Things To Do In Beech Grove

Beech Grove Bowl keeps white-bodied pins on edge with bowling lanes and a kitchen open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Available on every lane, bumpers provide pendulum-armed patrons and their orb-shaped counterparts a surefire way to knock down pins and evade gutters as effectively as arcade frogs dodge heavy highway traffic. Alley allies can also use this game pass for Beech Grove Bowl's weekly Rock 'n' Roll Bowl event, which showcases customer-controlled music, eye-enticing special lighting, and festive balls that launch commemorative T-shirts and glitter from their holes.

When youngsters from a nearby school for disabled children visited his old Halloween store in Indianapolis, Don Surenkamp happily walked and wheeled them through the aisles and explained the holiday's traditions. After he relocated to Florida, Don remember those children and created a handicap-accessible haunted house whose proceeds support The Angelus, a group home for cerebral palsy, reports the Tampa Bay Times. What began with a dozen spooky rooms now lures intrepid guests with 25 rooms occupied by skeletons and demons. Spines continue tingling on a haunted hayride down a 1-mile haunted trail and through the outdoor pirated-themed haunt, which includes a spooky 40-foot pirate ship. Don lets the fainter hearted pass through until 8 p.m. with glow sticks in hand to keep away scary monsters, pirates, and photocopies of failed spelling quizzes.

Located in the heart of downtown Indianapolis in White River State Park, the Indiana State Museum showcases the state’s art, science and cultural history from the prehistoric era to now. The museum’s permanent collection tells Indiana’s story, from glaciers to the first settlers, with a Native American exhibit that highlights the various cultures of local and regional tribes. The first floor showcases the state’s natural history while the second floor has its cultural history, with exhibits like The Ancient Seas, Birth of the Earth, Crossroads of America and Global Indiana. Each year, several traveling exhibits pass through the museum, allowing visitors to see something new with each trip. During Christmastime every year, part of the museum’s third floor transforms into Santa’s home, and children can ride the Santa Claus Express train. The museum also contains an IMAX theater, showing documentaries and family-friendly movies.

A little girl named Judy guides a piece of string through pieces of uncooked macaroni, fashioning a necklace she's excited to show off to her friends. As she grows up, Judy funnels this creative spark into a passion for picture taking, relishing more than two decades as a children's photographer. When a slew of physical disabilities left her unable to continue her art, Judy rekindled her childhood love of hand-crafting jewelry and opened Heirloom Classics with the help of her husband Ed. Since the 2,500-square-foot shop first opened its doors in 2010, Judy Champa has fulfilled countless custom orders for one-of-a-kind trinkets, including natural-stone rosaries and a necklace designed around a customer's century-old pocket watch. Meanwhile, the store's spacious classroom hosts crafting classes for all skill levels, covering topics such as glass fusing, wire working, and preparing macaroni necklaces to a delicious al dente.

It seems fitting for the Indiana Repertory Theatre to be housed in such a dramatically beautiful 1927 multi-story concrete building. With its white terra cotta façade, emphasized by the Spanish-baroque style triangular curved arch, the building draws attention to the theatre troupe’s glowing marquee in downtown Indianapolis. Inside, the cadre of actors pull crowds in further, showcasing classic productions and newer works with seeming ease. A marble-floored grand lobby welcomes in theatergoers looking to catch one of their nine annual productions, while the sweeping staircase shows mezzanine level patrons to their plush seats. The not-for-profit Indiana Repertory Theatre, founded in 1972, is the only League of Resident Theatres entity in Indiana, sporting more than 100 seasonal and full-time staff.

From noon to 8 p.m. on Saturday, October 12, GermanFest brings the Athenaeum to life with German food and drinks, raffles, and activities for all ages. Wiener dogs race for pet-supply gift cards every hour, and men and women test their strength in a Bavarian stone-lift competition. Youngsters can hang out at Zwergen-Land, which features gnomes, a bounce house, and traditional German games and music. The majority of GermanFest proceeds supports the Athenaeum Foundation, which works to preserve the namesake German-American landmark building that's glued together with hardened mustard. Kids 12 and under are free. Those visitors who come dressed in German garb will also get a free drink ticket.