Indianapolis Museum of Art Blog » Indy 500 http://www.imamuseum.org/blog The IMA blog is a space to discuss everything related to the Indianapolis Museum of Art. Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:20:02 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 en hourly 1 Summer in the City http://www.imamuseum.org/blog/2009/05/06/summer-in-the-city/ http://www.imamuseum.org/blog/2009/05/06/summer-in-the-city/#comments Wed, 06 May 2009 11:05:28 +0000 Jenny http://www.imamuseum.org/blog/?p=4897 If you have ever lived near Chicago, you know that it doesn’t get much better than summer in Chicago. From the Blues Festival and Taste of Chicago, to Navy Pier and the Art Institute, there is always something going on or something to do. Growing up 30 minutes from downtown, my friends and I would spend our summers riding the train into the city with no real plan or destination in mind. We’d just meander around and sure enough find ourselves entertained somehow – and usually for little to no cost. (The street drummers were always a favorite of mine).

So now that I have ventured south and summer is just about here, I am anxious to explore the cultural happenings of Indianapolis this summer. I’ve turned to my ever trustworthy colleagues, who know the city better than I, to find out what it is that I should not miss.

Charlie & Phil – Both agree that the Indy 500 (May 24), The Brickyard (July 26) and the Rib America Festival (Sept. 4-7) are some of the summer’s best. I think I’ll skip the actual consumption of ribs, but for $5 and tons of live music, Ribfest sounds like a good choice.

Kate – The Indy Jazz Festival (Sept. 21-27) is Kate’s favorite. I didn’t know this was a week-long event – and with Rob Dixon on board as one of its leaders this is definitely going on my list.

Daniel & Ed – Called “The Best Four Days in Gaming”, Daniel and Ed both like Gen Con Indy (Aug. 13-16). I’ll be honest and say that I had never heard of this before, but it sounds like a pretty big deal. Daniel shared some photos and it looks like these people seriously know how to party.

Gen Con 2008

Gen Con 2008

Noelle – Another IndyCar Series race fan, Noelle’s second pick for summer is the annual Independent Music + Art Festival (June 13). Local musicians, visual artists and other “independents” come together for an all day outdoor festival. I’m all for enjoying free, original live music and shopping for art.

Matt G – Matt’s favorite Indy event is actually in the Winter, The Indiana Microbrewers Winterfest. (For those who like wheat beers better than winter ales, Kate informed me that there is a Summer equivelent to this event on July 18, in Broadripple). Another event Matt likes is Oranje, a contemporary art and music event focused on creating a stimulating and interactive art and music experience. With the tagline “Indulge Your Senses”, this event might take the Gold for an absolute must check out. The website hasn’t been updated with the 2009 schedule, but hopefully it will be soon!

And last, but certainly not least, a couple of my colleagues mentioned the IMA’s Summer Nights as an essential part of their Indianapolis summer experience. With films like The Goonies (July 3) and The Rocky Horror Picture Show (July 24), how could it not be?

As this Saturday’s graduation marks the completion of my Masters degree and thereby the end of my internship here at the IMA, this will be my last blog post. But I do hope to see all of you at some of these great summer events! Who knows, maybe I’ll even show up in costume.

Rocky Horror

Rocky Horror

]]> http://www.imamuseum.org/blog/2009/05/06/summer-in-the-city/feed/ 4 Dan Wheldon, racing, style and the Indy 500 http://www.imamuseum.org/blog/2008/05/25/dan-wheldon-racing-art-and-the-indy-500/ http://www.imamuseum.org/blog/2008/05/25/dan-wheldon-racing-art-and-the-indy-500/#comments Sun, 25 May 2008 15:29:29 +0000 Dan Wheldon http://www.imamuseum.org/blog/?p=428 We asked Dan Wheldon to share a few thoughts as the Indianapolis 500 neared. Here is a pre-race update.

What a month it’s been so far in Indianapolis. My Target Chip Ganassi Racing team has performed flawlessly and put my teammate Scott Dixon on pole position, with myself close behind in second for our first ever one-two start at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. I’ve always been fortunate in my career to be in great equipment, and I hope to take the No.10 Target Honda Dallara to victory lane Sunday.

What a great feeling it would be to win a second Indianapolis 500. Winning this race in 2005 was the highlight of my professional racing career, and the highlight of my personal life came just a few short months ago in St. Petersburg, FL when I married my beautiful wife Susie. Things are going extremely well and I can only hope we have lady luck on our side when the green flag drops in a few short days.

I’ve always been a fan of the arts so in the spirit of good taste and with a nod to my heritage I’ll be sporting a new pair of PUMA racing shoes this weekend for the race. They are a very distinct blue, red and white pair that feature the British Flag…complete with a gold PUMA logo to accent the design. I also had a very special helmet designed for the race which shows off what its like to sip the milk at Indianapolis. I don’t want to give too much away so you’ll have to look for it on Sunday!

Image courtesy of Target Chip Ganassi Racing

Finally, in starting on the front row for this year’s Indianapolis 500, my teammate and I were able to participate in a special visit to New York City on Monday at the new Sports Museum of America on Broadway in NYC. What a thrill it was to see a display showing off one of the helmets the team donated to the museum for the grand opening. That’s all the inspiration you need to close out the month of May in Indianapolis on a high note!

Here’s to another victory this weekend, and hopefully adding another piece of “fine art” to my personal collection!

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