Sacred Spain at the Indianapolis Museum of Art

[No photography of the exhibit is allowed]

For some reason, Mrs. WYA! is drawn to icons in art so she was really excited about the Sacred Spain exhibit at the IMA (on display now through January 3rd, 2010). It did not disappoint. First of all, we are amazed that the IMA can offer this for free. We are lucky enough to have this great art museum that doesn't charge admission and to not have a fee for a special exhibit is really generous. We are grateful to whoever made this possible because it is obvious that a lot of planning and manpower went into the exhibit. The walls are different gorgeous hues in each room to showcase the pieces in them. Some of the paintings are really large and all of them are so vivid and bright that you can hardly believe that they are from the 1600s. There are also well preserved books and sculptures. A figure of Christ in the middle of one room is so striking; it has been used in the Good Friday procession in the Spanish town of Navalcarnero since 1652! In the special gift shop at the end of the exhibit there is a film running showing it in the procession.


Even if this art doesn't represent your belief system, anyone who appreciates beauty and history will enjoy it. Show the IMA some love by buying a little something in the gift shop (we bought a Virgin of Guadalupe magnet) and/or putting some money in the museum's collection boxes.

We like to fully savor Thanksgiving before we think about Christmas activities but, if you're ready to get in the yuletide mood, Shelbyville is having a holiday parade tonight. The Strand Theatre is getting into the spirit by showing Holiday Inn on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

The holiday open houses are in full swing too. Gallery 116 in Fishers has theirs this Saturday with a demonstration of glass blowing. Gallery One 36 is having a holiday sale on Saturday from noon to 5PM in Westfield. It's also Midnight Shopper time on Mass Ave. so there will be ample time to shop at that great store for gifts, At Home in the City/Silver in the City.

We think it sounds like really big campy fun to go see Wayne Newton in concert and we're so glad that he'll be doing a show at Hoosier Park in Anderson. If you think it sounds like fun too, tickets go on sale today for the December 6th show.

IUPUI's Continuing Education Soy Candle Making Class

Mrs. WYA! and her gal pal took IUPUI's soy candle making class this past Saturday and highly recommend it. It will probably be offered again since it looked like the class was at capacity in its room at the Arthur Glick JCC facility. Marie Beckley, of Beckley's Best Blends, was the instructor and she did a great job. She had our materials organized on our tables and had the wax melting when we got there. Two cute glass jars were provided and she had measured the perfect amount of scented oil out for us. One candle was "Pumpkin Spice" scented and the other was a "Happy Holidays" scent. We stuck our wicks in the jars, added scent to the wax that she poured for us, used a cool little gadget to make sure our wicks were straight before the wax hardened, and then she even gave us cute little labels to stick on the jars. All the while, she was giving us tips and sources for buying materials. We have a bit of pride watching this candle burn and enjoy its scent even more having made it ourselves. One great thing about these fall/winter days of less daylight is that we get to enjoy candlelight more. Marie made it seem so easy to make these; hopefully, when we try it on our own, it is just as easy. If not, we'll gladly do some online shopping on her website.

(In the next IUPUI continuing education catalog, look for the class under "Green and Sustainability".)

Any time of year is a good time to take one of the Historic Indiana Ghost Walks and Tours but, if you're looking for an especially cool way to celebrate the spooky season next week, be sure to check out their schedule. We've taken the Chilling Chatham Arch- Lockerbie tour and we really enjoyed it. We hope to take some of their other tours soon.

Halloween Film Fun

Halloween is Mr. WYA!'s favorite holiday. We have a busy month and, in case you do too, here's a rundown of some films to try to squeeze into your schedule:

We know that we've raved before about Nosferatu but there's another local showing of it on October 29th. This time, it's at The Toby in the Indianapolis Museum of Art.

The Strand in nearby Shelbyville is getting into the spirit with Night of the Living Dead on Oct 17th, Ghostbusters on 10/23 and 10/25, and Young Frankenstein on 10/30 and 10/31 (the 10/31 showing includes a costume contest).

If you're closer to Franklin, Indiana, the Artcraft is also showing Young Frankenstein (10/23 and 10/24). On 10/9 and 10/10, they are showing the Spencer Tracy, Ingrid Bergman version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

If you're staying close to home, there are a lot of eerie highlights on TCM's schedule this month. There's Lon Chaney (The Unknown on 10/11 and The Unholy Three on 10/11; both were directed by Tod Browning who we love!), the 1925 Phantom of the Opera also with Chaney(C'mon, does it get any better than this? The masked ball sequence alone make it a must-see), and Nosferatu on 10/25. On 10/18 they're airing Vampyr, on 10/30 there is a Boris Karloff marathon, Friday nights are dedicated to thrillers, William Castle movies on 10/20 (including a terrifying Joan Crawford in Strait-Jacket), a Halloween marathon on 10/31 with some unique flicks, and more Tod Browning brilliance on 10/17 with a couple of our all time favorites, Freaks and Devil Doll. Whew, we are probably going to be watching these well into November.

Be sure to check out the Strand Theatre's website for info about their B Movie Celebration and Tromadance Film Festival this weekend.

Fletcher Place Yard Sale on Saturday

Be sure to look for the giraffe statues if you go.

The adorable Fletcher Place neighborhood is having yard sale this Saturday, September 12th. Even if you're not in the market for anything, it's a nice excuse to gawk at this historic neighborhood.

Hobbit Gardens- Fillmore, Indiana

We finally made it to Hobbit Gardens Herb Farm in Fillmore, Indiana after circling around country roads for awhile a couple of weekends ago. There was a small shop (we were disappointed that they were out of lotion) and pretty grounds to wander but we definitely spent a lot longer finding it than we did actually going through it. However, on Sunday, September 6th, they'll be having their 16th Annual Herb Festival which, according to their website, will include workshops, food, music, cooking with herbs, reflexology, and a fresh herb wreath workshop among other things so that might be a good time to visit.

Regular hours are:

April thru October:Tue.,Thurs.,Fri., 10-5 Sat. & Sun.1-5.

Winter Hours Sat & Sun 1-5 other hours by chance or appt.

We watch the film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari around Halloween every year and this print of the movie poster is on our mantel throughout the month of October. Any time of the year is good for German Expressionism though so we think that it is very cool that Big Car Collective and the Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library are presenting a showing of the film with live accompanying music by experimental music group Big Robot tonight at 7PM. It will be at the Central Libary at 40 E. St. Clair Street for FREE and, from Big Car's website, it looks like they will be presenting the John Barrymore version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde on October 28th.

Indiana Medical History Museum- Indianapolis, IN

The amphitheater:

A beautiful copper and tile table:

We absolutely love walking into a room with an old timey picture of the room and virtually nothing has changed:

Evidently, the tile counters were hard to clean but they sure look pretty:

The Histology Laboratory:

Finials from the now torn down asylum:

The Medicinal Plant Garden:

We're into industrial and decaying things so we loved the old power plant:

Even if you're not a medical history buff, we highly recommend a visit to the Indiana Medical History Museum on the grounds of the former Central State Hospital. We think that we might have heard about it before but we have to give credit to Baikinange for getting us there this past weekend. Go for the architecture if nothing else. It has been so well preserved and every room from the teaching amphitheatre to the laboratory to the library is just beautiful. It only costs $5 for adults to take a tour (which we found thorough and very interesting) and even less for children, students, and seniors. It is really a beautiful, fascinating place and a unique window into the history of the study of the human body and mind. If you're not into medicine or history, just go and gawk and the gorgeous woodwork. In Indianapolis, with all of the new buildings, it seems like you have to dig a bit to find a place with a sense of history. This place has it and it is worth going out of your way to spend a some time visiting.

(Now that we've been to the Central State site, we might have to buy the DVD that tells about all of its paranormal activity.)

The Indianapolis Vegetarian Society let us know that they have what sounds like will be a very fun and delicious event coming up on August 15th. It's their Savor the Summer Garden event hosted by the Chef's Academy. The Chef's Academy will create a buffet of vegetarian foods including dishes such as chickpea mini-burgers and lavender and lemon sorbet- yum! Regular readers know that we're not vegetarians, but we eat like we are a lot of them time. Mrs. WYA! in particular loves vegetables and finds that Chef Mr. WYA! can do most anything with beans, tofu, or tempeh that can be done with meat (in fact, we can't wait to try a bean meatloaf recipe that we just found). We're pretty sure we won't be booted out because we're not vegetarians so, if you're not either, you might want to check it out if, for no other reason, to get some creative ideas for preparing vegetables.

Tickets are only $12 for adults and $6 for children 4-10 (3 and under are free). Seating is limited and tickets are only available in advance at Whole Foods (in Nora and Carmel) and at Brownpapertickets.com. The event is from 1P-3P and we look forward to being there.

For some reason, the ad in Nuvo for Ha Ha Tonka's upcoming show at Locals Only (June 27th) caught our attention. Listening to their recently released CD, Novel Sounds of the Nouveau South, we think they sound good. We won't be around this weekend but the show might be worth checking out if you like "foot stompin indie rock".

Mark your calendars: on June 18th, Zydeco's is having a Mardi Gras Block Party.

Summer Entertainment

Now that Memorial Day (Observed) has passed, it is the unofficial start of summer. For many, that evokes thoughts of days wiled away on a boat, exotic vacations, or lounging at the pool. Well, we don't have a boat or a pool and it we probably aren't taking a vacation this summer so we have other benchmarks that we look forward to instead. There are great foods we enjoy in the warmer months and we'll be periodically posting those recipes. We'll enjoy watching our herbs and tomato plants grow but we'll also enjoy our traditional summer viewing. To Mrs. WYA!, summer means it's time to pull out the Gidget: The Entire Series DVD because some independent station used to air those in the days of her summer vacations from school. Plus, Gidget was always at the beach so it's a summer spent at the beach vicariously. There will also be a viewing of The Seven Year Itch while sitting in the air conditioning and eating potato chips and drinking champagne (and even dipping some potato chips in the champagne). This alludes to a particular scene in the movie. If you haven't seen it, make this the summer that you do- Marilyn positively glows in this movie. We also have a tradition of watching The Magnificent Seven on the 4th of July for no other reason than we did it once early in our marriage and just kept doing it. It's Yul Brynner and Steve McQueen for pity's sake, you don't need an excuse to watch them. We also will fit in a viewing of The Long Hot Summer for obvious reasons (obvious being that it is summer and that Paul Newman is staggeringly appealing in this movie- yes, this is Mrs. WYA! writing this post) along with Hud with Paul Newman in the Texas heat. We know that summer is all about soaking up the outdoors but these little viewing traditions feel as much a part of summer to us as cookouts and lemonade.

Mrs. WYA! has a goal of reading as many novels as possible this summer, particularly classics with a summer theme. If you can think of any classic books set in the summer, please let us know.

The Strand's full May movie schedule has been posted.

Yay- it's Stutz Open House time today and tomorrow. It's as casual and unintimidating as an outdoor art fair but inside the very cool and historic Stutz Building.

Mumbai Taxi

We don't get out to listen to local music much (we leave that to Nora) but, via My Space, we recently became aware of the local band Mumbai Taxi. The music clips on the My Space page sound really good so we thought we'd share that link with you and let you know that they will be at The Chatterbox this Saturday, April 18th.

Woo-hoo! Lucinda Williams is coming to the Vogue on June 9th and tickets are on sale now! (it's a non-smoking show- whew!)

Ft. Wayne and Plymouth, IN fans of Amazing Race have an opportunity to ride their bike with host Phil Keoghan in their own city as he makes his way through during his Ride Across America.