2023 Summer Nights Film Series @NewfieldsToday

Summer Nights Film Series. Photo courtesy Newfields.

Press Release
Newfields

INDIANAPOLIS, April 18, 2023— The National Bank of Indianapolis Summer Nights Film Series returns to The Amphitheater at Newfields on weekends from June through August 2023.

This year there are a few new plot twists to the beloved summer tradition. Along with family favorite picks, scary thrillers and decades-old classics, Newfields will host an Audience Vote film in partnership with Indiana Black Expo, Inc.’s Film Festival, as well as a super-secret film for the adventurous movie goer on the final date of the series.

Tickets will go on sale for members Thursday, April 20 at 11 a.m. and Tuesday, April 25 at 11 a.m. for the general public. Individual tickets are $9 for members and $12 for the general public, all children 5 and under get in free but a ticket must be reserved. All tickets can be purchased at discovernewfields.org.

“Supporting the Summer Nights Film Series is a way for us to give back to our city, and to support our community in an engaging and meaningful way,” said Ann Merkel, Senior Vice President and Chief Market Development Officer at The National Bank of Indianapolis. “We dedicate our resources to activities that create a stronger community and enhance the quality of life for all who live here.”  

Guest curator and film scholar, Coye Lloyd returned this year to help select the 2023 Summer Nights lineup and introduce the films. To learn more about Lloyd and her work, please visit coyelloyd.com. 

The 2023 lineup includes: 

• Friday, June 2: The Big Sleep (1946, dir. Howard Hawks, 114 mins., NR) 
• Friday, June 9: But I’m a Cheerleader (1999, dir. Jamie Babbit, 85 mins., R) 
• Friday, June 16: Predator (1987, dir. John McTiernan, 107 mins., R) 
• Friday, June 23: Finding Nemo (2003, dir. Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich, 100 mins., G)
• Friday, June 30: Crazy Rich Asians (2018, dir. Jon M. Chu, 120 mins., PG-13) 
• Friday, July 7: Audience Vote presented with Indiana Black Expo, Inc. 
• Friday, July 14: Rear Window (1954, dir. Alfred Hitchcock, 112 mins., PG)
• Saturday, July 15: Desperado (1995, dir. Robert Rodriguez, 104 mins., R) 
• Friday, July 21: Indy Shorts International Film Festival (Oscar® Shorts)
• Saturday, July 22: Indy Shorts International Film Festival (Award Winners) 
• Friday, July 28: Fist of Fury (1972, dir. Wei Lo, 107 mins., R)* 
• Friday, August 4: The Mummy (1999, dir. Stephen Sommers, 124 mins., PG-13) 
• Saturday, August 5: Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995, dir. Aditya Chopra, 181 mins., NR)* 
• Friday, August 11: To Kill a Mockingbird (1962, dir. Robert Mulligan, 129 mins., NR) 
• Friday, August 18: Evil Dead II (1987, dir. Sam Raimi, 84 mins., R) presented with Indy Film Fest in The Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park 
• Saturday, August 19: Set It Off (1996, dir. F. Gary Gray, 123 mins., R) in The Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park
• Friday, August 25: Super-Secret Film (120 min, PG)

*Film is presented in another language with English subtitles.

Dates and films are subject to change. DiscoverNewfields.org will always have the most up to date information.  

Tickets:
Single Film Tickets $9 members / $12 public / free for ages 5 & under (ticket required)

What to Bring:  
Bring your chairs, blankets, pillows, umbrellas, food, and non-alcoholic beverages. You can purchase beer, wine, and snacks from our Culinary Arts team. Also, be sure to bring some sunscreen and bug spray. Newfields is currently a cashless campus; credit or debit cards are the only form of payment accepted at this time. Plan to come early to snag the perfect spot! 

What Not to Bring:  
Alcoholic beverages, grills, pets, knives, guns and candles taller than  twelve (12)  inches are not permitted. 

Inclement Weather: 
The National Bank of Indianapolis Summer Nights Film Series is a rain or shine event.  In the event of inclement weather, films will be shown in The Toby at 9 p.m. Check Newfields’ website and social media for updates on the weather before you head out to the movie. Ticket holders will receive an email about any changes to the scheduled film screening. If the screening is halted due to inclement weather less than 45 minutes into the screening, guests will receive a full refund. 

Accessibility:
Seating for attendees with limited mobility is available upon request. Assistive Listening Devices are available upon request and each film will be presented with closed captioning (when available). Call 317-923-1331 for additional information.

Content Warning: 
Because this film series spans a variety of genres and decades, these movies may contain depictions and/or treatment of people or cultures that can be interpreted from a variety of lenses. It is important to understand the content and language used in the context of the films. You can find tags for potentially triggering content for each film on our website at DiscoverNewfields.org. If you have any questions or would like to know more about a specific film, please contact us at info@discovernewfields.org. 

Thursday Night Film Series @indianamuseum

By Marc Allan
Indiana State Museum

INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana State Museum will introduce a new Thursday night film series later this month that combines exhibitions, documentaries and conversations with filmmakers, historians, community members and experts in the field.

The films are “Shifting Sands: On the Path to Sustainability” (April 27, 2023), “For Gold and Glory” (May 18, 2023) and “Making Black America: Through the Grapevine – Episode 1” (June 22, 2023). The screenings, which are free, take place from 6:30-8:30 p.m. in the museum’s auditorium. 

Pre-registration is encouraged. For more information, visit https://indianamuseum.org.

The films in the series are related to ongoing exhibitions in the museum, and visitors are encouraged to see the exhibits prior to the screenings. “Shifting Sands: On the Path to Sustainability” is connected to “Inspired by the Dunes: Paintings by Frank V. Dudley,” “For Gold and Glory” to “Vintage Vision: Cars of the 1920s” and “Making Black America: Through the Grapevine” to “Influencing Lincoln, the Pursuit of Black Freedom.” 

Admission to the museum to see the exhibits is $15 adults, $14 seniors, $10 youth, $5 Indiana college students, $2 Access Pass members, free for educators with school ID. The film series is recommended for ages 12+. 

“Shifting Sands: On the Path to Sustainability” tells the story of how the stunning natural beauty of the south shore of Lake Michigan and the Indiana Dunes collides with heavy industry like nowhere else in the country. Following the film, Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites Curator of Science, Technology and Biology Damon Lowe will chat with filmmakers Pat Wisniewski, Tom Desch and Rana Segal. 

“For Gold and Glory” is the story of 1920s Indianapolis racecar owner and mechanic Charlie Wiggins, who created a national racing league for African Americans. The post-film discussion will feature Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites Curator of Social History Kisha Tandy and filmmaker Todd Gould. Angie Rogers, the great niece of Charlie Wiggins, and her mom, Rochelle Wiggins-Morton, are scheduled to attend.  

“Making Black America: Through the Grapevine – Episode 1” is part of a series about how Black people fought for full citizenship and exercised their self-determination by building communities, establishing schools and creating associations that would become the foundational pillars of Black America. After the film, Tandy will speak with Lourenzo Gilpe, deputy director of planning, preservation and urban design for the city of Indianapolis, and Eunice Trotter, director of the Black Heritage Preservation Program for Indiana Landmarks.

“Inspired by the Dunes: Paintings by Frank V. Dudley” is open through June 25. Dudley’s artwork helped to preserve the rare ecosystem where people come to explore, study, enjoy and create. Visitors see 28 Dudley paintings from throughout his career. They step into one of his beach scenes, learn about his life and see how his work influenced authors, photographers, poets and artists – like Jason Wesaw – who continue to find inspiration in the Dunes landscape.

“Vintage Vision: Cars of the 1920s” is open through Oct. 15. Visitors can check out 10 of the hottest rides of the 1920s – including a Duesenberg Model A Roadster – all on loan from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum collection. They learn about the cars and the manufacturers and see clothing from the era. They’re also able to build their own miniature car and test it on a track and turn themselves into a hood ornament for a photo op.

“Influencing Lincoln, the Pursuit of Black Freedom” is open through Oct. 29. Visitors discover how the 19th-century Black community — connected through church, business, family, military, education and politics — fought for full citizenship and helped shift President Lincoln’s attitudes (and actions) regarding their freedom.

“Influencing Lincoln” Opens March 18 @IndianaMuseum

By Marc Allan
Indiana State Museum

“Influencing Lincoln: The Pursuit of Black Freedom,” an exhibition that explores the Black community’s fight for freedom and equal rights during and after the Civil War at the national level and in Indiana, opens March 18-Oct. 29, 2023 at the Indiana State Museum in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Visitors will learn how members of the Black community – national figures like Frederick Douglass or people in Abraham Lincoln’s immediate circle – influenced the President as he moved toward ending slavery and advocating for greater rights. And they’ll see rare historic documents that resulted from this movement: the Emancipation Proclamation and the 13th Amendment.

“Influencing Lincoln” covers the years 1861-1875, from the beginning of Lincoln’s presidency to the extension of voting rights under the 15th Amendment and the election of the first Black members of Congress. 

The exhibition is free with museum admission, which is $17 for adults, $16 for seniors, $12 for children and $5 for current college students with an Indiana school ID. For more information, visit https://www.indianamuseum.org/experiences/influencing-lincoln/ or call 317-232-1637.

“Black people were active in this freedom struggle,” said Kisha Tandy, curator of social history and co-curator of the exhibition. “They weren’t sitting around waiting for someone to give them freedom. They were organized, effective and deliberate. Deliberate in their actions to obtain freedom, organized in the way they went about it, and effective because they made change.”

“Emancipation was a process rather than an event,” added Susannah Koerber, chief curator and research officer and co-curator of the exhibition. “And it was pushed forward by people in the Black community.”

This was not just a national story, but an Indiana story as well.

“The same institution-building and use of social networks to effect change and equal rights were also happening in communities around the country, including Indianapolis,” Koerber said. “In the exhibition, we have the national story that happens with Lincoln and the parallel story that happens here with places like Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church and the organization of the 28th Indiana United States Colored Regiment.” 

“The institutional foundations that were laid during this time period continue to support the community today,” Tandy added.

Visitors will:

-See how the Black community fought for freedom and equal rights in many ways, using their resources, connections (including Lincoln) and the institutions they built, especially the Black church, as well as military service.

-Appreciate the valor of the United States Colored Troops, including the 28^th Indiana, and explore why the Black community fought so hard for the right to fight with the Union troops and how their service helped advance the cause of equal rights and citizenship.

-Understand why fighting for freedom alone was not enough but had to be joined with the rights of full citizenship, including voting rights and political representation. 

Artifacts that will be on display include:

-The inkwell used by Lincoln to sign the Emancipation Proclamation.

-Copies of the Emancipation Proclamation and 13th Amendment signed by President Lincoln. (Because these documents are light-sensitive, they will only be displayed March 18-April 16, June 14-July 2 and Sept. 20-Oct. 29.

-The battle flag of the 28^th Indiana United States Colored Infantry, on loan from the Indiana War Memorial Museum.

-A pew and pulpit from the historic Bethel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church in Indianapolis.

“Influencing Lincoln” is supported by Ball Brothers Foundation and Barnes & Thornburg LLP.

Spring Blooms Exhibit at Newfields (@NewfieldsToday)

By Mattie Wethington
Newfields

INDIANAPOLIS, March 28, 2022—Open now through May 8 enjoy blooming bulbs and blossoms as they fill The Garden at Newfields during Spring Blooms presented by Wild Birds Unlimited. Rain or shine guests can expect to see an abundance of flowering blooms, dramatic foliage and spectacular floral displays around every turn indoors and out.

Signs of spring will emerge when 80,000 new bulbs and over 20,000 annuals blossom in The Garden. As the weather warms, hundreds of thousands of colorful blooms will come to life, culminating with a magnificent crescendo in mid-April. Alongside favorites like the River of Bulbs on the Lilly Allée, the newly completed Katharine B. Sutphin Border Garden invites all to explore new paths and meander amongst enhanced plantings. The Orchard Folly, a sheltered seating area created by Indianapolis based artist Cory Robinson debuts this season in the Tanner Orchard. 

“Newfields’ Spring Blooms celebration provides an incredible atmosphere and venue for families and friends to explore the spring season—and enjoy the birds!” said Jim Carpenter, CEO of Wild Birds Unlimited. “Wild Birds Unlimited is very proud to help present this wonderful outdoor experience to all who visit Newfields this spring.”

Spring is not complete without refreshments along the way. As you explore The Garden, don’t forget to stop by the Madeline F. Elder Greenhouse for a peek at some of the living jewels of the collection and pick up a beverage for your stroll. Construction for a new Beer Garden is well underway and will debut at its new permanent home near the Playhouse later in April. Our exclusive Sun King brew Among the Leaves is back for guests to enjoy, along with giant pretzels from Liter House. Non-alcoholic options will be available as well as several other beer, cider and wine offerings. After the grand reopening of the Beer Garden’s move to the Playhouse, the Greenhouse location will continue offering beverage options for guests, while the extended food and beverage offerings will move to the new pavilion. 

Continuing the joy of spring indoors, don’t miss the second annual Art in Bloom presented by Fifth Third Private Bank March 31 to April 3. During the vibrant spring event guests can explore breathtaking floral displays created by local and regional florists throughout the IMA Galleries. Also opening on March 26, guests can explore the newly reimagined Lower Level of the Lilly House, which now includes new interpretive elements and hands-on interactives that invite guests to explore the stories that make the Oldfields Estate the historic heart of Newfields. Throughout the season, stunning orchid displays from Newfields’ award-winning living collection will decorate the IMA Galleries, the Madeline F. Elder Greenhouse and the Lilly House. 

“We’re thrilled to be able to bring more blooms to campus every year in bright colors, interesting textures, and designs that use unique, inspired plant combinations,” said Jaime Frye, Assistant Curator of Living Collections.

Guests who are interested in learning about old favorites and new additions to Spring Blooms can access self-guided tours onsite by scanning a QR code. For a more person tour, join Chad Franer, The Tom and Nora Hiatt Director of Horticulture on a guided Director’s Tour at 6 p.m. on the last Thursday of the month from April through October, the schedule of tours can be found at discovernewfields.org/calendar/directors-tour.

Spring Blooms is included in general admission and advance tickets are required for all guests. Masks are optional for all guests indoors and outdoors attending the Newfields campus. We strongly encourage guests to wear masks indoors when social distancing is not possible. View FAQs at discovernewfields.org/visit. 

Spring Blooms is presented by Wild Birds Unlimited. Lead support for the River of Bulbs is provided by Catherine M. Turner.

“How People Make Things” Opens Jan. 22 @indianamuseum

By Marc Allan
Indiana State Museum

INDIANAPOLIS – Every object in our world has a story of how it is made. How People Make Things, a new exhibit opening at the Indiana State Museum on Jan. 22, 2022, tells that story by linking familiar childhood objects to a process of manufacturing that combines people, ideas and technology.

The traveling exhibit from Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh is included with museum admission – $17 for adults, $16 for seniors 60 and older, $15 for college students and $12 for youth ages 3-17. For more information, visit indianamuseum.org or call (317) 232-1637. The exhibit closes on May 15, 2022.

How People Make Things, inspired by the factory tour segments from the Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood television series, offers hands-on activities using real factory tools and machines to create objects with four manufacturing processes – molding, cutting, deforming and assembly. Many common manufactured products help tell the story of how people, ideas and technology transform raw materials into finished products.  

How People Make Things offers hands-on activities using real factory tools and machines to create objects using four manufacturing processes – molding, cutting, deforming, and assembly. Visitors can use a die cutter to make a box and a horse, cut wax using different sculpting tools, deform a wire by taking a straight wire into a spring shape by winding it around the metal shaft, mold spoons using real melted wax, assemble a trolley and test your skills on the testing track.

“This exhibit brings children close to the real stuff, the nuts and bolts of how products are manufactured, which is very easy to feel removed from these days,” says Jane Werner, executive director of the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh. “Through his factory tours, Fred Rogers took complex issues and made them simple and direct so children could understand them and relate them to their own lives.  He made manufacturing fascinating and inspirational, and we continue that tradition with How People Make Things.”

The factory tour videos from the Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood television series featured in the exhibit depict the making of crayons, carousel horses, balls, stop lights, quarters, shoes, toy cars and toy wagons. 

“We’re excited to bring ‘How People Make Things’ to the Indiana State Museum,” said Bethany Thomas, vice president of programs and education engagement. “This exhibit celebrates the people, the manufacturing processes and the technology used to make objects we use every day.”

How People Make Things was created by Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh in collaboration with Family Communications, Inc. (FCI), the producer of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, and the University of Pittsburgh Center for Learning in Out-of-School Environments (UPCLOSE).  The exhibit was made possible with support from the National Science Foundation and The Grable Foundation.