Summer's here! It's time for home tours and outdoor concerts. Here's a little snippet of what is happening in the next two weeks.

The theme for the 37th Meridian-Kessler Home & Garden Tour is "Green by Design." The tour celebrates how the neighborhood was designed with several features that are now considered environmentally friendly. Most of the historic homes were constructed with green materials; local and organic. Several restaurants, shops and parks are within walking distance and the area is full of mature trees. There are eight homes and gardens on the tour and your ticket is good for both days. You can purchase advance tickets at all Paradise Café locations, G. Thrapp Jewelers, Taste Café, National Bank of Indianapolis, Aristocrat, Fresh Market and through the Web site. Home tour weekend you can buy tickets at each of the homes. It is suggested that you start at 5909 Washington Blvd.

The Twilight Tour and Silent Auction is always great fun. It's a giant fancy neighborhood party. The music is always great; there is a fun silent auction and a home to tour. This event typically sells-out, so I suggest that you purchase your ticket as soon as possible. Check the Web site for details or call the MKNA office at 317.283.5991. I'll see you there!

My friend, Evan Finch sent me a link to a YouTube video of Rick K & The Allnighters.

The drummer for this cover band (playing the hits of the last fifty years) is crazy! Someone on YouTube thought that it looks like he's fighting off a swarm of bees. Another friend suggested that the drummer is half way to genius and half way to "stupid, which makes him totally awesome." Either way, I hope they wear the yellow suits.

This is the first year for the Indy Haunt Fest and they have a ton of fun programs and activities on the schedule. They have workshops on kicking your home haunting up a notch and tips for the professional haunted house folks. I'm very interested in the class on how to make an extra-creepy prop hand. There are also demonstrations on makeup and how to turn household and thrift store items into props to haunt up your house.

Saturday night features a costume contest and music from the great band Weeds of Eden at the Rock & Ghoul show. The $25 (adult) ticket price includes most workshops and events for both days. You can save $5 by bringing at least five pounds of pasta for Second Helpings. The event is family-friendly. Other activities include a hearse rally and zombie crawl.

Historic Meridian Park 2010 Tour of Homes offers a glimpse inside of several of the neighborhood's beautifully maintained and restored homes, as well as gorgeous porches, gardens and antique cars.

The Meridian Park neighborhood is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is located in Mapleton Fall Creek. It is bounded by Pennsylvania St. and Washington Blvd. from 30th to 34th streets. The tour organizers are excited to shine the spotlight on the front porches in their neighborhood.

Tour attendees will be invited to stop and take a breather at "welcoming porches" between their visits to houses. Antique cars will be found in the 3200 block of Pennsylvania St.; food and drinks can be purchased on Washington Court.

Six of the eight tour homes have been restored to their former glory after being gutted down to the studs, and you can tour one home currently in the beginning stages of major renovations.

Among Indianapolis' first suburbs, Historic Meridian Park is best known for its Arts & Crafts architecture, including Mission, American Foursquare, and Prairie-style homes; but it also features outstanding examples of Tudor, Dutch Colonial Revival, Italian Villa and French Eclectic styles. All of the buildings in the area reflect the use of natural materials such as brick, stucco, wood siding and tile, and they emphasize visible structural elements such as beams and large overhangs.

Advance tickets can be purchased at Metro Indianapolis Marsh Supermarkets,

Old National Bank locations: Downtown Indianapolis, Glendale and Broad Ripple and at the Mapleton-Fall Creek Development Corporation, 130 E. 30th St.

I wish I had enough room to tell you about each of the homes and gardens on the tour. Visit the Web site for a complete list.