Konishiki Comes to Indy

The annual gala sponsored by the Japan-America Society of Indiana is set for 11 June in the Indiana Roof Ballroom, 140 West Washington Street, Indianapolis. The event celebrates the 25th anniversary of the organization, which promotes friendship, exchange and cooperation between Indiana and Japan.

Special guest will be sumo wrestling star Yasokichi Konishiki, who is the first foreign-born wrestler to reach ozeki (the second highest rank) in Japan's national sport.

Guests of honor at the event are the Honorable Mike Pence, Indiana governor, and the Honorable Masaharu Yoshida, Consul General of Japan at Chicago.

Pawel Fludzinski, immediate past president of the Japan-America Society of Indiana, will receive the Bridge of Friendship Award. The government of Japan's Order of the Rising Sun, will be awarded to Robert H. Reynolds, Honorary Consul General of Japan at Indianapolis.

A reception for patrons begins at 5 p.m., with the general reception at 6 p.m. followed by the dinner and program beginning at 6:30 p.m. Business or traditional Japanese attire is requested.

For information and tickets, call 317:635-0123.

Representative Government: RIP

"Today [11 May 2013, Gov. Mike Pence] signed the second worst bill passed by the legislature this year, SB 621, which strips the Indianapolis City-County Council of power in order to make the most corrupt mayor in the history of Uni-Gov more powerful and unaccountable to the public."

(Read the rest here: "Pence Signs Second Worst Bill Passed By Legislature This Year"

This Indianapolis Observer is appalled, and the Indiana GOP should be deeply ashamed.

Grand Opening of Indy Cultural Trail This Weekend

Now, here's an urban amenity that no other city has: the Indianapolis Cultural Trail.

The grand opening of the eight mile meticulously designed and landscaped pedestrian and bicycle pathway connecting five of Indy's Cultural Districts plus downtown kicks off with a ribbon cutting at 3:45 p.m. Friday (10 May) outside the Indianapolis City Market at Market and Alabama streets (map).

The “Get Down On It” celebration begins Saturday (11 May) with more than 80 different family-friendly programs spaced out along the entire trail.

Programs include musical and artistic performers, dancers, balloon rides and more. See all of the programs, performance times and locations online. All “Get Down On It” programs are open to the public, and most are free.

Your Indianapolis Observer is planning on participating in Saturday's Parasol Parade, but can't decide which band to follow (starting about 10 a.m.).

Major props to Brian Payne, President and CEO of the Central Indiana Community Foundation and the Indianapolis Foundation, for thinking up this fabulous feature and figuring out how to implement it, and to Gene and Marilyn Glick for being major donors of the project. A legacy to be proud of, indeed!

(Photo by Stephanie Stewart, courtesy of Indianapolis Cultural Trail)

Circle City Tours

Your Indianapolis Observer once provided Indianapolis tours, but there wasn't enough of a demand to keep the business going.

It seems things have changed, since Circle City Tours has been around for several years now.

Have you taken one of their tours? Which one?

UIndy to Shut Down Campus in Greece

The University of Indianapolis is closing its undergraduate program in Athens, Greece, as a result of continued economic turmoil there, reports WISH-TV.com.

As of Wednesday, the university said it’s no longer accepting new students to Indianapolis Athens College. All undergraduate courses and most graduate courses will end 31 August.

Cricket?

Your Indianapolis Observer, a home-grown internationalist by nature, is perplexed by Mayor Greg Ballard's global initiatives.

Newly-designated Sister Cities for which there is no local groundswell of interest? Understandable, if insupportable.

Building a Chinatown? Fanciful thinking that'll go nowhere.

But, a cricket stadium for a city that can't maintain the city parks and swimming pools it has now?

That's just plain looney!

Full disclosure: your Indy Observer has never been able to sit through an entire cricket match; the game is an acquired taste.

(Photo by Thad Zajdowicz)

Show House on Meridian Street Again

The 52nd annual St. Margaret's Guild Decorators' Show House and Gardens takes place 27 April through 12 May.

This year's house is the Schnull-Rauch House, 3050 North Meridian Street, Indianapolis. The Romanesque Revival structure listed on the National Register of Historic Places was build in 1902.

Home to the Junior League of Indianapolis from 1979 to 2009, it was sold to the neighboring Children's Museum of Indianapolis in 2009.

Tickets are $20 at the door. for tours from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. (except Mondays). There are a series of special events planned, including a "Tablescape Breakfast", historic trolley tours and a fashion show.

St. Margaret's Hospital Guild is a volunteer group of about 70 women that has supported Wishard Hospital (soon to be renamed Eskenazi Health) since 1907. Each year the Guild organizes the refurbishment of a classic home, opens the home for a two-week public tour, and donates the tour proceeds to Wishard Health Services.

(Photo courtesy of St. Margaret's Guild)