Visitors to Monument Circle have responded with enthusiasm to the additional seating, wider curbs and daily free pop-up programming at Spark Monument Circle, a temporary placemaking experiment led by Big Car Collaborative in partnership with The City of Indianapolis and Downtown Indy. New special events–all free–have been added to the Spark Monument Circle calendar, from fencing lessons and collage parties to moon viewings and films shown on the Monument steps (image above from 1907 film by Georges Méliès, to be shown October 8).

Dipstick

Tuesday, September 15 @ 3:00 pm – 7:00 pm

Express your enthusiasm or dismay in a visual way with an interactive art piece by Big Car staff artist Brent Lehker.

ALL-IN Block Party

Friday, September 18 @ 5:00 pm – 8:00 pm

Celebrate Indianapolis as a welcoming and diverse city with music, food, prizes and more! Sponsored by Indiana Humanities, the ALL-IN Block Party is presented by the Immigrant Welcome Center and many community partners, including: Big Car, Center for Interfaith Cooperation, Eli Lilly Company, IUPUI, Indianapolis Public Library, IRSC and NAMI Indiana.

INDIEana Handicraft Exchange

Saturday, September 19 @ 11:00 pm – 7:00 pm

Buy wares from thirty local vendors selling contemporary handmade goods: cards, clothing, soaps and much more. Free and family-friendly.

World’s Largest Collage Party

Thursday, September 24 @ 4:30 pm – 8:00 pm

Help get Monument Circle in the Guinness Book of World Records as the site of the biggest collage party in history. Paper, magazines and glue provided — bring your own scissors!

League of Lattes

Thursday, September 24 @ 7:00 – 8:00 pm

Art comes in all different forms, and for some it’s in the form of a little cup of frothy heaven. Join us as some of Indy’s top baristas throw battle for the title of “best.” Judges will determine the best pour based on aesthetic beauty, definition, color infusion, and degree of difficulty and creativity; points are added for speed and taken away for sloppiness. Coffee’s on…

Free Fencing Lessons with the Indianapolis Fencing Club

Saturday, September 26 @ 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm

Experience the art and sport of fencing at a free demonstration by the Indianapolis Fencing Club. Get a free introductory fencing lesson from a coach! Safety gear and practice equipment provided.

Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra Community Day

Sunday, September 27 @ 2:00 pm – 6:00 pm

Celebrate a new season with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra with an afternoon of live performances inside and outside the Hilbert Circle Theatre, musical activities for all ages, meet-and-greets with ISO musicians, opportunities to tour the historic Hilbert Circle Theatre. The day culminates with an hour-long concert by the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, led by ISO Music Director Krzysztof Urbanski. Admission to all Community Day events, including the ISO concert at 5 p.m., is free. Watch for musicians on the Spark parklets in the southeast quadrant of Monument Circle.

Super Moon Viewing

Sunday, September 27 @ 8 pm

Savor the Super Moon (when the moon’s orbit is closest to the earth) with a night of a lunar-themed experiences: a soundtrack by mp3 DJ Eduardo Luna, viewing of the moon (if it is not cloudy), and free moon pies. If the sky is clear, the moon should be most visible at around sunset (8:30 pm) to the east, and again at midnight to the south.

Film Night on the Circle: Beyond Zero: 1914-1918

Thursday, October 1 @ 8:00 pm – 9:00 pm

Filmmaker Bill Morrison  sourced rotted, melted, scratched-up 35mm nitrate film footage of World War I trainings, deployments and marches and set it to a haunting soundtrack of strings performed by the Kronos Quartet. The original film material is itself a veteran of the war, never to be seen again outside of this film. In the shadow of the Monument, bring a blanket or lawn chair for an otherworldly experience of visuals and sound. Presented by Big Car and Indy Film Fest.

Nat Russell & Chris Vorhees

Sunday, October 4 @ 11:00 a.m.

Longtime friends and collaborators in art and music, Nat Russell and Chris Vorhees, play a noon-time tailgate session at Monument Circle. As the Colts rally to beat the Jacksonville Jaguars, Nat and Chris will perform an hour long set sure to rev up whoever attends. A tailgate barbeque on the trailer known as the Wagon of Wonders will take place around 11 am. BYOB and G(rill items). Nat and Chris will be playing selections from Nat’s “Birds of America” archive along with several new pieces and some covers. Presented by Musical Family Tree and Big Car.

Wi-Fi Wednesday: Work on the Circle Day

Wednesday, October 7 @ 10:00 am – 4:00 pm

Take advantage of free Wi-Fi on Monument Circle, brought to you by HotSpot Wi-Fi Pods and WGU Indiana. Bring your office outdoors: take a seat with your laptop at a Spark parklet, have a walking meeting, or do your work on a blanket on the Monument lawn! Prizes available just for logging in, including a Colts ticket drawing!  Wi-Fi Wednesday is presented by HotSpot Wi-Fi Pods, WGU Indiana, Big Car and Spark Monument Circle.

In C: A Collaborative Sound Composition

Wednesday, October 8 @ 6:30 – 7:30 pm

Experience a wave of sound as 15 musicians encircle the Monument for a layered, collaborative sound sculpture — a performance of In C (composed by Terry Riley in 1964). In C fills space with pulses, note clusters, and undulating, otherworldly walls of sound. The Monument Circle version of In C is coordinated by Indianapolis-based composer and multi-instrumentalist Derek Johnson (sample performance here: https://soundcloud.com/ivodne-galatea/terry-riley-in-c)

Fantastical Film Shorts by Georges Méliès, the First Wizard of Cinema

Thursday, October 8 @ 8:00 pm – 11:00 pm

In 1916, film was a brand new art form and the Circle Theater (now home of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra) was brand new, too!  Around this time, Frenchman Georges Méliès was experimenting with cinema by using it for fantastical (not just documentary) purposes. Bring a blanket or lawn chair and take your place on the Monument steps for a three-hour marathon of two-to-four minute films crafted by Méliès between 1896 and 1913. Get ready for wizards, devils, and magicians, starring in film titles like “The Triple Conjurer and the Living Dead,” “The Four Troublesome Heads,” and Méliès’ most famous, “A Trip to the Moon.”  Presented by Big Car and the Indy Film Fest.

Monument Circle Art Fair

Saturday, October 10 @ 10:00 am – 5:00 pm

Indiana artists showcase their work on the Soldiers and Sailors Monument. Art includes both visual artists and musical entertainment. http://www.monumentcircleart.com.