Join the Indianapolis Art Center on June 22, 2018, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. to celebrate the Summer Exhibition Series with a community BBQ party, music, outdoor games, activities and more.

Proceeds from this fundraising event provide critical support to the Indianapolis Art Center's classes, exhibitions, outreach and other community programs.

"Art From the Heartland" features work from some of the Midwest's most innovative and prolific artists. The exhibition serves as the Art Center's survey on the state of contemporary art in the Midwest, highlighting artists from Indiana and surrounding states.

This year's exhibition was juried by Indy Moca's Gallery Director Mike Barclay, who selected 80 pieces out of a pool of over 650.

Also opening that night, artwork from the Indianapolis Art Center's SMART Program. The SMART program (Supportive Mentoring through ART) is a unique partnership between the Indianapolis Art Center, Starfish Initiative and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Indiana. It is a year-long structured art program for youth between the ages of 12-18 from under-served areas of Indianapolis with an interest and/or talent in the visual arts. Youth and mentors together attend a series of specialized art classes in a variety of mediums at the Art Center.

Newfields (aka Indianapolis Museum of Art) invites everyone to explore their new campus-wide summer experience, Summer Wonderland: Spectacular Creatures, with an exclusive walking tour led by curator of the exhibition, Dr. Preston Bautista.

The sculptures are the creations of Cracking Art-a collective of artists based in Italy-who create these works from recyclable plastic to speak to the increasing artificiality of society and to raise awareness of environmental issues such as, global warming, the overuse of fossil fuels and the importance of recycling.

Explore nearly 500 of Cracking Art's colorful creatures as they have settled into Newfields for the summer. See snails climbing the walls in the Efroymson Family Entrance Pavilion, elephants roaming inside Lilly House, giant alligators sunning on garden pathways, bears picking apples in the Gene and Rosemary Tanner Orchard, sparrows soaring in the Beer Garden and penguins cooling off inside the Indianapolis Museum of Art.

Take the Amtrak train to Chicago from Indy. Leave at 6 a.m. everyday. Return from Chicago at 5:45 p.m. Tickets from $25 or so. Much less stressful than driving on I-65 (which is full of construction and congested with a lot of truck traffic). Plus no downtown Chicago parking costs.

Both the Hoosier State and Cardinal trains (which operate on the route) have a café car. The seats are better than first class on the airlines. Free WiFi allows you to work or surf the web.

Chicago's Union Station includes two first class lounges-The Metropolitan Club and The Legacy Club.

You will find Indy's Union Station Terminal at 350 S. Illinois.

Once in Chicago, enjoy the summer festivals in Chicago and the great beaches. The proximity to Lake Michigan keeps it cooler than Indy. I like the Hotel Versey (644 W. Diversey Parkway near the Diversey Station on the Brown Line on the CTA). It's in the Lakeview East neighborhood close to Wrigley Field and other attractions. Tickets for the train at www.Amtrak.com.

Don't forget to get over the Broad Ripple Park Pool which is open every day except Monday for your swimming and tanning pleasure. As I have noted, the future of the pool is at risk and is nowhere in the IndyPark Broad Ripple Park draft master plan. Join our new Facebook page, Friends of Broad Ripple Pool on Facebook. Let IndyParks know you support continuation of an outdoor pool at Broad Ripple Park.

Enjoy the pool. It closes August 5, 2018.