point of reference to the dates of the homes. Upstairs was an assortment of local artists' work on the stairwell walls, an "Abe Martin" collection of art/stories by Kin Hubbard who lived in Irvington, some military items, memorabilia from Butler College, and a depot/telegraph office room circa 1898. The admission is free, but donations are accepted in the lobby. Exhibits in the wings change out after a couple months and I was invited to come to the Ice Cream Social Aug 4th (one of the Society's most popular events.) This is a nice example of a neighborhood maintaining its history in spite of all the changes that occur. If you have an interest in anything related to the east side, this should be your first stop! Review #2685