Events & Festivals in Indianapolis

Fourteen days, 200+ restaurants, one set price. Downtown dives sling breaded pork tenderloins the size of hubcaps; Mass Ave kitchens ladle ramen into black stoneware bowls while chocolate-dipped desserts gleam under Edison bulbs.

Under the Indianapolis City Market dome, heaters keep the frost off your eyelashes while vendors call out grass-fed brisket, hydroponic basil, and locally-roasted coffee that steams like a locomotive. Ice crystals lace the windows. An accordion bounces off brick.

Scarlet dragons coil through the Indiana State Museum lobby, firecrackers snapping like hail on a tin roof. Jasmine incense threads the air as kids fold red paper into lanterns and line up for dumplings and moon cakes stacked on lacquered trays.

The Indiana State Fairgrounds smells like damp earth and promise. Twenty themed gardens bloom under grow-lights; water trickles over slate while visitors stroke velvety rose petals and test the bite of spiny aloe.

Green beads arc through the air as bagpipes march down Meridian Street, their drones ricocheting off glass towers. Corned beef sizzles on sidewalk grills while shamrock confetti sticks to March windshields.

Banjo rolls and mandolin tremolo fill Garfield Park's conservatory while craft-beer haze rises in afternoon sun. Barbecue smoke duels blooming tulip perfume as dancers clog on a plywood stage.

Open-wheel cars howl down the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, tires squealing through 14 turns. Burnt rubber drifts over the sausage smoke curling from concession stands.

Gasoline and grilled onions hang thick above the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as 300,000 fans ripple like a human tide. The flyover roars, the green flag drops, and 33 cars knife into 200+ mph combat.

35,000 runners hammer Indianapolis pavement while drummers pound mile-marker rhythms. Pace-car fumes mingle with cheering crowds as the course bends through the Speedway's 2.5-mile oval.

They shut six blocks of historic Talbot Street and fill them with 270 juried artists under white canvas. Pottery, glass, oil paintings, whatever your vice, while guitars strum and kettle corn sweetens the humid air.

Rainbow confetti rains onto Massachusetts Avenue as bass thumps from four stages. Food trucks sling rainbow grilled cheese while marchers chant beneath pride flags snapping in the summer sun.

Smoky ribs and sweet-potato-pie aroma drift through Military Park as R&B grooves pulse from the main stage. Red-drink vendors pour hibiscus tea while families trace their roots at heritage booths.

Drumlines hammer out cadences past corporate booths, gospel choirs lift the roof off the Indianapolis Convention Center. Jerk chicken, gumbo, peach cobbler, plates steam in the thick July air.

Caramel corn wrestles with livestock barn funk above the midway puddles reflecting Ferris wheel lights. Bluegrass fiddles duel rock cover bands while prize-winning pigs squeal across 250 acres.

Once a year the Indianapolis Museum of Art lawn turns into Indiana's biggest single-day art bazaar. Three hundred booths, live jazz drifting between the tents, food trucks slinging smoky barbecue that stains your fingers for hours.

Bagpipes roll over Military Park as dancers in Celtic knots hammer wooden platforms. Guinness and corned beef perfume the tents where wool-clad musicians tune fiddles.

Saxophone lines glide through the Indianapolis Artsgarden as couples sway beneath LED constellations. Trumpet solos cut through barbecue smoke drifting up from food trucks parked along Washington Street.

Game-meat smoke curls past Fort Harrison State Park where reenactors fire muskets in wool coats and tricorns. Cast-iron pots bubble with cornmeal mush and venison stew while a fiddle scrapes through the autumn woods.

Pumpkin smoke drifts past Victorian porches as costume parades snake through Irvington's tree-lined streets. Kettle corn crackles. Screams roll up from the Irving Theatre basement haunted house.

4,784 colored bulbs flare around Monument Circle. Carolers exhale white clouds into December air. Hot-chocolate vendors orbit the Soldiers and Sailors Monument while brass bands punch out holiday standards.

Pine garlands and cinnamon scent swirl through the Indianapolis City Market as German vendors sell carved nutcrackers and hand-blown ornaments. Mulled wine steams in ceramic mugs while brass bands hammer out carols.