Dear Play Listers,

It’s lunch time, and as I type this, I’m dreaming of the feta fries from Yazsh, the ones recommended by Byron and April Elliott in their illustrated near east side food adventure.

And so, in the spirit of hunger — metaphorical and physical — I share this collection of Mirror Indy stories that answer the age-old question: Where should we go eat? 

Get more Indianapolis arts and culture coverage at MirrorIndy.org/Arts.

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Dear Play Listers,

Save this email. Share this email. Print this email.

It's filled with info on many of the city's major events, music series and Juneteenth celebrations.

If you’re like me, you’ll pull out your paper planner and just get to blocking what you’re doing when, underlining the events you definitely don’t want to miss.

You can see our full calendar with 57 things to do in June here.

Get more Indianapolis arts and culture coverage at MirrorIndy.org/Arts.

You can also subscribe to get the Play List email newsletter.

Dear Play Listers,

We invited artist Israel Solomon to read the newsletter for you today. We’re doing this to highlight the new Mirror Indy merch store, featuring limited-edition tote bags, journals and puzzles with his artwork. 

You may have seen Israel’s paintings at BUTTER or the Children’s Museum. His works stand out for being colorful, with people and objects painted to look like bright shapes with hard angles. 

Besides reading the news, Israel will also tell us a little more about his painting style, what he keeps in his tote bag and all the cool places in Indianapolis he likes to visit.

Get more Indianapolis arts and culture coverage at MirrorIndy.org/Arts.

You can also subscribe to get the Play List email newsletter.

It’s almost Race Day, baby. The Indianapolis 500 is “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing,” and we all get to be a part of it. 

If you have the passion and the patience, you can make your way to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and watch it live. Or you can celebrate Race Day with porch parties, family get-togethers, full-blown barbecues or what have you.

I usually see it in person with my uncle-in-law Tim McDonough. (Whatup, Tim!) The man is passionate about racing, and it’s contagious. He weaves through the hundreds of thousands of people at the track like Neo from “The Matrix” dodging bullets. It’s amazing to see.

He sits in his infield bleacher seat, faces the track, brings out his little pocket radio, pops in his wired earbuds and disappears into pure racing bliss. The man is right where he wants to be all year.

So, however you choose to be a part of our unofficial holiday, get psyched and embrace tradition. IT’S ALMOST RACE DAY, BABY!

--- Enrique Saenz, westside reporter

Get more Indianapolis arts and culture coverage at MirrorIndy.org/Arts.

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Dearest Play Listers,

Do you know how you’re spending your summer yet? It’ll be here in a blink. 

For some, it already kinda is. Prom happened, graduation caps went up in the air, the Chreece headliners were announced and the signups for the public library’s summer reading program started.

It’s the perfect time to choose patio seating or get an ice cream cone. Everyone is looking pretty outside. 

So don’t delay! Catch up your calendar with our May things to do list. 

And read on for your weekly dose of arts and culture vitamins.

Get more Indianapolis arts and culture coverage at MirrorIndy.org/Arts.

You can also subscribe to get the Play List email newsletter.

Dear Play Listers,

Now that I’m a new mom, I’m looking around in this new-to-me landscape of advertisements and celebrations for Mother’s Day. 

According to Good Housekeeping magazine (which my mother read religiously from the 1970s until the early 2000s), Mother’s Day started as an anti-war movement. It evolved to what it is now, a $25 billion commercial holiday. 

This makes me think. How can we make sure Mother’s Day is not another Black Friday?

If you read on, you might get ideas to take your special señora to a plant sale or a drag race. Plan to see new art with her or take her to a fancy event that raises funds for a good cause. 

Get creative and make it meaningful. That’s my humble, newbie advice.

Get more Indianapolis arts and culture coverage at MirrorIndy.org/Arts.

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Greetings Play Listers,

If headlines about tech bros, the AI takeover and data centers have you feeling like tossing your phone into a sinkhole, you might find this edition of Play List highly stimulating and helpful. 

But first, this Friday is the first day of May and you know what that means: Reporter Mesgana Waiss combed through thousands of events and made a list with 40 events you can only attend IRL.

We have gallery, museum and art fair openings, a book bedazzling event, a gathering that celebrates women with yoga and live music, and a party that makes lemonade out of a big lemon (the construction happening right in front of their hot dog business).

We also have a story about an Indy Offline event where people have to put their phones in a lockbox.

Let’s get to it.

Get more Indianapolis arts and culture coverage at MirrorIndy.org/Arts.

You can also subscribe to get the Play List email newsletter.

Dear Play Listers,

Sharing arts and culture content can be tricky. On one hand, it can mean anything from hot dog shops to pool parties and the latest symphonic choir concert series.

On the other hand, it is the only place where some of us get to process and express our feelings about some of the scary stuff happening around us.

Mirror Indy checked in with four artists making art about the impact of the U.S. immigration policy on Latines, the war in Ukraine, motherhood and the Arab Diaspora.

You can see their artwork and what they had to say here. 

Get more Indianapolis arts and culture coverage at MirrorIndy.org/Arts.

You can also subscribe to get the Play List email newsletter.

Greetings Play Listers,

To celebrate National Poetry Month, we invited poet Sam Ferrante to read a poem for us. You can also listen to Sam read her poem by clicking on the audio version of this newsletter.

How to Write a Poem 
by Sam Ferrante

First, every poem is a love poem. You must start
with yourself. By which I mean imagine you,
but with tiny, sticky hands, your small nose pointed
at your own grown-up knees, blueberry jam lifted
skyward, and little you demanding (you can tell
by the stomping of a tiny foot). That’s your poem: big
you reaching down to get in there, below the armpits, and lift.
Track your bright eyes: the way they follow the fish, that one,
like pieces of mango glued together. Each word a movement
towards: a way forward: bitty breaths puffing against the tank
glass, the things that could eat you. Break the line one cheek
at a time: a big thumb swooped beneath each onion skin eyelid.
Say it as you work: gentle, gentle, you wouldn’t want to hurt
her, would you? And when she points, screeching, fish! listen.

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What’s up Play Listers,

The Black church is where you will find the most stylish people in the world.

An impromptu fashion show unfolded in the sanctuary of Witherspoon Presbyterian Church on an Easter Sunday morning. It was led by the Rev. Winterbourne LaPucelle Harrison-Jones. The Adinkra symbol, Guy Nyame, which means “supremacy of God,” was embroidered on his robe.

Accessories were the true star of the show. Mini-sculptures dangled from mature earlobes. Ornate hats or “crowns” sat atop heads, obstructing the view for some. 

Parishioners sat in the pews, service bulletins in hand, wearing dresses, suits, two-piece sets, blazers and skirts the colors of spring. 

Mirror Indy witnessed members of Witherspoon serving the Lord and serving looks on the holiday. Check out the photos here. 

Get more Indianapolis arts and culture coverage at MirrorIndy.org/Arts.

You can also subscribe to get the Play List email newsletter.