With more than 100 year-round public events and multiple districts within the City’s central core, there is never a shortage of things to for both residents and visitors. While Carmel’s Christkindlmarkt and The Ice at Carter Green draw seasonal crowds from all over the world, the city’s spring and summer events can certainly hold their own.
The city’s most active districts, The Arts & Design District, Midtown and City Center, provide the perfect setting for many of the events that kick off in the springtime and run throughout festival season in Indiana. Carmel’s Arts & Design District is an Indiana Cultural District, a distinction given to areas with a high concentration of cultural assets. This is truly reflected in the types of events the city hosts including Allied Solutions’ Meet Me on Main the second Saturday of each month, a three-day plein air painting festival, Carmel on Canvas (September 13-15) and the world-class Carmel International Arts Festival (September 28-29). The spring and summer lineup also includes the popular wine-tasting event, Art of Wine (May 18) and the always spectacular Artomobilia (September 7).
Midtown Plaza, a newer district with its distinct urban industrial look, features restaurants, retail and outdoor play areas for kids and adults. Midtown’s outdoor space includes tables and chairs for dining, lounge chairs, ping pong tables and large wooden swings surrounding a turfed area for enjoying movies or sports events on the big screen overlooking the plaza or just relaxing in the sunshine. Events in Midtown begin in May with the Midtown Block Party (May 11) and Brews on the Boulevard (August 3). While there is plenty of free parking available in the area, Midtown is easily accessible on foot or via bicycle on the Monon Greenway. As summer winds down and the festivals continue, Carmel’s Chinese Mooncake Festival (September 21), one of the city’s most vibrant cultural event, takes place in the plaza featuring traditional dances, music and, of course, mooncakes.
There is always live music to be found in Carmel. Enjoy a world-class show at The Center for the Performing Arts or Feinstein’s cabaret at Hotel Carmichael in City Center or grab friends and lawn chairs to spend the day at Carmel PorchFest (September 15) where bands perform on the porches of homes in the Old Town neighborhood adjacent to the Arts & Design District.
For up-to-date information about everything going on in the City of Carmel, visit EventsInCarmel.com.
