Fall in Indianapolis brings not just piles of leaves but a heap of free family fun. Twice we have run across church "fun" days, on the same street near our house alone. These offer free lunch (usually hot dogs and chips) and games for the kids, along with such accouterments as popcorn and sno-cones... keep your eye out for these and I'll post any that I see.
It's also ethnic and fall festival time. The second Chinese Festival was a couple weeks ago. It's a one-afternoon event that's free in Military Park. There's Chinese dancing, a variety of Asian food (Indian even!) and free bouncies for the kids. Oh, and don't forget the Pacers' spin the wheel for the prizes.
Last weekend was the Irish Fest. Most of the weekend it is far from free but if you go during the hour it first opens, it is free. In addition, if you sign up as a designated driver (just meaning you're not drinking) you get two free soft drinks or water. The kids' play area is $5 a kid, but in our case that paid off.
It's getting to pumpkin patch time too - our favorite is Waterman's - you get a lot of bang for your buck there and the pumpkins are cheap too.
So get outside, and rake in the free fun this fall in Indianapolis!
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Miracle Mile Parade
The free Miracle Mile parade takes place this weekend, on September 5, practically right outside my home just south of downtown Indianapolis. I don't know a lot about it except that it was started to gather families to the south side of Indianapolis. I plan to walk the boys all up for the Taste of the Miracle Mile and Hall of Fame Exhibit at 11 am and watch the start of the parade at 1 before nap time. For those who don't need to nap, there is the Cruisers Car Show at Southern Plaza at 3 pm.
More info here: http://www.miraclemileparade.com/index.html
More info here: http://www.miraclemileparade.com/index.html
Friday, July 3, 2009
Indy Parks free lunch program
A couple days ago, in attempting to discover some new parks, we encountered the Indianapolis Parks free lunch program in practice. After drizzle sent us from the empty Riverside Park, we decided to stop at the Fall Creek Park where a bunch of kids were playing. I noticed a woman sitting at a table with coolers, boxes of toys and other activities and thought maybe she was having a picnic.
A couple of the older girls playing tried to engage my boys in playing but they were too shy initially. Then a truck showed up from Indy Parks delivering 20 free lunches. The lady called all the kids over to eat and then a few minutes later came over to invite the boys to have a lunch too. They were quite excited about their sandwich, applesauce, juice and chocolate milk. I had heard that they did this at a park by my friend's house but didn't know it was citywide. And as I talked later to the lady, found out she also watches these kids (usually 20 or so but on this cool rainy day just less than 10) there all day and organizes the activities. I was truly impressed by this program.
After lunch, the kids did exercises and games and I encouraged the boys to participate. They were pretty reticent and clinging to me at first but by the time they had moved on to Duck Duck Goose, they were fully participating while I just watched. Isaac especially was good at running around the park avoiding being tagged while Ethan seemed to make up his own rules by running to the playground and staying there...
We had a great time and I will probably take them back there since they know some of the kids now and we will also check out what they do at Garfield Park near us.
A couple of the older girls playing tried to engage my boys in playing but they were too shy initially. Then a truck showed up from Indy Parks delivering 20 free lunches. The lady called all the kids over to eat and then a few minutes later came over to invite the boys to have a lunch too. They were quite excited about their sandwich, applesauce, juice and chocolate milk. I had heard that they did this at a park by my friend's house but didn't know it was citywide. And as I talked later to the lady, found out she also watches these kids (usually 20 or so but on this cool rainy day just less than 10) there all day and organizes the activities. I was truly impressed by this program.
After lunch, the kids did exercises and games and I encouraged the boys to participate. They were pretty reticent and clinging to me at first but by the time they had moved on to Duck Duck Goose, they were fully participating while I just watched. Isaac especially was good at running around the park avoiding being tagged while Ethan seemed to make up his own rules by running to the playground and staying there...
We had a great time and I will probably take them back there since they know some of the kids now and we will also check out what they do at Garfield Park near us.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Let's Meet PBS Kids in the Park
The annual Indianapolis Let's Meet PBS Kids in the Park is coming up this Saturday, June 27. The is a great free Indianapolis event for kids. It's been two years since we've been, but the boys had fun even at age 2. They had bouncy slides and tunnels and lots of stalls with give-aways, buses for climbing and so on.
The only thing we didn't do last time that we'll see if the boys want to try this year is meeting the show characters. They were already quite fond of Curious George last time but the lines were really long for him, and it was drizzly that day. Now they know Arthur and Sid and the gang so they may want to wait in line... we'll let you know.
I highly recommend anyone with kids of any age that watch PBS to check it out.
http://www.wfyi.org/LM/
The only thing we didn't do last time that we'll see if the boys want to try this year is meeting the show characters. They were already quite fond of Curious George last time but the lines were really long for him, and it was drizzly that day. Now they know Arthur and Sid and the gang so they may want to wait in line... we'll let you know.
I highly recommend anyone with kids of any age that watch PBS to check it out.
http://www.wfyi.org/LM/
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Indy Wine & Food Festival
We went to the Indianapolis Wine & Food Festival last weekend as my brother was running a stall selling his wine-based pasta sauces and marinades (www.miloswholeworld.com) and Jack was helping him. Entrance is not free, $25 if you are wine tasting and $10 if you are not (with which you get free soft drinks). Kids are free, however, under 5, which is better than some festivals. They finagled us a ticket but there was little to hold the kids' attention as it was almost all wine-tasting booths. Plus they were running out of the drinks by later in the afternoon when we got there.
There was a Kids Zone, but I was pretty disappointed with that. Don't want to knock it too much since it might have been more exciting earlier in the day but the folks there were pretty much zoned out and there was very little to do. They did have karaoke going for the six-year-old girl crowd (think lots of Miley Cyrus). There was a mom playing a game of bean bag toss with her son and after watching a while we butt in so the boys could play. The woman's son was great playing with them, picking up their bags and giving them back and they had fun doing that for a while.
My brother also had trouble with the health department not letting him serve bread for dipping or use electricity to warm his sauces, despite his having made his request clear on his application. Still, it was the right crowd (especially after people had already been doing a bit of wine tasting!) and he did well.
Since we saved $ on admission, we tried an alligator hot dog, but ended up having to get a turkey one for the boys and they loved the slushy type ice treat I got them. They had fun just running around on the grass. So all in all an iffy recommendation for kids in Indianapolis. Explaining the tipsy people and broken bottles to the kids is a challenge, but if you want to go anyway for yourself it's worth checking out next time it's in town.
http://www.vintageindiana.com/
There was a Kids Zone, but I was pretty disappointed with that. Don't want to knock it too much since it might have been more exciting earlier in the day but the folks there were pretty much zoned out and there was very little to do. They did have karaoke going for the six-year-old girl crowd (think lots of Miley Cyrus). There was a mom playing a game of bean bag toss with her son and after watching a while we butt in so the boys could play. The woman's son was great playing with them, picking up their bags and giving them back and they had fun doing that for a while.
My brother also had trouble with the health department not letting him serve bread for dipping or use electricity to warm his sauces, despite his having made his request clear on his application. Still, it was the right crowd (especially after people had already been doing a bit of wine tasting!) and he did well.
Since we saved $ on admission, we tried an alligator hot dog, but ended up having to get a turkey one for the boys and they loved the slushy type ice treat I got them. They had fun just running around on the grass. So all in all an iffy recommendation for kids in Indianapolis. Explaining the tipsy people and broken bottles to the kids is a challenge, but if you want to go anyway for yourself it's worth checking out next time it's in town.
http://www.vintageindiana.com/
Indianapolis Talbot Street Art Fair
Since we were at church already about a block away, we visited the Talbot Street Art Fair today in north downtown Indianapolis. Free, but not really a kids event. It is apparently a premiere art festival in the US and there was some pretty cool glass and clothing and of course paintings. The boys were actually more interested than I would have expected. We spent several minutes inside a handblown glass stall where Isaac said, "Cool. Who made that?" and the man said "I did" and explained things for a while, while letting the boys feel it with one finger.
They, and Jack too, also really like these coffee tables and light fixtures where you looked in the glass and basically saw rows of seemingly endless small lights. They didn't care for Ethan putting his hand on the table at that one though and were busy wiping when we left.
It's worth checking out next time it comes to town and while not for kids is still kid friendly. There was supposedly face painting and maybe other activities but we didn't make it all the way down the 4 blocks to see.
http://www.talbotstreet.org/
They, and Jack too, also really like these coffee tables and light fixtures where you looked in the glass and basically saw rows of seemingly endless small lights. They didn't care for Ethan putting his hand on the table at that one though and were busy wiping when we left.
It's worth checking out next time it comes to town and while not for kids is still kid friendly. There was supposedly face painting and maybe other activities but we didn't make it all the way down the 4 blocks to see.
http://www.talbotstreet.org/
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
The Old is New
Right next to the Indianapolis Museum of Art is Crown Hill Cemetery, another Indianapolis landmark I knew little about until our neighbors told us they were going to picnic on the summit there. I wasn't sure how good for kids this would be and it probably won't be a regular event for us but it's free and we enjoyed walking around and looking at the unique graves.
We started with the James Whitcomb Riley tomb, on what our neighbor made us think was a really high hill. Ah, Hoosiers. A couple steep turns and we were there. The view of the city was indeed impressive and we learned something about Riley, who I didn't even realize was who the Riley Children's Hospital was named after.
We also checked out where President Harrison is buried with his wife and presumably a couple of his kids. There's an interesting Irsay tomb with a big Colts logo on the tombstone. There are many mini-mausoleums and some larger ones and what looked like a museum that was closed. Jack was particularly intrigued by a tombstone for a couple who is still very much alive.
The boys enjoyed running around, though we had to keep them from turning the tombstones into toys. We did our best to explain the need for respect and it certainly brought some "why?" questions I didn't quite know how to answer. We opted not to have our snacks there but went to "explore" at the IMA instead.
While it won't be something we do every week or month, it is apparently the 5th largest cemetery in the country and it's certainly worth a visit.
http://www.crownhillhf.org/
We started with the James Whitcomb Riley tomb, on what our neighbor made us think was a really high hill. Ah, Hoosiers. A couple steep turns and we were there. The view of the city was indeed impressive and we learned something about Riley, who I didn't even realize was who the Riley Children's Hospital was named after.
We also checked out where President Harrison is buried with his wife and presumably a couple of his kids. There's an interesting Irsay tomb with a big Colts logo on the tombstone. There are many mini-mausoleums and some larger ones and what looked like a museum that was closed. Jack was particularly intrigued by a tombstone for a couple who is still very much alive.
The boys enjoyed running around, though we had to keep them from turning the tombstones into toys. We did our best to explain the need for respect and it certainly brought some "why?" questions I didn't quite know how to answer. We opted not to have our snacks there but went to "explore" at the IMA instead.
While it won't be something we do every week or month, it is apparently the 5th largest cemetery in the country and it's certainly worth a visit.
http://www.crownhillhf.org/
Friday, June 5, 2009
Garfield Park - the Children's Garden
Garfield park is close to our home and an excellent source of free and cheap entertainment for kids in Indianapolis. Last weekend a friend suggested we check out the plant sale there. I had seen the promos but didn't think the kids would be that into it. But my husband is into gardening now and I figured might get some useful advice from the "master gardeners".
Turned out they were also having kids do planting. My boys thoroughly enjoyed digging holes, sticking some flowers in them and watering. We went to check on them yesterday and, good and bad, a few have survived. They also love eating the strawberries growing in the back of the garden, though I think the picking is more fun. Jack bought a bunch of plastic pots for $2 and they told him he could dig up some strawberry plants growing on the outside. I'm not sure if they are going to make it and keep fruiting but they are planted outside now.
Garfield Park, while it has suffered a decline over recent years, is still a virtual gold mine for kids' activities, especially in the summer.
Every Thursday in the summer there is a story time at 3pm in the Conservatory. They also do activities for young kids like Jungle Tales, which costs $2 per kid and some for older kids. The gardens are free and good for running around in.
The Arts Center is also now doing walk-in art activities during summer open hours (most afternoons). There will also be the big pirate sand building going on starting mid-July. It costs a little to participate in the sculpting but I imagine nothing to watch it go up!
Shelby Library, right next to the conservatory, is having a Summer Reading Kickoff this Saturday, June 6, from 11-3 I think.
There are also free movies at libraries and parks like Garfield too all summer.
Find more and about other parks at
www.indyparks.org
Turned out they were also having kids do planting. My boys thoroughly enjoyed digging holes, sticking some flowers in them and watering. We went to check on them yesterday and, good and bad, a few have survived. They also love eating the strawberries growing in the back of the garden, though I think the picking is more fun. Jack bought a bunch of plastic pots for $2 and they told him he could dig up some strawberry plants growing on the outside. I'm not sure if they are going to make it and keep fruiting but they are planted outside now.
Garfield Park, while it has suffered a decline over recent years, is still a virtual gold mine for kids' activities, especially in the summer.
Every Thursday in the summer there is a story time at 3pm in the Conservatory. They also do activities for young kids like Jungle Tales, which costs $2 per kid and some for older kids. The gardens are free and good for running around in.
The Arts Center is also now doing walk-in art activities during summer open hours (most afternoons). There will also be the big pirate sand building going on starting mid-July. It costs a little to participate in the sculpting but I imagine nothing to watch it go up!
Shelby Library, right next to the conservatory, is having a Summer Reading Kickoff this Saturday, June 6, from 11-3 I think.
There are also free movies at libraries and parks like Garfield too all summer.
Find more and about other parks at
www.indyparks.org
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Central to Us - the Indianapolis Public Library
Possibly my favorite all-weather place to take the kids is the central Indianapolis Public Library. I have been meeting a friend there weekly for months to let the kids run free and it is like a wonderland for kids with a variety of activities for them.
First stop is usually the theater - a green screen where they dance or play on the stage while seeing themselves take part in the video on the screen. They can be skateboarding or raking or escaping crocodiles in the jungle. Then there are the half dozen computers where they can play all kinds of interactive games. There is a magnet wall with a TV showing something educational if you choose and egg chairs that usually get rolled around.
Of course, unbelievably, there are books too. And one of our favorite things - story time. The only thing to watch for is large school groups on some days who push us out of some areas or our story time. But it's also great the schools are taking advantage and introducing kids to the wonders of the library.
Definitely put this on your to do list if you haven't. Parking is either metered on the street (25c for 20 minutes) or in the garage (only $2 for up to 3 hours). More details here:
First stop is usually the theater - a green screen where they dance or play on the stage while seeing themselves take part in the video on the screen. They can be skateboarding or raking or escaping crocodiles in the jungle. Then there are the half dozen computers where they can play all kinds of interactive games. There is a magnet wall with a TV showing something educational if you choose and egg chairs that usually get rolled around.
Of course, unbelievably, there are books too. And one of our favorite things - story time. The only thing to watch for is large school groups on some days who push us out of some areas or our story time. But it's also great the schools are taking advantage and introducing kids to the wonders of the library.
Definitely put this on your to do list if you haven't. Parking is either metered on the street (25c for 20 minutes) or in the garage (only $2 for up to 3 hours). More details here:
| Central Library | |
One Library Square www.imcpl.org | Hours Monday - Thursday: 9am - 9pm Friday: 9am - 6pm Saturday: 9am - 5pm Sunday: 1pm - 5pm |
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Butterflies at the Zoo
How frugal the Indianapolis Zoo is, is probably a matter of discussion. Compared to other zoos, it's parking and entrance fees seem a bit much, for no guarantee of which animals you may be able to see and for way overpriced food, drink and rides. Still, for locals with kids, a zoo family membership pays off, despite heat and cold limiting visits.
One thing that makes a zoo membership worthwhile is the Hilbert Conservatory, which is open most of the year. Today we skipped over the masses crowding to see the newly-opened komodo dragons exhibit and paid a visit to the butterflies. The boys were briefly enticed by the dragon pictures, but were absolutely enthralled with the butterflies. They ran around amazed. When Ethan saw one just sitting flapping its wings, he declared, "Look, he's clapping. So happy. Says so many people come to see me."
After spotting a sickly one, my husband didn't really set the best example of following the "no touch" rule. Isaac amazed me with how gently he would coax them on his fingers. I did have to keep Ethan away a bit more though. Sadly, we didn't have the camera yet again.
The Conservatory grounds are also beautiful and we spent some time out there, walking through the "maze" and crossing bridges. Not as much exploring to do as the Indianapolis Museum of Art but worth a visit every now and then, especially for special exhibits. The trains at Christmas are a whole other story...!
More info on admission and how to get there at www.indianapoliszoo.com
One thing that makes a zoo membership worthwhile is the Hilbert Conservatory, which is open most of the year. Today we skipped over the masses crowding to see the newly-opened komodo dragons exhibit and paid a visit to the butterflies. The boys were briefly enticed by the dragon pictures, but were absolutely enthralled with the butterflies. They ran around amazed. When Ethan saw one just sitting flapping its wings, he declared, "Look, he's clapping. So happy. Says so many people come to see me."
After spotting a sickly one, my husband didn't really set the best example of following the "no touch" rule. Isaac amazed me with how gently he would coax them on his fingers. I did have to keep Ethan away a bit more though. Sadly, we didn't have the camera yet again.
The Conservatory grounds are also beautiful and we spent some time out there, walking through the "maze" and crossing bridges. Not as much exploring to do as the Indianapolis Museum of Art but worth a visit every now and then, especially for special exhibits. The trains at Christmas are a whole other story...!
More info on admission and how to get there at www.indianapoliszoo.com
Friday, May 22, 2009
IMA – not just for adults
Like many parents, when school’s out, our search is on for ways to tire out – I mean, keep active – the kids. And like many parents, job cutbacks force us to be more creative in that search for free or nearly free family fun.
Moving here with twin infant boys, I thought I knew everything for kids in
My practically 4-year-olds were not so impressed at first. “Where’s the park?” they wanted to know. But that didn’t stop them from running around the massive numbers and “love” sculpture (no, of course they didn’t climb up…). I, meanwhile, was impressed by the size of the grounds but still wondered what else there was to see until my friend told us to meet them down by the ravine.
The boys saw the trails and they were off, explorers a la Little Einsteins. We wound around on cobbled stone (surviving a little trip down some steps), fighting our way through the jungle and creeping past bears until we came upon the garden grounds of the Lilly House. This led us down to the canal and fish pond that looked enticingly cool on a hot day. The boys continued their exploring, and after a picnic lunch next to the house were disappointed we couldn’t stay to explore all the paths. We certainly will go back again 9and hopefully add pics) and next time we may even check out the museum – it’s also free after all.
The run-down (and no, they are not paying me!):
http://www.imamuseum.org/
Free general admission to the museum and Lilly House
Free parking and grounds open to the public
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