23rd Annual Bulldog Jog at Butler University, Mar. 28, 2015

Butler University. AroundIndy.com staff photo, (c) 2014, all rights reserved.

By Marc Allan
Butler University

Butler University hosts the 23rd annual Bulldog Jog run/walk and dog walk beginning at 9 a.m. Saturday, March 28, 2015.

Registration is $25 for the general public, $20 for dog walkers, and $10 for Butler students until March 7. Late registration (March 8 and thereafter) is $35 for the Bulldog Jog, $25 for the Dog Walk. The student rate is $10 any time.

Details, registration forms, and a course map are available atwww.bulldogjog.com. More information is available by calling (317) 940-4472.

Registration is open to the community. Proceeds from the event benefit professional development opportunities for students interested in health, wellness, and recreation.

The course for the run/walk begins at the top of the Butler Bowl and goes along the Hinkle Fieldhouse and Health & Recreation Complex (HRC) corridor to Lake Road. From Lake Road the course runs through the beautiful Butler campus and along the canal path. Butler University reserves the right to alter the course based on weather conditions.

The Dog Walk will begin at 9:15 a.m. at the top of the Butler Bowl and go along the Hinkle Fieldhouse and HRC corridor to Sunset Avenue, down Butler Way, around the South Mall, Norris Plaza, and North Mall, returning on Lake Road and finishing at Hinkle.

Early packet pick-up will be Friday, March 27, from 4:30-6:30 p.m. in the lobby of the HRC just west of Hinkle Fieldhouse. Parking is available in the Hinkle Fieldhouse parking lot.

Late in-person registration will be held in the lobby of the Health & Recreation Complex from 8-8:45 a.m.

Official Butler University mascot Blue III (Trip) will serve as grand marshal for the Bulldog Jog Dog Walk. Participants are encouraged to bring items and supplies for Indiana Bulldog Rescue and Humane Society of Indianapolis to assist in the care of dogs much less fortunate.

This year’s Bulldog Jog is sponsored by Butler University, the Butler University Student Foundation, Indiana Bulldog Rescue, Courtyard by Marriott Indianapolis-Carmel, the Humane Society of Indianapolis, Athletic Annex, and the Butler University Health and Recreation Complex.

Butler University is located at 4600 Sunset Avenue in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Indiana Dunes Country Activities Guide Now Available

Indiana Dunes Country Activity Guide. Image provided by Indiana Dunes Tourism and used with written permission.

By Ken Kosky
Indiana Dunes Tourism

The official 2015 Indiana Dunes Country Activities Guide, which is a comprehensive guide to Porter County’s attractions, restaurants, hotels and more, is now available.

The free guide, produced by Indiana Dunes Tourism, the official tourism bureau of Porter County, is being distributed to potential visitors in an effort to get them to visit and spend their dollars in the local communities. Local residents are also welcome to pick up a copy at the Indiana Dunes Visitor Center, located at 1215 N. State Road 49 in Porter.

Indiana Dunes Tourism Executive Director Lorelei Weimer said the Activities Guide is a valuable tool that visitors and residents can use to find fun things to do in each community.

“The Activities Guide is our primary publication, featuring dozens of great attractions and events,” Weimer said.

The guide features listings for Indiana Dunes beaches and hiking trails, museums, and places for family fun like the 49er Drive-In Theatre, Broken Wagon Bison Farm and Taltree Arboretum Railway Garden.

In addition, the guide lists places to enjoy fishing, kayaking and birding. The guide also has listings for golfing, art galleries and antique shopping. It’s even got sections devoted to summer farmer’s markets, fall drives and winter recreation.

The guide’s hotel listings and restaurant listings feature new places that people might not know have opened.

This year’s guide features articles about The 3 Dune Challenge at Indiana Dunes State Park, how to succeed in fishing and cooking your catch, great places to get burgers, and places to go for people with pets.

Also new this year is a two-page spread of day trips that people can take from Porter County, including going to Chicago, Amish Acres, Notre Dame, the Barn Quilt Trail and more.

Weimer hopes area residents will use the guide to explore Porter County or to find great things to do with friends and family members from out of town. While the guide is a useful resource to local residents, it is designed to encourage potential visitors to choose Porter County as a destination and then extend their stays by letting them know all there is to do in our communities.

The 68-page guide’s cover features a large aerial photo of the Indiana Dunes shot by Air One Aerial Photography in Valparaiso, as well as smaller photos of local dining and live theatre.

Weimer encourages you to call the Visitor Center at 219-926-2255 if you have any questions or if you would like to request a guide. You may also visit http://www.IndianaDunes.com/destination-guides to view or download the guide electronically.

Yelp’s “Indy Paints the Town Red,” Mar. 19, 2015

Yelp “Indy Paints the Town Red,” Mar. 19, 2015. Image provided by Yelp and used with written permission.

By Sofia Valdivia
Yelp Indy

We’re rolling out the red carpet for one canvas painting, cocktail sipping, morsel munching night at Union Station on Mar. 19, 2015, 6-9 pm! We’re doing it big style. Over 50 businesses and organizations will share samples and services under the roof of the beautiful Union Station. Before anything else this is a 21+ only event, all must RSVP INDIVIDUALLY ON YELP (Must have a Yelp profile picture!!) and ALL food, hooch and entertainment is entirely complimentary!

Deck yourself in a crimson palette and join Indy’s ruby-dripping businesses for a scarlet soiree!  Again, this event is OPEN TO ANYONE WHO SIGNS UP FOR YELP and clicks “I’m In.”

Hungry? Thirsty? Seeking some thrills? If not, you will be:
Soupremacy
Tow Yard Brewing
Nameless Catering Company
Best Boy & Co.
Tulip Tree Cremery
Sun King Brewing Co.
Greek Islands Restaurant
Newfangled Confections
240sweet
Mallow Run Winery
Studio 2000 Salon & Day Spa
Punch Burger
Darrin’s Coffee Co
City Barbeque
Caplinger’s Fresh Catch
Spoke & Steele
Taxman Brewing Company
Flat12 Bierwerks
Bee Coffee Roasters
Sage’s Simple Syrups
Buffalo Trace
Ezra’s Enlightened Cafe
New Day Craft
Green BEAN Delivery
Painting With A Twist!
Wilks & Wilson
Beam Suntory
Fountain Square Brewing Co
CityWay
Easley Winery
Tin Man Brewing Company
B. Happy Peanut Butter
Frangipani Body Products
Bea’s Soda Bar
Oliver Winery
Bloomington Brewing Company
Cardinal Spirits
Wyliepalooza Ice Cream Emporium
Wildwood Market
RNDC
Our Motivation For Change
Painting With A Twist

Our neighbors to the south (the lovely Bloomington, that is) are converting the Iron Horse Lounge in the lower level of Union Station into Bloomington Bar for the night featuring a 5-star round up of Btown businesses! (more details coming soon!)
Oliver Winery
Cardinal Spirits
Visit Bloomington
Butler Winery
Upland Brewery
Bloomington Brewing Company
Landlocked Music
Hopscotch Coffee

There will be no shortage of Kodak moments either, as Jennifer Van Elk Photography captures those candid moments. Indever Studios will also be roaming the crowd, so check your teeth for gourmet marshmallows, sea salt caramels and custom fortune cookies!

*MUST be 21+ to attend with proper ID and please drink responsibly.

For more information or to register, visit: http://www.yelp.com/events/indianapolis-yelp-paints-the-town-red

Follow Yelp on Twitter (@yelpindy) and Instagram (@yelpindy). Event hashtag: #yelpred

Stutz Artists Open House, Apr. 24-25, 2015

Stutz Business Center. AroundIndy.com staff photo, (c) 2012, all rights reserved.

By Kelly Young
On behalf of Stutz Artists

Planning is well underway for the Stutz Artists Association’s largest art event, set to take place April 24-25, 2015 at the historic Stutz Building in Indianapolis, Indiana.

More than 70 artists will open their studios and present their work to visitors during the 2015 two-day event. The Stutz Open House, which began in 1993, attracts more than 6,000 people every year to the 400,000 square-foot former car factory.

Organizers are planning for new, creative and entertaining opportunities to engage families, art lovers and visitors simply looking for a weekend event to enjoy in downtown Indianapolis.

The Raymond James Stutz Artists Open House not only allows guests an opportunity to see the work of 70+ local artists in one place at one time, it’s an opportunity to see where and how the work is created.

Artwork ranges from paintings, drawings and photography, to sculpture, jewelry and furniture. In addition to being a great place to buy one-of-a-kind gifts with artwork prices from $12 to $10,000, the event offers a rare chance to see vintage cars in the historic Stutz car factory.

Visitors will also enjoy special activities such as painting with Wine and Canvas, demonstrations, acoustic music and food vendors.

Families bringing children are encouraged to attend Saturday, 2-7 p.m., where they will enjoy family-friendly musical guests, hands-on art activities, youth art scavenger hunt, free ice cream from Raymond James, and more. New this year on Saturday will be demonstrations by Stutz artists.

WHAT:
Raymond James Stutz Artists Open House

WHEN:
Friday, April 24, 5:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Saturday, April 25, 2 p.m. to 7 p.m.

WHERE:
Stutz Business Center, 212 W. 10th St., Indianapolis (enter Bearcat Alley from 10th or 11th St..) Free parking in specially marked lots.

COST:
$12 advanced sale tickets at select Old National Bank locations and the Stutz Business Office (1060 N. Capitol Ave C200.); $15 at Eventbrite; $15 at the gate; children 12 and under free. Tickets are valid for both days.

INFO:
Cathi Wineland, http://www.stutzartists.com/ or 317-503-6420.

Proceeds from the event support the Stutz Residency Program, a scholarship that provides free studio space and utilities for emerging local artists for one year. It is one of the largest grants to individual artists in the state.

Mayberry in the Midwest Festival, May 15-17, 2015

Mayberry in the Midwest Festival in Danville, Indiana, May 15-17, 2015.

By Josh Duke
VisitHendricksCounty.com

Welcoming and entertaining more than 4,000 visitors over two days in 2014, the first-ever Mayberry in the Midwest proved to be a rousing success. Expecting more visitors in its second year, organizers want to do even more as they have added another day, more ticketed events and additional free activities to the zany fun that made last year’s festival so popular.

The quiet Hendricks County seat of Danville will transform again into the iconic 1960s fictional community that was home to Andy, Opie, Aunt Bee and Barney for the Mayberry in the Midwest festival May 15-17, 2015. Former cast members, amazing tribute artists and even Don Knotts’ real-life daughter, Karen Knotts, will take visitors on a journey inside their televisions to experience life in Mayberry.

“We have been to other Mayberry festivals, and although it was Danville’s first year hosting Mayberry in the Midwest, they did a great job making Danville feel like the fictitious town of Mayberry,” said Tena MacDonald, an Indianapolis resident who attended last year’s Mayberry in the Midwest with her husband. “Having the tribute artists really takes you there and brings Mayberry to life. We were so excited to hear that Karen Knotts is going to be in Danville this year. We saw her one-woman show in Mt. Airy (N.C.), and it was fantastic. It should draw a lot of people.”

The three-day festival will surround the historic Hendricks County Courthouse Square with numerous themed activities including a Mayberry parade, Opie’s World, Tractor Town, Squad Car Nationals, reruns of the show on the big screen at the historic Royal Theater, food and vendor booths and much more. Two original Andy Griffith Show cast members, Maggie Peterson Mancuso, who portrayed Charlene Darling on the show, and Rodney Dillard, who played one of the Darling boys, also will return. Tribute artists reprising many of the show’s most popular characters including Barney, Goober, Gomer, Floyd the Barber, Ernest T. Bass and others will sign autographs, mingle with the crowd and perform on stage.

But organizers also wanted to infuse new activities into this year’s festival including:

Karen Knotts – She will share hilarious stories from life with her legendary dad.
Mayberry After Dark – This activity billed as part scavenger hunt, part pub crawl and part walking tour will include a one-of-a-kind keepsake and other surprises.
Mike Toomey Comedy Show – National comedian Mike Toomey will present his “Mayberry Centric” stand-up routine.
Game Shows – Mayberry-themed game shows requiring audience participation.

“Mayberry fans are loyal, dedicated and willing to travel a long way to be part of a Mayberry celebration,” said Christine Born, owner of the Mayberry Cafe and event organizer. “Danville is a perfect community to host this event with its Main Street charm and hometown Americana personality, so we want to enhance that with new and creative ideas to keep this event entertaining and interesting. We learned a lot last year and a lot of what we changed and added reflects an effort to make this festival stand out.”

The festival and most of the activities are free. However, a few ticketed events will be held throughout the event.

Limited tickets just went on sale for a VIP Meet & Greet Party inside the Hendricks County Courthouse Rotunda, Rodney Dillard and the Dillard Band concert, Karen Knotts’ retrospective, Mike Toomey Comedy Show and Mayberry After Dark. For more information or to purchase tickets, visitMayberryintheMidwest.com.