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- Festivals & Fireworks: Where to Celebrate the Fourth 🗽🎆
Festivals & Fireworks: Where to Celebrate the Fourth 🗽🎆
Plus - The Indiana summer bucket list you didn't know you needed!
Get IN, Austin Sellers & Nate Spangle
June 26, 2025
Thursday, June 26th
🥩 Lunch, Dinner & Everything in Between
If you’re craving something seriously delicious, The HC Tavern + Kitchen has you covered. They’re serving up everything from fresh seafood to steaks, burgers, and gourmet salads—all in a space that’s perfect for a business lunch, a night out, or just because. Whether you’re keeping it casual or going all out, you’ll find something to love here. Stop in and taste for yourself!
📜 This Week in Indiana History 📜
Elvis Performs His Final Concert Ever (1977)
On June 26, 1977, Elvis Presley performed to a sold-out crowd of around 18,000 people at Indianapolis’ Market Square Arena. In an 80-minute set, the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll performed all of the hits, and the fans loved it.
What those fans did not know at the time was they had witnessed Elvis’ final concert, as he would die in Graceland (home of his Tennessee mansion) six weeks later on August 16. A plaque still stands on the site of the old Market Square Arena sight commemorating his final show.
There are not many musical artists who are beloved for generations upon generations, but Elvis belonged in that category. Though most of his history falls in Las Vegas or southern states, it is always interesting when an artist of his caliber has ties to the Hoosier State.
⚡ Hoosier Headlines ⚡
Who’s ready to celebrate the Red, White and Blue? 🙋
This year’s Independence Day is the 249th anniversary of America’s freedom. If you don’t have plans already, we’ve got a couple suggestions for you to attend the biggest and best festivals and parades across Indiana.
Starting at Grand Park Sports Campus, Westfield Rocks the 4th does it big and does it right when celebrating the U.S.A. And in southern Indiana, the 195th Annual Pekin 4th of July Festival is the nation’s oldest consecutive Independence Day celebration.
Click here to read our full top 10.
In addition to the best Fourth of July festivals and parades in the Hoosier State, we’ve got you covered with firework shows that light up the sky better than the rest.
We are suckers for fireworks on the water (who isn’t?), so we’ll call out the Michigan City Fireworks Spectacular and Lake Wawasee Fireworks in Syracuse — the largest fireworks display in Indiana — as two of our personal favorites.
Get yourself ready for the boom by checking out our top 10 firework shows here.
Summer officially began this past Friday with summer solstice at 10:42 p.m. ET, and the recent heat wave has backed it up to say the least.
With school out for the summer and vacations (or staycations) on the mind, we compiled a bucket list of sorts, ranging from exploring one of Indiana’s 30-plus state parks to dipping yourself into one of Indiana’s many lakes or sipping on a cold one at your favorite local brewery.
The checklist lives here. What’d we miss?
🔥 Hard Truth Bourbon & BBQ Festival – July 25–26, 2025 🍖🎶
Smoky meats, smooth bourbon, and summer vibes await at the Hard Truth Bourbon & BBQ Festival in Nashville, Indiana! Join the Get Indiana crew July 25–26 at Hard Truth Distilling Co. for two days of bold flavor and live music in the hills of Brown County.
Friday night kicks off with a VIP dinner featuring bourbon-infused BBQ pairings from Pitmaster Dave White and Master Distiller Bryan Smith. Saturday brings nonstop action: live music, a sanctioned BBQ competition, special guest appearances (including Netflix’s Chef James “BBQ” Grubs), bourbon tastings, outdoor games, and a VIP cigar lounge.
🎟️ Tickets are live — get them here:
👉 hardtruth.com/event/bourbon-bbq-festival
💎 Hidden Gems 💎
Come for the heat, stay for the sauce. If you like spicy chicken, the World Famous Hotboys is the place for you.
Sure, it originated in Oakland, Calif., but with only two locations in Indiana thus far (Indianapolis and Carmel), Hotboys is a hidden gem in our book. Expect bold, juicy, Southern-style Nashville heat on a sandwich topped with coleslaw, pickles and Hotboys’ comeback sauce. Don’t call it a comeback? They’ll call it a comeback.
Country singer-songwriter Clayton Anderson was raised in Bedford, Indiana, so he knows a thing or two about hidden gems.
He mentioned a state park, county fair and highway as his top three. Make your guesses as to which three and then check out the clip below!
What’s your Hidden Gem? Submit here to have it featured!
👏 1 Big wIN 👏
While the Indiana Pacers came up short in their quest for the organization’s first NBA title, all we can say is thank you. Their postseason run was 1 Big wIN for the state of Indiana.
From a 10-15 record early in the season to forcing a Game 7 in the championship series against the Oklahoma City Thunder, which finished with the league’s best regular-season record at 68-14, the Pacers embraced the role of the underdog and rode that improbably to the finish line.
They wiped out the Eastern Conference No. 5 seed Milwaukee and top-seeded Cleveland with 4-1 series victories before sending No. 3 seed New York and its celebrity row of Spike Lee, Ben Stiller, Miles Teller and Timothee Chalamet packing in six games in the Eastern Conference Finals.
The Yes ‘Cers then followed that up by pushing OKC to the brink, and the question “what if Tyrese Haliburton didn’t rupture his Achilles?” will always be a what if. The Pacers could’ve folded in Game 7 after the untimely injury, but instead they rallied as us proud Hoosiers do, played with a next-man-up mentality, and clawed and scratched till the very end.
Who knows what next season holds, but one thing is certain — the last two months was one heckuva ride.
In 49 states it’s just basketball, but this is Indiana.
🎙 In today’s episode I sat down with viral comedian Joey Mulinaro to discuss his journey from the southside of Indianapolis to internet fame.
Joey shares insights into his early career challenges, the transformative power of viral videos, and his experiences working with major brands and personalities.
Joey also opens up about his time at Barstool Sports, the impact of fatherhood on his career, and his most cherished experiences as a Hoosier creator.
You are going to learn about:
- Valuable Lessons on Perseverance
- Leveraging Social Media for Career Growth
- Finding Authenticity as a Content Creator
Want more from us?
🎙 Hear our founder interview Indiana CEOs on Spotify!
📣 Partner with us to get your product/service in front of our audience.
💎 Know any hidden gems we should cover? Submit yours here!