Eight festivals to close out summer

We know you’re still sweating and dying a little inside every time you check the weather on your smartphone, but fall is approaching.

Soon you’ll be shopping for school supplies, September will arrive, leaves will fall from the trees and before you know it, you’ll be missing those dastardly rays.

Don’t. Let. This. Summer. Pass. You. By.

Festival season is in full swing during August — especially in Indianapolis.

Make the most of the days you have left (of summer) with these seven  festivals:

Indy Beer Bash

Are you ready for dozens of beer choices? Of course you are. The Indy Beer Bash will feature more than 70 beers from the breweries you love.

Drinks from Upland Brewing Co., Sun King Brewery, Flat 12, Carson’s Brewery and Fountain Square Brewing Co. are all within reach if you’re willing to pay $40 to attend this festival of hoppy excess. If you pay $10 more, you can get into the festival early and have access to specialty beer.

But wait, there’s more to the Indy Beer Bash than just drinking like its 1989 in Berlin. Try some food truck food, win prizes such as Colts tickets and listen to some live music.

When: 1-5 p.m. Aug. 13.

Cost: $40 general admission, $50 VIP.

Where:East Georgia Street.

Tickets: indybeerbash.com 

Soundsport International Music and Food Festival

For eight years, the Drum Corps International World Championships have brought thousands of serious band geeks to Downtown Indianapolis to enjoy musical marching performances. This year everyone can join in the festivities at the free SoundSport International Music and Food Festival.

Festivalgoers will be treated to a drumline competition on Georgia Street featuring intense two-minute battles between percussionists who aren’t afraid to throw in a little theatric flair with acrobatic stunts and stick tricks.

The SoundSport portion of the festival will include performances on three stages around the Pan American Plaza from 35 musical ensembles of all types. Really. The DCI website says participants can be anything from a tin whistle ensemble to a full marching band.

Oh, and don’t forget to enjoy the culinary stylings of food trucks while listening to the festival’s music.

When: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Aug. 13.

Cost: Free.

Where: Georgia Street and Pan American Plaza.

IndyFringe Theatre Festival

IndyFringe is the annual festival to attend for local, national and international theatrical acts of all kinds. Eight venues on Mass Ave. will present more than 400 shows over 11 days, including:

• "Harrison!," an Indy-based improvised musical in the vein of the Broadway hit "Hamilton" that tells the story of Indiana’s beginnings through key players in the state’s history.
• "Silken Veils," an inventive puppet performance about a serious subject. This play, which earned five stars from the Scotsman, “Scotland’s National Newspaper,” combines Rumi poetry and three types of puppetry to tell the story of Darya, an Iranian-born American citizen relieving her childhood during Iran’s Revolution of 1979.
• "Divas Workshop," a performance with nine self-choreographed dances set to songs by the biggest female names in music's history including Adele, Barbara Streisand and Nina Simone. Performers come from Indy’s contemporary dance company, Dance Kaleidoscope.

IndyFringe fun extends beyond the theater. Other attractions and events will include a beer tent, a 125-foot long sculpture, a public art tour and a mini parade.

When: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Aug. 18-28.

Cost: $15 for adults, $12 for students and seniors and $8 for children younger than 12.

Where:Mass Ave.

Tickets: Visit www.indyfringe.org, call 317-444-1458 or 317-459-4619 or visit a venue box office.

For Indiana Beach, a new beginning

Street of Dreams Music Fest

The Madame Walker Theatre Center on Indiana Avenue hopes to attract a diverse group of people to its first Street of Dreams Music Fest.

Host DJ Mr. Kinetik and hip-hop house band Native Sun will hold together the festival’s five-performer lineup while attendees enjoy food trucks, local vendors, a kids zone and other artists including step and dance teams.

When: 4-10 p.m. Aug. 26.

Cost: Free.

Where: Madame Walker Theatre Center, 617 Indiana Ave.

Indianapolis Greek Festival

For three days Carmel becomes Greece at this festival celebrating Hellenic culture and the Greek Orthodox faith. Everything is authentic at this festival: the food and pastries, the dancing and the wine. If you find yourself wanting more of the foods you try, there will be cooking demonstrations at 5:30 and 7 p.m. on Aug. 26 and 27.

Still curious about Greek Orthodoxy after all that? Take a tour of the actual church, which features hand painted pictures of holy events. Entertain the kids during this time with the festival's puppet show and bouncy houses.

When: 4-10 p.m. Aug. 26, 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Aug. 27, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Aug. 28

Cost: Free

Where: 3500 W. 106th St., Carmel, Indiana 

Indianapolis Wine Festival

Yes, Indy has had wine festivals before, but this is the Indianapolis Wine Festival, and it’s the inaugural one.

Buying a ticket will get you 20 tastes of 250 wines from all over the world, one pint of beer, a chance to learn about wine and cooking from area experts, discounted bottles and musical entertainment.

Pair your wine with signature dishes from Indianapolis restaurants and caterers.

When: 510:30 p.m. Aug. 26, 3:309 p.m. Aug. 27.

Cost: $32 in advance, $40 at the door.

Where:American Legion Mall, North Pennsylvania Street

Tickets: Visit http://indianapoliswinefestival.com, call 888-695-0888 or buy at the door

In Light In

Don’t expect the city to be dark the evening of Aug. 26-27. The Indianapolis Foundation will be celebrating its 100th anniversary with a two-day light festival of epic proportions on the Downtown Canal.

Fifteen interactive art installations will illuminate the dusky streets with light and fun during the festival, including one from Brooklyn-based art collective YesYesNo, which will project colorful scenes on the Scottish Rite Cathedral and invite festivalgoers to inject themselves into the installation by stepping in front of blinding panels. Other installations include glowing icebergs that will float on the canal and a colorful 24-foot canopy.

Several performances will brighten up the evening as well, including a full gospel choir with dancers and a silent disco. What's a silent disco, you ask? Festivalgoers will strap headphones to their ears and dance silently to music mixed by local DJs. There also will be gatherings of singers, guitarists and poets near the Indiana Historical Society.

When: 8:52 p.m. Aug. 26 to 1:02 a.m., Aug. 27.

Cost: Free.

Where: Multiple locations along the Downtown Canal.

Indy's ArtPrize entry will (literally) be a pile of junk

Feast of Lanterns

This east-side festival has beer and wine, food trucks, live music, more than 40 artisan vendors and a long history.

The Feast of Lanterns began in the late 1800s and has continued sporadically ever since. For the first time, the Lanterns Foundation, a nonprofit formed by festival fans, will be hosting the event.

Six bands will play throughout the festival including Bonesetter, a “neighbor rock” group, and the smooth jazz outfit Rodney Stepp and the Steppin’ Out Band featuring Steven Cooper.

When: 4-11 p.m., Aug. 27.

Cost: Free.

Where:Spades Park, 1800 Nowland Ave.

Call IndyStar reporter Danielle Grady at (317) 444-6152. Follow her on Twitter: @dgrady1222.