Things to Do in Franklin

High above a lush vineyard, the morning sky brims with creatures of flight: an eagle, a large bumblebee, a pigeon that forgot how to land. These were just some of the sights Airbus Balloon Rides' owner Andy Richardson imagined would greet his future down-gazing passengers. He first fell in love with the roar of a hot air balloon's flame just before entering the second grade, and that passion has driven his dreams ever since. Ten years after buying his first balloon at age 14, Andy now commands a fleet of rainbow-colored balloons that come in standard and specialty shapes. These colorful vessels set the elevated stage for individual flights and tethered rides helmed by Andy and his talented team. Flights lift off at sunrise, in the afternoon, and at sunset, when the low sun paints an orange-red glow over water, fields, and reindeer still stuck on rooftops.

Back on land, Airbus Balloon Rides also educates visitors on hot air balloon creation inside their balloon factory, which welcomes tours. At the end of each tour, the guides lead guests in a champagne or mimosa toast with accompanying hors d'oeuvres, celebrating their skyfaring adventures together.

For the late Dr. George Henry Alexander Clowes, the most important things in life were science and the arts. The good doctor wanted to share this devotion with the Indianapolis community, so he devised and funded Clowes Memorial Hall at Butler University. Completed in 1963, the hall shares Butler's gorgeous aesthetic with its arching stone façade and lush crimson interior, which has room for over 2,000 patrons. In addition to major touring productions and public speakers, Clowes Memorial Hall is also the home of the Indianapolis Opera, the Butler Ballet, and the Indy 500.

Sprawling over 500 acres, eXplore Brown County at Valley Branch Retreat entertains guests with a swath of old-fashioned adventure in the middle of Indiana. Fourteen ziplines, two sky bridges, and a rappelling tower offer a bird's-eye view of the scenic forest year-round. As zipliners soar back and forth above land and lake, guides lead tours of ATV riders on off-road explorations below. The rhythmic cough of paintball guns echo through the trees as teams compete for dominance on one of 10 scenario fields, some of which feature crashed planes. After a day of fun, visitors retire to the climate controlled cabins or open campgrounds for a night spent in the embrace of Mother Nature.

The Hunter family knows bees. At their family-owned and operated farm, they continue a more than 100-year-old tradition of producing honey and honey-related products. Managing several hundred hives across the state of Indiana, Hunter farms produce honey, beeswax, bee pollen, and propolis, which is used to make everything from beeswax soap and lip balm to honey hot-wing sauce and 32 different flavors of honey sticks.

Guided tours of the honey farm teach groups of all sizes and ages about the work of the honeybee, while forestry tours introduce tourists to the farm’s 65 acres of hardwood. The beehive tour lets guests shadow a beekeeper on the job while "Flight of the Bumblebee" plays on repeat in their heads. The Worker Special tour includes even more hands-on learning, teaching visitors how to roll their own beeswax candle and fill bear-shaped containers with honey.

The staff of this gaming manufacturer has an obsession - cornhole. From building boards and painting surfaces to renting out games, as long as its cornhole, they’re happy to do it. Their enthusiasm for creating vibrantly painted, quality boards with features like light-up entry holes and bag-zapping ray guns has impressed many a partier. Companies such as Google, ESPN, Ball State University, and the Rose Bowl have enlisted Indy Custom Cornhole to craft boards for their events. To take a break from tossing bags, the staff also offers bounce houses and ladder golf for rent.

Twenty-five-year-old Jamie Stevenson has been working her entire life toward making horses the focus of her career. When she was just knee-high to a pony’s tail, Jamie started saving her pennies inside her "horse money box." Though this fund never got big enough to help Jamie buy her own horse, she was eventually able to achieve this goal and more thanks to the engineering degree she earned at Purdue University. Jamie’s day job as an operations process engineer bankrolls her equine interests and makes it possible for her to maintain the riding facility where she first learned how to ride—and where she met the four-legged love of her life. Today, Jamie and her trusty sidekick, Dart, help riders of all ages and abilities overcome their fears, fine-tune their riding techniques, and succeed in riding competitions.