U.S. celebrities making pitches for large corporations is nothing new. But John Mellencamp has been long known as an artistic purist with a disdain for commercialism. His debut this fall as a pitchman for Chevrolet’s Silverado pickup truck has surprised many and touched off a torrent of criticism.
Victoria Lyras began classes for her newly created Indianapolis School of Ballet Aug. 21 in 10,500-square-foot quarters on Capitol Avenue that previously housed Ballet Internationale's Clara R. Noyes Academy, which closed in November because of financial problems. ISB has 20 students so far.
To shore up local government’s enormous financial shortfalls, the Greater Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce has begun investigating whether it wants to push for a downtown casino–a politically explosive idea that would face widespread opposition.
The new owner of Ambassadair travel club has eliminated membership fees and will add a flurry of charter flights in January under a plan to revive an Indianapolis institution that shuttled thousands of Hoosiers around the globe for 34 years.
Valerie Hollowell always has known she wanted to work with dolphins. After all, trips to Sea World were highlights of her childhood. But now that she's a senior marine mammal trainer, she knows the seemingly glamorous job she watched from the stands is more than wet suits and whistles.
IndyFringe is hitting its stride in its second year, according to its executive director, Pauline Moffat. The quirky, alternative-theater festival is garnering corporate support, but still appealing to a younger crowd.
Beverly Morgan and her husband Allen opened their first lemon shake-up stand at the Marion County Fair in 1970, when they were both teachers looking for some summer income. It went so well, they opened a stand at the Indiana State Fair. And they'll be back there this week, when the fair kicks off its 150th year of midway rides and corn dogs.
In the 2-1/2 years following a 2003 overhaul of Conner Prairie management orchestrated by Earlham College, the Hamilton County attraction was mired in uncertainty over its future and an increasingly bleak financial outlook. Now the skies are brightening.
