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- Pickles + Circus? IN Fests to Hit this Weekend 🥒🎪
Pickles + Circus? IN Fests to Hit this Weekend 🥒🎪
Plus - Outdoor adventures and waterparks in IN for the whole family!
Get IN, Austin Sellers & Nate Spangle
July 17, 2025
Thursday, July 17th
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đź“ś This Week in Indiana History đź“ś
Orville Redenbacher is Born (1907)
Who doesn’t love a nice bowl of microwavable popcorn? On this week in Indiana History, we are talking about popcorn. More specifically, we are talking about Orville Redenbacher.
Born in 1907 in Brazil, Indiana, the Purdue grad was best known for his innovative popcorn recipe that popped lighter, fluffier popcorn kernels, allowing for the vast majority of the kernels to pop. His marketing savvy also made his popcorn brand the premier microwavable popcorn in the country.
Redenbacher spent much of his life living in Valparaiso, where a statue is located and a popcorn festival is held each year in his memory.
⚡ Hoosier Headlines ⚡
Sure, we may be in the heart of summer, but these warm, sunny days won’t last forever. We compiled a list of five outdoor attractions worth visiting, from splash-tastic waterparks (looking at you, Deep River Waterpark) to animal encounters.
Want to soak up summer before it’s gone? Check out our list, pack your bags, and hit the road for your next weekend adventure in the Hoosier State.
If you’re in northeast Indiana or headed that direction today, tomorrow, or Saturday, swing through DeKalb County and St. Joe for its 29th Annual Pickle Festival.
This salty tradition incorporates pickles into almost everything. Why? Sechler’s Pickles, the only family-owned pickle company in Indiana, started pickling cucumbers in their barn in 1921.
Today at the festival attendees can decorate pickles for the Pickle People Contest and Pickle Derby. Tomorrow there’s a Pickle Spoon Race at noon. On Saturday there’s a Pickle Scavenger Hunt, Pickle Eating Contest, and Pickle Juice Contest. Every one of these traditions features a load of sodium and fun.
The three-day event has some more common festival festivities, too, including live entertainment all weekend and fireworks to wrap it up on Saturday night. Check out the full schedule of events!
If you like high-flying youth performances and classic carnival fun, visit Peru today, tomorrow, or Saturday for the final three days of its 65th Annual Circus City Festival.
The “Circus Capital of the World” will host circus acts like flying trapeze artists, clown comedy routines, acrobats, and unicyclists in a three-ring big top, plus a parade and more for attendees through the weekend.
The festival is free to attend, and big top tickets are $5 for children and $10 for adults.
🔥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 us 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: https://hardtruth.com/event/bourbon-bbq-festival
Gem hunting? Start at Khamis đź’Ťđź’Ž
Our friends at Keller & Keller mentioned The Idle as a hidden gem, and we stand by it as one of Indianapolis’ coolest spots.
This public park near downtown Indy is situated near the I-65/I-70 interchange off the Indianapolis Cultural Trail near Virginia Avenue. Three rows of seats from Bush Stadium, the former home of the Indianapolis Indians, give park-goers a chance to sit back, relax, and watch traffic flow by from a safe distance.
View our full breakdown of The Idle here!
Once a Center Grove standout and now with the Kansas City Chiefs, Carson Steele sang high praises for a hidden gem in Greenwood — the House of Tokyo.
This Japanese spot serves up hibachi fare and sushi, and depending on your chef, you just may have your eyebrows cinched by an onion volcano.
What’s your Hidden Gem? Submit here to have it featured!
đź‘Ź 1 Big wIN đź‘Ź
The WNBA All-Star Game makes its Indianapolis debut this weekend, and the city will be buzzing with activations leading up to tip-off on Saturday at 8:30 p.m.
This is another huge win for the Circle City, which settles for nothing less than putting on the absolute best show when major events come to town (looking at you Super Bowl XLVI or the entire 2021 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament or the 2022 College Football National Championship or… you get it, Indy owns these moments).
Before Team Clark (TBD if Caitlin will play or not after her latest injury on Tuesday night, but Aliyah Boston and Kelsey Mitchell are good to go!) takes on Team Collier, there are WNBA All-Star festivities throughout downtown Indianapolis worth exploring.
Check out our ultimate fan guide to WNBA All-Star weekend and make plans to participate in another piece of Indianapolis history.
Best deal near downtown Indy: the seller is offering $10K to buy down your rate to 5.99% (below today’s 6.75%), plus a 1-year home warranty—making this first-time buyer–friendly home both affordable and smart in a high-appreciation area. Can purchase for just $10,000 down!
🎙 Today’s show features Carson Steele, a notable NFL player from Center Grove, Indiana, who plays for the Kansas City Chiefs.
From dealing with the disappointment of not being invited to the NFL combine and going undrafted, Steele's resilience and dedication have led him to compete at the highest level.
We discuss his upbringing, high school achievements, college career at Ball State and UCLA, and journey to landing a spot in the NFL.
We also dive into his experience at Super Bowl LIX, the Chiefs’ camaraderie, fitting into the Kansas City culture and his famed pet alligator, Crocky J.
You are going to learn about:
- Carson’s Pre-NFL Background
- How Carson’s Resilience Led Him to the NFL
- Carson’s Rookie Season Culminating with an Appearance in Super Bowl LIX
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