Fair Oaks Farms Takes Top Honors at US Cheese Championship

Havarti Cheese from Fair Oaks Farms in Newton County, Indiana. Photo provided by the farms and used with written permission.

By Jed Stockton
Fair Oaks Farms

Fair Oaks Farms Master Cheesemaker Bruce Workman’s Havarti took home first place honors at the U.S. Cheese Championship on March 17-19, 2015 in Madison, Wisconsin.

Fair Oaks Farms Havarti Dill and Gouda also took home second place honors, while Fair Oaks Farms Smoked Gouda and Havarti Onion placed fourth.

“Fair Oaks Farms is committed to offering unparalleled quality in all of its products,” said Julie Basich, Fair Oaks Farms General Manager, “We are proud that Bruce’s efforts and Fair Oaks Farms Fine Cheeses have earned championship recognition.”

The 2015 U.S. Cheese Championship saw 1,892 entries of cheeses and cultured dairy products from 28 states.

Fair Oaks Farms product information is available at http://www.fofarms.com/ or at http://shop.fofarms.com/ or by calling 877-536-1194.

Fair Oaks Farms, an agri-tourism destination, is located at 856 N County Rd 600 East,
Fair Oaks, Indiana, in Newton County (northwest Indiana).

Renowned Poet to Visit UIndy, Apr. 1, 2015

Alice Friman. Photo provided by UIndy and used with written permission.

By Scott Hall
University of Indianapolis

Poet, professor and former local resident Alice Friman will return April 1, 2015, for a reading and discussion at the University of Indianapolis.

Now living in Milledgeville, Ga., where she is poet-in-residence at Georgia College, Friman is professor emerita of English and creative writing at UIndy, where she taught from 1971 to 1993. The New York City native earned her master’s degree from Butler University and was among the founders of the Indiana Writers Center.

Friman will speak at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 1, in Room 210 of UIndy’s Lilly Science Hall, 1400 E. Hanna Ave. Admission is free to the event, which is the final installment of this year’s Kellogg Writers Series at UIndy.

She has published six full-length collections of poetry, most recently “The View from Saturn” (LSU Press, 2014). Her previous book, “Vinculum,” won the 2012 Georgia Author of the Year Award in Poetry.

Friman is included in Best American Poetry 2009, received a 2012 Pushcart Prize and has won fellowships from the Arts Council of Indianapolis and the Indiana Arts Commission, among many other honors.

Other books have included “The Book of the Rotten Daughter and Zoo,” which won the Sheila Margaret Motton Prize from the New England Poetry Club and the Ezra Pound Poetry Award from Truman State University.

Her poetry podcast series, Ask Alice, can be seen on YouTube, where each episode begins with this introduction: “Hi, this is Alice Friman talking poetry, my sweet hell.”

The Allen & Helen Kellogg Writers Series, coordinated by UIndy’s Department of English, brings writers of distinction to campus for free public readings and discussions.

For more information, contact series director Elizabeth Weber at 317-788-3373.

March Madness Music Festival, Apr. 3-5, 2015

March Madness Music Festival logo. Image provided by the Indiana Sports Corporation and used with written permission.

By John Dedman
Indiana Sports Corporation

NCAA and Turner Live Events, alongside official NCAA Corporate Champions AT&T, Coca-Cola and Capital One® have announced all-star musical acts for the 2015 NCAA March Madness Music Festival in conjunction with the 2015 NCAA Men’s Final Four®.

The free, three-day music festival will be held at White River State Park in Indianapolis, IN and is produced by Turner Live Events. The celebration is set to begin Friday, April 3 at the AT&T Block Party, with musical acts to be announced soon.

Multi-platinum artist Rihanna hits the Coke Zero™ Countdown Concert stage as headliner, with critically acclaimed band Bleachers also performing Saturday, April 4. A portion of Rihanna’s performance will air between that day’s semi-final games airing on TBS, TNT, TruTV, and via NCAA March Madness Live.

Her new single “American Oxygen” is currently being used for March Madness promos, serving as the tournament’s musical backdrop.

The weekend will close on Sunday, April 5 with Grammy Award-winning, multi-platinum artists Zac Brown Band and Lady Antebellum along with Grammy Award-winning country star Kacey Musgraves at the Capital One JamFest.

Part of headliner Zac Brown Band’s performance, which will include music from their forthcoming album ‘JEKYLL + HYDE’ (out 4.28.15), will also be featured during Capital One Championship Central, the National Championship pregame show airing at 8:30 p.m. on CBS.

For the first time ever, the 2015 NCAA March Madness Music Festival will also live stream this year’s concerts, offering fans around the world unprecedented access to some of today’s hottest musical acts.

The footage will be live streamed at http://www.ncaa.com/musicfest. This site will be updated leading up to the festival with the latest announcements and details. Fans can also stay updated by following @FinalFour and @MarchMadness on Twitter.

This is a non-ticketed event open to the public on a first-come basis and will feature the following events:

Friday, April 3 – AT&T Block Party

Performances from 3pm to 10pm
Performances and Highlights To Be Announced

Saturday, April 4 – Coke Zero™ Countdown Concert

Rihanna
Bleachers
Live broadcast of the first semi-final game
Performances from 12pm to 9:30pm
Additional Performances and Highlights To Be Announced

Sunday, April 5 – Capital One JamFest

Zac Brown Band
Lady Antebellum
Kacey Musgraves
Performances from 2pm to 10pm
Additional Performances and Highlights To Be Announced

Turner Sports and CBS Sports will provide live coverage of all 67 games from the 2015 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship across four networks – TBS, CBS, TNT and truTV.

For the second year in the event’s 77-year history, the 2015 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship National Semifinals will be presented live across three networks – TBS, TNT and truTV – to provide fans with a variety of viewing options for this marquee event. For the 34th consecutive year, CBS will broadcast the NCAA National Championship game in 2015.

“Capital One is once again excited to bring such great talent to this year’s Final Four,” said Roger Ferguson, Managing Vice President, Brand Advertising, Media and Sponsorships at Capital One. “Every year we look for unique opportunities to provide the ultimate experience to fans at the Final Four, whether that’s through music at our Capital One JamFest or through our presenting sponsorship of the NCAA Final Four Fan Fest. This year we’re offering exclusive benefits to our cardholders throughout Final Four weekend, including two free tickets to the NCAA Final Four Fan Fest and a separate VIP entry line for our cardholders at Capital One JamFest.”

“The Coke Zero™ Countdown Concert is a premiere experience for college basketball’s most passionate fans – where rivals come together in order to see their favorite artists and enjoy the biggest party of the NCAA Men’s Final Four,” said Ivan Pollard, SVP, Connections, Coca-Cola North America. “Coke Zero is proud to partner with the NCAA and Turner Sports to present a solid line up of musical talent that includes three acts famous for their individuality and energetic performances. With Coke Zero and these talented musicians, there’s no better way to build anticipation and work up a thirst for Saturday’s semifinal games.”

NCAA March Madness Music Festival has attracted hundreds of thousands of music fans to watch performers most recently including Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Jason Aldean, fun., Tim McGraw, The Killers and LL Cool J.

Other past performers include Sting, Dave Matthews Band, Muse, The Kings of Leon, Jimmy Buffett, KISS, The Black Keys, Kenny Chesney, Taylor Swift among many others.

The NCAA March Madness Music Festival is an activation extension of the NCAA’s Corporate Champions and Partners marketing program, which Turner Sports and CBS Sports license and collaborate on as part of a 14-year multi-media agreement with the NCAA.

“We’re excited to bring a fabulous free concert like the March Madness Music Festival to Indianapolis so all fans, including those who may not have tickets to the games, are able to enjoy the fun and exciting atmosphere surrounding NCAA Final Four weekend,” said Keith Martin, NCAA Managing Director of Marketing and Broadcast Alliances. “I want to thank AT&T, Capital One and Coke Zero for their support of Final Four weekend and the NCAA student-athletes who will compete in the semifinal games and the championship.”

Spotlight 2015 at Clowes Memorial Hall, May 11, 2015

Clowes Memorial Hall on the campus of Butler University. AroundIndy.com staff photo, (c) 2015, all rights reserved.

By Lisa Sirkin Vielee
On behalf of Spotlight 2015

Tickets are now on sale for the Deborah J. Simon and Wayne P. Zink present Spotlight 2015, returning to Clowes Memorial Hall at Butler University on Monday, May 11, 2015, at 8 pm. For the first time in the event’s history, every seat in the house is $25.

“We want to share this fabulous showcase of the arts with as many people as possible, which is why we have made the performance even more affordable,” said Betty Wilson, President & CEO of The Health Foundation of Greater Indianapolis, which operates the Indiana AIDS Fund.

“Every seat is $25, from the front row to the balconies. It is our goal to fill Clowes Memorial Hall to show our appreciation for the wonderfully talented arts organizations in our city who perform to remind us of the continued need to fight the spread of HIV in our state.”

Since the early 1990s, the Indianapolis performing arts’ community has donated its time and talent to raise money for HIV testing and treatment as prevention. The evening has grown to be the largest HIV-fundraiser of its kind in Indiana. It also is the only night to experience the wide variety of the Indianapolis performing arts scene all on one stage.

“We have assembled such a fantastic and diverse group of performers for Spotlight 2015, who once again are all donating their performances for this important event,” said David Hochoy, artistic director for Dance Kaleidoscope and the annual Spotlight event.

The performance line-up for Spotlight 2015 includes:

“Andrea Merlyn” (Taylor Martin) from Indy Magic Monthly @ Theatre on the Square (NEW!)

Ballet Theatre of Carmel at Performer’s Edge (NEW!)

Ballet Theatre of Indiana (NEW!)

Booth Tarkington Civic Theatre

Brothers United/The Ball Project (NEW!)

Dance Kaleidoscope

Indiana Ballet Conservatory (NEW!)

Indiana Repertory Theatre

Indianapolis Children’s Choir

Indianapolis Opera

Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra

Indy Pride Bag Ladies

Phoenix Theatre

Steven Stolen from The Meridian Project

(performance line-up subject to change)

In addition to the performers, all the technicians and stagehands donate their time and talent, including the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees of Local 30 and the American Federal of Musician’s – Local #3.

As a result, nearly 90 cents of every dollar raised from the event goes toward grantmaking for HIV testing and treatment as prevention.

Tickets for this spectacular night of music, dance, theater and, for the first time, magic and vogueing are now on sale. Tickets are $25 and are available at the Clowes Hall box office, at all Ticketmaster locations, www.ticketmaster.com or by calling 1-800-982-2787.

With a $125 donation, guests also can attend a pre-performance VIP Party at 6 p.m. at the Schrott Center.

All proceeds from Spotlight 2015 will benefit the Indiana AIDS Fund, a program of The Health Foundation of Greater Indianapolis. For more information about the event, visit http://www.spotlightindy.org/.

Title sponsors for Spotlight 2015 are Wayne P. Zink and Deborah J. Simon. The Health Foundation of Greater Indianapolis and Efroymson Family Fund, a CICF Fund are presenting sponsors.

“You Are There: That Ayres Look” Open at Indiana History Center

Indiana History Center. AroundIndy.com staff photo, (c) 2010, all rights reserved.

By Amy Lamb
Indiana Historical Society

The Indiana Historical Society (IHS) will debut a new concept in its storytelling with You Are There: That Ayres Look, stretching the interpretation of its popular You Are There format. The exhibit opened March 14, 2015 and will be available through Aug. 6, 2016 as part of the Indiana Experience at the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana History Center. The History Center is located at 450 W. Ohio St., along the canal in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana.

The IHS exhibitions team knew it had a winning story on its hands following the success of its book L.S. Ayres & Company: The Store at the Crossroads of America, written by Kenneth L. Turchi. The business spent more than a century catering to the needs of Hoosiers—and captured their hearts along the way.

Rather than centering on the story told through a single photograph, That Ayres Look highlights many stories from more than a century of the company’s history—and intermingles traditional techniques and emerging technology.

As with past You Are There spaces, the journey still begins with a walk through a fog screen, as guests step through an image of the iconic Ayres department store clock. On the other side is a half-scale, blank replica of the downtown landmark. By pointing a provided iPad at the clock, an augmented reality experience will begin—creating the illusion, complete with sound, of two workers cleaning the icon in the late 1930s.

The use of new technology doesn’t end with the entrance of the space. Guests will encounter virtual “dress” display mannequins on monitors, allowing them to witness ever-changing fashion, patterns, colors, hemlines and silhouettes of the decades that comprised what became known as “That Ayres Look.”

Guests can also interact with costumed actors representing historical real-life characters from 1959, such as owner Lyman Ayres II, Ayres Fashion Bureau director Elizabeth Patrick and Ayres model Bea Fatout. IHS has also created videos that celebrating different facets of the Ayres story—including the business, family, fashions and shopping experience.

As visitors continue through the gallery, they will encounter historical photographs, documents, artifacts and videos to provide a multi-faceted illustration of the company, its people and its innovations. IHS will also display original items borrowed or donated from individuals, and additional clothing items and other artifacts are on loan from the Indiana State Museum.

Guests will learn about the early growth of the company, the family behind it, the company culture that fostered a high level of customer service, innovation and respect for its employees; the dynamic environment where cutting-edge ideas were developed; the lasting memories L.S. Ayres made for people during the holidays; and the Ayr-Way off-shoot that was a forerunner of future discount retailers.

Another included Ayres tradition is one of Indianapolis’ most cherished and famous seasonal residents. The Ayres cherub, which has never been on view outside of its resting place atop the downtown clock, is on loan from Downtown Indy and will reside inside the exhibit when she’s not performing her holiday duties.

You Are There: That Ayres Look is presented by Ayres Foundation Inc. and Nancy Ayres, with support from Nicholas H. Noyes, Jr., Memorial Foundation, Inc. and Lisa Carrington Bohn; Ruth Lilly Philanthropic Foundation and Mr. and Mrs. Peter Nicholas; and Griffith Family Foundation, Inc.

You Are There: That Ayres Look is Included with Indiana Experience admission. For more information about this and other IHS programs, call (317) 232-1882 or visit www.indianahistory.org.