Summer time fun! Festivals in Indy!

For more information, visit http://www.indydt.com/summerfestivals.cfm

June 7: Parents and kids alike can find something fun to do at the 15th annual Vintage Indiana Wine & Food Festival at Military Park. While adults sample local culinary offerings and taste some of the 200 Indiana wines offered, kids can enjoy interactive fun inside the KidZone. Artist booths will be on-site and live performances will take place throughout the day – be sure to bring your lawn chairs and blankets!

June 7: Explore the sights, sounds and tastes of all the different cultures of Asia at the 7th annual Asian Fest taking place at White River State Park and the Indiana State Museum from 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. Don’t miss the costumes fashion show and various cultural performances at this FREE festival.

June 12: The Christ Church Cathedral Women’s Strawberry Festival returns to Monument Circle to serve an estimated six tons of strawberries and 18,000 homemade shortcakes to the public in support not-for-profit outreach groups. Desserts range from $2 to $6 and are served from 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. (or until food runs out).

June 13 – 14: Enjoy more than 25 different pastas, Italian meats, desserts and more at a delicious celebration of Italian culture: Italian Street Festival. Be sure not to miss it at the corner of East and Stevens street. Hint: bring your dancing shoes.

June 14: The Circle City Pride Festival celebrates its 25th anniversary this year at the American Legion Mall. Programming for the festival includes live performances, vendors and more, and is intended for all ages. Admission is a suggested donation of $5.

June 14: Live music, local food, local craft beer and cider, ice cream, raffle prizes and more make the INDIEana Handifcraft Exchange the perfect way to spend a summer day. Vendors include local clothing and jewelry designers, as well as some of Indiana’s favorite names including t-shirt producers United State of Indiana and Lick ice cream. The event runs from noon – 8 p.m.

June 14 –15: More than 270 artists from across the nation gather on the north side of Downtown Indy each summer for the Talbot Street Art Fair, continually ranked as one of the top art fairs in the U.S. The fair is FREE to attend and offers entertainment and exhibits for all ages to enjoy.

June 19: Cookouts in summertime are a must. How about one on Monument Circle? The Marsh Cookout on the Circle takes place during lunchtime as “celebrity cooks” serve Midwest cookout classics, with proceeds helping hundreds of central Indiana Boy Scouts attend Scouting Camp each summer.

June 21: One of Indy’s most popular beer festivals returns for the 19th year to Park Avenue just outside Phoenix Theatre. Brew-Ha-Ha takes place from 3 – 7 p.m. and costs $30 for general admission (purchased in advance) or $10 for designated drivers. In addition to more than 30 local craft breweries on-site, attendees will enjoy live music and food from local vendors.  

June 21: PBS Kids in the Park, hosted by WFYI, will take place at White River State Park from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Celebrities rumored to be on-site: Kids can enjoy “character meet & greets” with  Clifford, Curious George, Maya & Miguel and more. Catch some exciting live entertainment, visit vendor booths and play games.

June 21 – 22: The Eiteljorg Museum’s Indian Market and Festival is one of the Midwest’s largest Indian markets, featuring more than 130 Native artists, food, performances and family fun. Try unique foods including a crowd favorite, Indian tacos. The Festival takes place in Military Park from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Admission is FREE with the purchase of general admission to the Eiteljorg.

July 5: Some of the city’s most unique restaurants come together for a one-day festival on the Canal. The 3rd annual Taste of Indy blends great food with live local music and family-friendly events. The festival kicks off at 10 a.m. and includes Asian, Soul, Greek, Mediterranean, Cajun, Hispanic and American food. 

July 10: Indiana Black Expo’s Summer Celebration brings a variety of events Downtown for all ages and interests. Larger events include the Pacers Sports & Entertainment Corporate Luncheon on July 18, Music Heritage Festival concerts July 18 at the Indiana War Memorial and July 19 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse and the All White Affair July 19. Advance general admission tickets cost $8 or $19.99 for a three-day pass.

July 12: Situated in the heart of Downtown Indianapolis, the Indy Criterium offers cyclists a unique opportunity to race the city streets that they would rarely do otherwise. Families can enjoy BMX stunt shows, yoga in the park, a Sun King beer garden, food truck festival and more.

Aug. 2: The Mass Ave Criterium brings together more than 400 cyclists and 5,000 cycling fans. The course is a chllenging, triangular, 2/3 mile course through the Mass Ave district. Non-cyclists can enjoy the beer garden and live entertainment.

Aug. 8: Thousands of motorcycles of all types will take over the streets of Downtown Indianapolis for Motorcycles on Meridian, coinciding with the Red Bull Indianapolis GP at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. All ages are invited to check out the unique sights and sounds around Monument Circle, Meridian Street and Georgia Street.

Aug. 14 – 24: IndyFringe Festival is one of the biggest (and most unique) performing arts festivals in Indy, and takes over Mass Ave for an incredible 11 days in the middle of August every year. Nearly 300 performances will be given during the festival ranging from dance, drama, comedy, magic and more.

Aug. 17: Local farmers, chefs, brewers, vintners and food enthusiasts will gather at White River State Park on August 17 from 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. for Dig IN: A Taste of Indiana, Indiana’s largest farm-to-fork festival. The fourth annual festival will feature tastings of Indiana food, beer, wine and other local refreshments plus live entertainment, discussion panels and cooking demonstrations.

Dirty Little Secret

Dirty Little Secret                            

Cleanliness is next to Godliness.  Many of us grew up hearing that and living in homes that while may have been modest were probably spotless.  Having a kitchen floor that was so clean that one could eat off of it was worn as a badge of pride.

When I was growing up, having and maintaining a clean house was important.  It said that you cared about your family, it said that you had pride in your surroundings and it said that even though you might not have a lot what you did have was well loved and well cared for.  For many of us of a certain age regardless of geography, class, persuasion, etc. – there is a common story about the Saturday cleaning the house routines.  I was surprised as I grew up and went out in the world, how many of my black friends had similar stories about their moms and the Saturday morning house cleaning routine usually with great music on as the soundtrack (I was also shocked to learn that many of my white friends DIDN’T have that experience).

While many of our moms were fantastic housekeepers and house managers, many of us don’t serve in that role today.  Part of it is because we’re busy, part of it may be the abundance of accessible and affordable cleaning services and a little part of it may be that since it was so important to our parents it became another one of those things we put aside solely for that reason to show that we’re different.  Part of it may also be that we didn’t learn to clean.  I don’t mean we didn’t clean – I mean that we didn’t learn how to clean.  I’m a witness.  I’m not a cooker or a cleaner, mainly because I didn’t sit at my mother’s feet to learn those skills.  Now, I do share her love of reading, the theatre and arts because that is a knowledge transfer that she fostered.  Come sit with me and let me tell you about this book I’m reading.  I’m going to pick you up from school early so we can go see a Broadway play or visit a museum.  Very rarely did my mother say, come in here and watch me make this liver and onions.  If/when I did show interest in that kind of stuff she would say “Oh, I’m fine.  Go on out there with your dad and brother and watch football (I know hella lot about football) or go watch the news with your dad.

Maybe since many of our moms had moms or grandmothers or aunts who cleaned people’s homes for a living, there was a little of that my child won’t have to clean anyone’s house.   Save for the Saturday sessions and the keeping your room picked up – there was very little tub scrubbing, window washing that went on a daily basis by most of us – if we admit it.

The curious thing to me now though is the number of my black female contemporaries of a certain age that are paying people to clean their homes and the way we view that.  I started using Molly Maids years ago when we had a 3 bedroom house, two cats, two full time jobs and a kindergartner.  A clean house was important to me but I didn’t have the inclination or time to clean it myself.  I used Molly Maids in quiet – not mentioning it to my friends.  I got outed one day when a girlfriend stopped by and saw the “cleaned by” card on my counter.  We never spoke of it, but I remember thinking that she probably thought I thought I was bougie and too good to clean my own house.  I didn’t and I don’t, but while I had no problems talking about getting my house cleaned with white girlfriends or colleagues there was only a select few of sisters that knew. 

So, imagine how I felt recently when a beautiful friend of mine posted on FB asking for a cleaning service referral – she prefaced her request with “I’m not bougie” and asked her friends for names – many of her friends who were also black women gave her names of services they were using and we all had some clarifier in our response about how we were’nt bougie by having a cleaning service. 

One of her friends – a man – commented on that – he was like why is that being bougie.  It’s a service, you have a need you hire someone to meet that need. No judgment. 

He was right.  I think for many of us especially middle (and not so middle) class, not rich, not ladies who lunch there is a bit of a struggle – at least there is for me.  I’m very grateful for the ladies that come clean my house every two weeks and am slowly looking at that as other stuff that I pay for and assign no judgment to - like gas, utilities, etc.

Part of the beauty of living your life well is assessing what is important, what do you need to spend your time on, what do you want to spend your time on and then doing out.  Where we struggle is trying to live up to other's expectations about us and for us.  So, for me it's my cleaned by somebody else house, for you it might be something else - and that's ok.  The gift is owning our authentic selves, dirty little secrets and all.

7th Day Award: Celebrating our Spiritual Wellness Honoree- Charyl Byrd