May brings race cars, pool openings and blooming flowers. You can smell summer in the air.
Though the Indianapolis Motor Speedway dominates, there are a host of other fun things to do across the city.
You could spend your entire First Friday popping into multiple galleries and museums, including the Harrison Center, Factory Arts District, Future Friends and the opening of CAMi.
Connect with other women over yoga, music and food at Every Woman. Bring your dollar bills or have your Cash App ready to tip during Cirque Du Heauxleil.
Bedazzle a book at Tomorrow Bookstore. Paint glasses, mugs or tiles inspired by traditional talavera art for Cinco de Mayo. Or meet new creative friends at the annual Broad Ripple Art Fair.
May 1-10 🔝
‘Clyde’s’
🗓️ May 1-7
📍 Fonseca Theatre Company, 2508 W. Michigan St.
🎟️ $17.50-27.50
The play follows a group of formerly incarcerated cooks striving for redemption through perfecting the art of sandwich-making under the watchful eye of their boss, Clyde.
First Friday: CAMi Opening Celebration
🗓️ May 1-3
📍 The Contemporary Art Museum of Indianapolis, 1125 Cruft St.
🎟️ Free
Play around in an experimental art office, listen to the sounds of buildings and check out a live outdoor concert. The main exhibition, “Campo de Resonancia,” by Puerto Rican painter Ivelisse Jiménez, will be on display in the Jeremy Efroymson Gallery.
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5 things to do at Indy’s new contemporary art museum
Play around in an experimental art office, listen to the sounds of buildings and check out a live outdoor concert during CAMi’s opening party May 1-3.
First Friday: Anaretic Parfum Pop Up
🗓️ 5-8 p.m. Friday, May 1
📍 Dear Mom, 2121 E. 10th St.
🎟️ Free
Sniff all the smells from Anaretic, a local perfume company. They’re offering sample sets, plus snacks and drinks.
First Friday: Botanical Bodies
🗓️ 6-9 p.m. Friday, May 1
📍 Fonseca-Du Bois Gallery, 1619 Prospect St.
🎟️ Free
This multimedia exhibit, created by artists Nasreen Khan and Rachel Schwebach, features woodburning, botany, feminist history and photography.
First Friday: Factory Arts District
🗓️ 6-9 p.m. Friday, May 1
📍 Factory Arts District, 1125 E. Brookside Ave.
🎟️ Free
It can be overwhelming to choose between art galleries on First Friday. A stop at the Factory Arts District means you can see works from artists at more than 20 studios and galleries. This month in the Marmon Gallery, “The Hope Art Project” will show works that support Hoosiers living with mental illness.
First Friday: Future Friends
🗓️ 6-11 p.m. Friday, May 1
📍 Murphy Art Center, 1043 Virginia Ave.
🎟️ Free
Enjoy a full slate of eight DJs spinning records you know and don’t know.
Monkey Wrench Radical Zine Fest
🗓️ 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, May 2
📍 Ujamaa Community Bookstore, 2424 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. St.
🎟️ Free
Radical zines are the primary focus of this festival. Also learn about resources and get connected to local mutual aid groups.
Music Lab
🗓️ 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, May 2
📍 Cleo’s Bodega, 2432 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. St.
🎟️ Free
Want to play in Chreece one day? Audition for this 10-week hip-hop incubator program, which will better your stage presence and help you put together an electronic press kit.
Our Wildest Imagining
🗓️ 10 a.m. Sunday, May 3
📍 Christ Church Cathedral, 125 Monument Circle
🎟️ Free
A group of national churches, choirs and cultural institutions are honoring Rev. Gene Robinson, the first openly gay bishop in Christianity, through a musical project.
Every Woman
🗓️ 2-6p.m. Sunday, May 3
📍 P30, 3039 N. Post Road
🎟️ $15
This event creates a space where women leaders, artists and entrepreneurs can come together to be seen and celebrated through art, yoga and music.
The Read In book club
🗓️ 6-8 p.m. Monday, May 4
📍 Central Library, 40 E. St. Clair St.
🎟️ Free
The Read In, a new monthly book club dedicated to reading works from Black authors, kicked off last month. For May, come ready to discuss Mia Birdsong’s “How We Show Up.” The program is facilitated by More of This: A Creative Learning Community with Mariah Ivey and Hallie Raikes, and supported by Artists At Work and the Center for Black Literature & Culture.
Cinco de Mayo tile painting
🗓️ 6:30-8:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 5
📍 Cain’s Creative Chaos, 1221 Indy Way
🎟️ $46.65
Paint margarita glasses, mugs or tiles inspired by talavera art, a type of Mexican tin-glazed pottery, for Cinco de Mayo. Plus, enjoy a nacho and taco bar provided by Mandi’s Empanadas.
Danny Brown
🗓️ 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 6
📍 The Vogue Theatre, 6259 N. College Ave.
🎟️ $42.58, 21+
Rapper Danny Brown is known for his unhinged bars, eccentric style and unique high-pitched voice. The Detroit native is stopping in Naptown on his Stardust tour.
Big Paintings
🗓️ 6-9 p.m. Thursday, May 7
📍 Patina Gallery, 2201 E. Michigan St.
🎟️ Free
Artists Lizzie Bilbrey and Lily Groot have created artworks so big “you feel like you could step into it: that you feel of it, and in it.”
First Thursday: Children’s Museum
🗓️ 4-8 p.m. Thursday, May 7
📍 Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, 3000 N. Meridian St.
🎟️ $6
Take the family to explore the five floors of the museum for a discount, offered once a month.
Atomic Shows
🗓️ 7 p.m. Friday, May 8
📍 Atomic Bowl Duckpin, 1105 Prospect St.
🎟️ $12
Handmade punk rock will be on full display with performances by Mr. Clit and the Pink Cigarettes, Paint Job, POTHOLE and Big Guy.
‘Delivering While Black’
🗓️ 6-9 p.m. Friday, May 8
📍 Indianapolis Marriott Downtown, 350 W. Maryland St.
🎟️ Free, but must RSVP
Watch “Delivering While Black,” a short documentary about the systemic racism and barriers in health care that contribute to the Black maternal mortality crisis. A panel discussion will follow the screening.
Rave Republic
🗓️ 10 p.m.-2 a.m. Friday, May 8
📍 Black Circle, 2201 E. 46th St.
🎟️ $17.85-28.52
They’re calling it the rave of your dreams. Tune in for music by DJs BabyKakes, Ferris Booler, Ranye and Littletown.
Cirque After Dark
🗓️ May 8-9
📍 Cirqueindy, 617 Fulton St.
🎟️ $35-49.87
This show is packed with trapeze tricksters, coin tossers, high sneezers, jugglers, jigglers and jewel-eyed jezebels.
Irvington Construction Party
🗓️ 3-8 p.m. Saturday, May 9
📍 Chicago Beef and Dog Company, 5402 E. Washington St.
🎟️ Free
Since “the road’s torn up anyway,” Chicago Beef wants to party on it. They’ll be slinging hot dogs and you can shop from Market Vintage and other local vendors. Kismetic Beer Co. will bring enough brews for everyone.
May 11-17 🔝
Book Bedazzling
🗓️ 6 p.m. Monday, May 11
📍 Tomorrow Bookstore, 882 Mass Ave.
🎟️ $39.19
Bring a book you love or purchase one in-store to customize it. All supplies, including gems, charms and embellishments, are provided.
Summer of Soul Show
🗓️ 7-8:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 13
📍 MacAllister Amphitheater at Garfield Park, 2432 Conservatory Drive
🎟️ Free
Prepare for family cookout vibes during a concert with KC and the 3 Kings and friends. They recommend bringing a cooler, barbecue plate and comfortable shoes.
Listen, Please
🗓️ 6-7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 14
📍 Chatterbox Jazz Club, 435 Mass Ave.
🎟️ $5
Three poets — Kat Mulona, Sam Ferrante and Bryce Berkowitz — will take the stage to perform some of their poems. Steven Jones Trio will close out the session with some jazz.
‘Coraline’
🗓️ 6:30 p.m. May 15-16
📍 Fishers Art Center, 1 Municipal Drive
🎟️ $15
Same characters, different themes. Lantern Islamic Theater Company, the nation’s only Muslim community theater nonprofit, is taking the classic book and stage play and making it halal entertainment. What will this version of Coraline Jones and Wybie Lovat be up to?
Panda Fest
🗓️ May 15-17
📍 Military Park, 601 W. New York St.
🎟️ $14-35
Panda Fest is one of the biggest outdoor Asian food festivals in the U.S. There will be more than 90 vendors, street food, culture performances and a bounce house. You’ll be able to taste over 200 dishes from China, Thailand, Vietnam, Japan and Korea.
Blooming Conversations
🗓️ 10 a.m.-noon Saturday, May 16
📍 Flower Boys, 702 Lexington Ave.
🎟️ $28.52
Make bouquets, sip mimosas, eat light bites and have guided conversations.
Beauty All Around concert
🗓️ May 16-17
📍 Christel DeHaan Fine Arts Center, 1230 Greyhound Lane
🎟️ $15-35; pay-what-you-can
The Indianapolis Women’s Chorus will sing songs that celebrate the beauty of cultural diversity with new compositions and fan-favorites that they guarantee will have you dancing in your seat.
Broad Ripple Art Fair
🗓️ May 16-17
📍 Indy Art Center, 820 E. 67th St.
🎟️ $6.59-17.10
Shop from more than 150 local, regional and national artists. Enjoy one-of-a-kind art, live music, food, drinks, artist demonstrations and interactive art activities.
‘The Chevalier: A Musical Play’
🗓️ 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 16
📍 Madam Walker Legacy Center, 617 Indiana Ave.
🎟️ $45-55
Watch the life story and music of Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, unfold on stage. Bologne was one of the first classical composers of African descent. In case you missed it, there’s a biopic released in 2022 about the French-Caribbean composer and violinist. He was friends with Mozart and Marie Antoinette.
Voices of the Spirit concert
🗓️ 3 p.m. Sunday, May 17
📍 Second Presbyterian Church, 7770 N. Meridian St.
🎟️ $46
This year’s production features the voices of Gabriela Martinez, Thomas Cooley and Ron Dukes with guitarist Daniel Duarte. It combines two works: Jeffrey Van’s “A Procession Winding Around Me” and Mozart’s “Requiem.”
Christel DeHaan in Harmony: At the Corner of Bach & Broadway
🗓️ 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. Sunday, May 17
📍 Scottish Rite Cathedral, 650 N. Meridian St.
🎟️ $17, free for kids age 5 and under
This concert marks the conclusion of the 40th anniversary season for the Indianapolis Children’s Choir. Nearly 500 local kids will perform.
May 18-24 🔝
Indiana Trivia
🗓️ 5:45 p.m. Tuesday, May 19
📍 Metazoa Brewing Company, 140 S. College Ave.
🎟️ $7.18
Chug some beer and put your knowledge about the Hoosier state to the test.
Unveiling A Forgotten Legacy
🗓️ 6:30-8 p.m. Thursday, May 21
📍 The Whispering Shelf, 414 N. College Ave.
🎟️ Free
Zola Lamothe’s works sit within the intersection of art and activism. Her debut photography project, “Unveiling a Forgotten Legacy,” calls attention to the Black neighborhoods displaced by the construction of IU Indianapolis. Lamothe will be in conversation with Sampson Livingston, historian and founder of Walk & Talk Indy, about her book.
Cirque Du Heauxleil
🗓️ 7 p.m. Friday, May 22
📍 Murphy Art Center, 1043 Virginia Ave.
🎟️ $20, 18+
Calling all the freaks, geeks, goblins and ghouls. Cirque du Heauxleil, a circus-themed night of erotic entertainment, is coming back to town. There will be pole dancing, clowning around and teasing. Get your dollar bills ready to tip. A portion of the ticket sales will support sex workers across the city.
Art Gallery Reveal
🗓️ 7 p.m. Friday, May 22
📍 1656 Club, 1656 English Ave.
🎟️ $15-20
1656 Club is more than a coffee shop. Stop by to see the reveal of a new art exhibit, drink mocktails and dance to a couple of DJ sets.
Melanin in May
🗓️ 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, May 23
📍 Community Alliance of the Far Eastside, 8902 E. 38th St.
🎟️ Free
Dominic Dorsey, founder of Melanin in May, said it’s “a spring festival celebrating every shade of excellence, for those who flaunt their melanin with no apology.” Shop from over 150 Black vendors, listen to live music and feast at the food truck Battle Royale.
Stutz Block Party
🗓️ Noon-6 p.m. Saturday, May 23
📍 The Stutz, 1060 N. Capitol Ave.
🎟️ Free
It will be a high-energy day featuring yoga, face painting, music, food and local grub in the heart of The Stutz building.
May 25-31 🔝
Teen Fic Club
🗓️ 4:30-6 p.m. Tuesday, May 26
📍 College Avenue library branch, 4180 N. College Ave.
🎟️ Free, but must register
Did you love a story, but felt it didn’t end quite “right”? Teens can participate in fanfiction writing or create their own original works during this workshop.
90 Proof
🗓️ 6 p.m. Thursday, May 28
📍 Sarah T. Bolton Park, 1300 Churchman Ave.
🎟️ Free
Bring your chairs and blankets to listen to country music as a part of the Beech Grove Summer Concert series.
Spring Fling Pickleball Tournament
🗓️ 11:30 a.m. Saturday, May 30
📍 Thatcher Park, 4649 W. Vermont St.
🎟️ Donation
Grab a partner, paddles and a non-perishable food item to play. You can enter to win a month of free pickleball. Visit the front desk or call 317-327-7390 to register.
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Mirror Indy reporter Mesgana Waiss covers arts and culture. Contact her at 317-667-2643 or mesgana.waiss@mirrorindy.org.
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