• The Indiana Native Plant Society (INPS), is urging companies to contact the group if they are redeveloping properties that include vegetation. INPS (formerly INPAWS) will come in and rescue any native plants on the property. INPS volunteers dig up the plants, pot them and relocate them – mostly through an annual sale, which will be held at Park Tudor School, 7200 N. College Ave, in Indianapolis on May 11th from 9:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. Proceeds fund youth and adult native plant education programs in Indiana. The sale is open to the public. Visit the INPS Plant Sale at https://indiananativeplants.org/ for details.
• Easter Holiday Closures: All Indianapolis Public Library locations will be closed on Sunday, April 21 in observance of Easter. All locations will reopen at their regular times on Monday, April 22. All Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicle (BMV) branches will be closed Friday, April 19 in observance of the Good Friday holiday Branches will resume regularly scheduled business hours on Saturday, April 20.
• Father Greg Boyle, the Los Angeles Jesuit priest who founded the largest program for formerly incarcerated and gang-involved people in the world, will be speaking free of charge at the Faith & Action Project Conference on May 2 from 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Eastern Star Church, 5750 30th St. The program will feature discussions on bringing hope and faith to communities on the east side rocked by violence.
• The public is invited to celebrate America’s most popular national parks during a photographic presentation at the Lawrence Branch library, 7898 N. Hague Rd. on Tuesday, April 23 from 10:15 a.m-11:30 a.m. The program is a part of the Lawrence Branch’s 2019 travel, history, and popular culture series. Coffee, tea and cookies will be provided.
• Last year’s pop-up retail experience, St’ArtUp 317, will be repeated this year in May, with 30 pop-up shops opening in now-vacant or underutilized spaces around town. The brainchild of Develop Indy and fashion arts nonprofit PATTERN, the locations include the Circle Center Mall, Circle City Industrial Complex at 1125 Brookside Ave., Stenz at 985 Dorman St., and several other locations. The shops and window displays will be open May 1-31. For more information, visit www.startup317.com
• After years of sitting vacant and fighting off developers who wanted to demolish it, the “German Church” in Cumberland will finally begin its transformation into housing for seniors. The developers received the tax breaks they needed to reimagine the historic building on the corner of German Church Road and East Washington St.
• Do you have your tickets yet for the 2nd Annual Beastside Brewfest on Saturday, April 27 from 7:00-10:30 p.m. at Scecina? Don’t wait — get your $25 advance sale tickets now online at www.irvingtoncommunitycouncil.com. Tickets at the door (if available) will be $30 and include samples of beer and more from local businesses, including Black Acre, Centerpoint, Ash & Elm Cider, and more. Proceeds go to support the 73rd Annual Historic Irvington Halloween Festival. Costumes are encouraged!