Things to Do in Lebanon

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.

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.

One quarter-inch of armor plating divides the six lanes at Family Indoor Shooting Range, where bullets fly down 48-inch-deep panels toward targets in a temperature-controlled range with a three-stage air-filtration system. At the 3,000-square-foot pro shop, staffers hawk new and used firearms and outfit patrons with accessories such as ammo, holsters, cleaning kits, and scopes. Along with practice time on the range and gear, instructors assist students in mastering firearm basics during 60- to 90-minute range lessons, which are available after pupils complete an online-training course.

Sharon Owens lowers the bulb of an ornament into the sharp blue flame of her workstation’s torch, heating the glass until it glows a vibrant yellow. Applying the skills she learned in her schooling at Purdue University, her three-year apprenticeship, and her studies with a host of artisan glassworkers, she presses her mouth to the piece’s hollow stem. Whatever shape it will take, only she knows.

This scene has been a regular occurrence at Inspired Fire since 2002, when Sharon founded her studio in her hometown of Lafayette. The workshop is equipped for all manners of projects, including 4 kilns, 12 torches, and, most importantly, air conditioning. The shop’s staff oversees classes for beginners and advanced glassworkers, as well as offering the space for crafters unable to find the “glass” setting on their microwaves.