Welcome to the IBJ A&E corner of the blogosophere—a salon of sorts where arts and entertainment issues large and small, local and national, low-, medium- and high-brow, will be discussed, debated, argued about and wrestled with.
It’s a place I hope…
If the idea of building a $50 million, 7-1/2-mile pedestrian and biking trail through the streets of downtown Indianapolis
is indeed crazy, Brian Payne might be considered the Indianapolis Cultural trail’s mad scientist. His leadership, persistence
and passion for the project are the key reasons the first leg of the trail is due to open this month along Alabama Street.
Through persistence and sheer pluck, Rod Ratcliff has become a player in the gambling industry–one many businesses try to
break into, most without success. On Oct. 30, his Indianapolis-based company, Centaur Inc., closed a $1 billion financing
deal that will fund gambling projects in three states.
When Shannon Linker went to work for the Arts Council of Indianapolis in mid-2002, it was a typical pass-through organization–re-granting
city money to local arts groups. Now Linker is director of an artist-services program for the council that is on par with
those offered in communities like Seattle and New York City but few other places.
The Mississippi Delta has its hot tamale trail. Alabama and Texas boast a Southern BBQ byway. Now Indiana is getting in the
game with planned candy and pork tenderloin trails. State boosters are looking to tap into a growing travel industry niche:
culinary tourism.
The Cincinnati Ballet is taking an exploratory step toward a regional ballet company, announcing plans to stage a six-show
“Nutcracker” production here this December. The idea of a collaboration–where the two cities would share production and administration
expenses–has elicited mixed response.
As Julian Opie’s pop art sculptures get carted away this week, officials are in talks with New York City artist Chakaia Booker
about featuring her work in next year’s public art blowout. Booker’s shtick-sculptures created entirely from used tires.
The city plans to hire an outside auditor in the next few months to review the books of the Conrad Indianapolis Hotel and
determine how its investment is performing. It’s a routine process, Mayor Bart Peterson said. But it’s one hotel-industry
experts say is overdue.
With the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birth approaching, Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky all are fighting for
a share of the bicentennial limelight. Each has a valid claim to the 16th president: Lincoln was born in Hodgenville, Ky.,
on April 12, 1809, moved to a southern
Indiana farm with his family at age 7, then moved to Illinois at 21.
Although the opening of a 22,000-seat arena in Louisville is still three years away, officials here are already bracing for
a raid on Indianapolis and Conseco Fieldhouse events. Several Indianapolis interests will be watching Aug. 20 as the Louisville
Arena Authority unveils designs for the arena along the Ohio River.
The high-stakes competition for control of Indiana Downs has entered the homestretch. And South Bend-based Oliver Racing LLC
is poised to win.
Working three years on one project can be tedious, but Mark Sims enjoys every minute he spends preparing dinosaur fossils
for display at The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis. Sims, 44, works in the Paleo Prep Lab at the museum’s Dinosphere exhibit,
picking away at the dirt left on 65-million-year-old fossils.
The son and grandson of hotel managers, Maarten van Wijk became general manager of the historic-but-ailing 2,000-member Columbia
Club in May. His first priority is to polish the venerable private club’s tarnished quality standards to a lustrous sheen.
One of the two massive trade shows forced to leave Indianapolis because of a convention center space crunch isn’t coming back
as soon as expected. Locally based Custom Electronic Design & Installation Association is changing course three years after
agreeing to return its fall CEDIA Expo to Indianapolis for four years beginning in September 2010.
Phil Ramsey, 65, knows what he’s doing in the fireworks business–he’s been working fireworks shows as a volunteer since 1968
and founded Frankfort-based Ramsey Pyrotechnics Inc. in 1982. When he’s not battling Mother Nature, Ramsey is a grain farmer.
Once reserved for upper-crust weddings, ice sculptures-and their creators-have gone mainstream, finding their way to business
meetings, personal parties and hotel receptions nationwide. Of the 500 U.S. professional sculptors who design the icy artwork,
10 practice their craft in Indiana.
Indiana’s two horse tracks could change hands as investors race to come up with the $250 million required to add thousands
of slot machines. The steep cost of a state license combined with the potential of a lucrative payoff has stakeholders in
Shelbyville-based Indiana Downs and Anderson-based Hoosier Park jockeying for position.
As state and city officials sit down with architects to hammer out final plans for the Indiana Convention Center expansion,
they’re cutting some bells and whistles to make sure the project comes in at its $275 million price tag.
Many people expected the 2007 season to be the swan song for Verizon Wireless Music Center after venue owner Live Nation put
the the popular amphitheater on the block in December. But no acceptable offers have been received, and several local brokers
say the unofficial asking price of more than $40 million is outrageous.
Two weeks before the annual Jazz Fest begins, donations and corporate sponsorships are running about $150,000 short of the $1.3 million budget. So organizers are aiming to boost ticket sales by eliminating the $8.50 Ticketmaster fee.
