Things to Do in Plainfield

Orchard in Bloom’s annual garden show and symposium in Holliday Park raises funds for The Orchard School, an independent grade school for grades pre-K through 8. Select local landscapers create macro-landscapes with in-season botany as well as specialized microgardens, designed to showcase specific plant varieties and new design ideas that homeowners can easily incorporate into their own yards. Gardeners can stock up on tools, plants, and art at the Gardener’s Market, full of national and regional artisan vendors. The children’s area entertains youngsters with age-appropriate activities, such as filling flowerpots with soil and playing patty-cake with the limbs of trees.

At Bluff Creek Golf Course, the club's eponymous creek chuckles quietly across 171 acres of relatively open emerald sweeps and 6,525 yards of fairways and greens. Though much of the course roams across flat terrain, certain holes feature sudden elevation changes, including the par 3 10th, where the green rests at the bottom of a 70-foot drop-off that visually obscures the target from golfers. Forgiving fairways, fast bent-grass greens, and thick heather grasses to ensnare poor shots create the feeling of a classic links-style course. Players must take confident swings to evade the water hazards formed by the creek and nine retention ponds, which come into play on the final eight holes and every screaming match with a catfish.

After rounds, a parade of players leads past startlingly colorful redbud trees to the hilltop clubhouse, which sits at one of the highest points in Johnson County. Frosty glasses sing together, the sound drifting off toward the distant Indianapolis skyline. Bluff Creek Golf Course also peddles a variety of clubs and apparel from other top brands in a pro shop, where guests can schedule lessons with a certified instructor to fix a recurring slice or tendency to yell their social-security number mid swing.

Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole, par 72 course

• Length of 6,525 yards from the farthest tees

• Course rating of 70.8 from the farthest tees

• Slope rating of 120 from the farthest tees

• Three tee options

Though it's an airy indoor facility, The Crag Indoor Rock Climbing gym gleans its name from the jagged outdoor cliffs that climbing enthusiasts often strive to summit. Designed by a respected indoor rock-wall builder, The Crag safely recreates the excitement of inching up a punishing rock formation. However, not every wall at the facility is so challenging. It's frequently populated by skilled youth climbers and kids as young as 8. The younger climbers at The Crag often become adept through joining the youth climbing team, or by attending the gym's skill-building summer camp, where campers learn to scale walls by practicing belaying, top roping, and stealing Batman's utility belt. The facility's designer also kept adults and seasoned practitioners in mind by creating more than 100 routes that range in difficulty from beginner to more advanced.

At any given time, the rowers making their synchronized strides across the Eagle Creek Reservoir could be adults or youths, Olympic-level competitive athletes or recreational paddlers out for exercise and sun. This variation in ages, backgrounds, and skill levels is in keeping with the Indianapolis Rowing Center's mission of popularizing the sport regardless of socioeconomic status or past experience. Upon opening the center in 1982 at Eagle Creek Park, the founders began to instill their nonprofit, Olympic-level training and competition knowhow unto rowers of all levels. Oarsmen buzz about the boathouse March–November, getting tips and taking lessons from a staff that includes a 2008 Beijing Olympian as well as collegiate-level competitors. Over time, the IRC has created a regional hub for rowing with its many programs for high-school, collegiate, and adult athletes as well as hosting collegiate rowing championships.

Old National Centre was originally built in 1909 as the Murat Shrine, which housed Indianapolis’ growing population of Freemasons. The building has seen been restored and has become an eye-catching display of diverse architectural influences. Outside of the venue, spindly towers topped with light-blue domes rise above the street, beckoning passersby to enter the theater and enjoy a show. The classic, opulent Grand Lobby opens up to a wealth of concert venues, exhibition halls, and ballrooms that astound visitors with Middle Eastern and Victorian designs.

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.