Indianapolis, IN
Summer camp registration is open. Here are some options for your kids in central Indiana
While it may be hard to think about the end of the school year before spring arrives, summer break is right around the corner.
The Indianapolis Public Schools will host a summer activities resource fair on Saturday, March 9 from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Arsenal Tech High School. Families can come and explore different summer opportunities for little children and job opportunities for teens.
If you prefer to do your research online, here is a look at some summer camp options for kids in the central Indiana area. f you’re searching for ways to amuse your children once school lets out.
Camps with multiple locations
Indy Parks Camps
Parks around the city offer summer options for children of all ages. The weeklong camps focus on a range of topics, from trail stomping to mural painting to theatre to good old-fashioned summer camp.
YMCA Summer Day Camps
The YMCA of Greater Indianapolis has 14 summer day camp locations across central Indiana. These camps include traditional camp or Discovery camp, held at schools or churches across the city for kids to participate in STEAM activities.
Spring break: Here’s when central Indiana schools and colleges are out of session
Downtown camps
Girls Rock! Indy
Girls Rock is a day camp for girls, non-binary and trans youth ages 9-16. Campers attend a week-long crash course in instrument instruction, songwriting, and musical collaboration as well as interactive workshops and lessons focused on building confidence, personal empowerment, and leadership skills through the lens of music education. The camp culminates in a Saturday showcase.
The camp has two weeklong options in July and applications close on March 18.
Indiana Repertory Theatre Camp
The IRT offers sessions for students ages 8-15, as well as mini camps for students ages 5-7. The IRT also offers half-day or full-day workshops for high school students.
Indiana State Museum Camps
While some of these popular camps have already sold out, the museum still has openings for some of its weeklong programs, which focus on topics ranging from time travel to 3-D art to animals and more.
IUPUI Jaguar summer day camps
IUPUI offers day camp options for kids ages 5-12 that let kids explore activities like sports, non-competitive games and other activities involving movement along with swim lessons.
Indianapolis Zoo summer camp
The Indianapolis Zoo offers three and five-day camps for kids ages 5-14. Kids will learn about wild animals and what it takes to have a career in conservation. Prices vary for members and nonmembers.
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Northside and Hamilton County Camps
Arts for Lawrence, Summer Art Camp
Arts for Lawrence runs four weeks of day camps for kids ages 6-12. Each day, kids will get to participate in visual arts classes, including painting and pottery as well as performing arts classes in the afternoon.
Butler University Summer Arts Camps
Butler University has a variety of day camps for ages 7-18 and even some 18 and older camps for adults. Most of the camps focus on performing arts like music, theatre or dance with half or full-day options.
Butler University Soccer Camps
Butler University offers day soccer camps for kids aged 8-14 of various ability levels. Some of the weeks are already sold out but there are spaces available for the co-ed sessions.
Hamilton County Parks
Hamilton County Parks offers day camps, some with overnight stays for kids ages 6 – 13. Kids can enjoy outdoor activities, such as fishing, aerial adventures, archery and canoeing as part of the Strawtown Koteewi camp. Registration begins March 16 at 10 a.m.
JCC Indianapolis Day Camps
The JCC Indianapolis has day camps for kids in grades K-9 and a counselor-in-training program for 10th graders. Camp days last from around 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and kids do activities like games, nature studies, arts and crafts and swimming. Non-JCC members can participate in the camps.
Indy Hoops Academy
The Indy Hoops Academy, located in Fishers has half-or full-day camps for kids in grades K-8. Kids participate in sports like basketball, soccer, flag football, whiffle ball, kickball, dodgeball and other physical activities.
Park Tudor Summer Experience
Park Tudor, a private school on the north side of Indianapolis, offers summer camp options for preschoolers all the way up to high schoolers. The programs offered range from arts and crafts, sports, performing arts, and various other subjects.
White Pine Wilderness Academy
The White Pine Wilderness Academy offers day camp options for two weeks in the summer where kids ages 4-17 can experience activities like fire-making, wood splitting, plant ID, foraging, crafting, scouting, tracking, and storytelling.
Is there a summer camp in central Indiana that we forgot to add? Let us know by emailing cbeck@gannett.com.
Contact IndyStar reporter Caroline Beck at 317-618-5807 or CBeck@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter: @CarolineB_Indy.
Caroline’s reporting is made possible by Report for America and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Report for America is a program of The GroundTruth Project, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to strengthening local newsrooms. Report for America provides funding for up to half of the reporter’s salary during their time with us, and IndyStar is fundraising the remainder. To learn more about how you can support IndyStar’s partnership with Report for America and to make a donation, visit indystar.com/RFA.
Indianapolis, IN
Indianapolis Democrat Andrea Hunley to seek bid for mayor’s job in 2027
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — State Sen. Andrea Hunley, a Democrat representing Indianapolis, has announced her candidacy for a bid to run for mayor of Indianapolis in 2027.
Hunley, who had previously teased a mayoral run, has scheduled a launch event for May 8 as her official kickoff her campaign to lead the city, said her campaign website. The Assistant Minority Leader in the Senate announced in January that she would not seek another term in the Indiana Senate, to which she was elected in 2022.
Hunley’s website says, “Indianapolis is my city. Our city. As someone who knows this city, someone who has served this community as a public school teacher leading our children and supporting families, I am committed to the future of the people of Indianapolis.
“Indianapolis is the economic driver and a key cultural hub for our state. Our city boasts creative entrepreneurs and long-standing local businesses, vibrant neighborhoods and corporate headquarters, community-centered nonprofits and public schools. I aim to champion a better quality of life by listening to and working alongside the people, businesses and neighborhoods that make up our great city.”
Mayor Joe Hogsett has not disclosed if he’s seeking a fourth four-year term.
City-County Council Member Vop Osili in January announced his campaign for the Democratic nomination.
In the same month, Pike Township Trustee Annette Johnson announced her intention to seek the Democratic nomination to run for mayor. She’s running this year to continue in the trustee’s job, which she has held since 2019.
Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears, who had been mentioned as a possible Democratic candidate for mayor, announced in January he would seek another four-year term this year for his current job. However, he did not rule out running for the Democratic bid for mayor in 2027.
Indianapolis, IN
Louisville native set to make debut in Indianapolis 500
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) – While Louisville is famous for one race in May, a Derby City native is set to make his first appearance in a different iconic May race.
Jacob Abel will be making his first appearance in the Indianapolis 500 on May 24, racing for Abel Motorsports, founded by his father, Bill Abel.
“I am excited and grateful to be able to return to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to have a shot at the Indianapolis 500. It’s been a lifelong dream to compete in that race and to have the opportunity to do it with Abel Motorsports and Chevrolet makes it even more special,” Jacob said.
Both Abels, the driver and the team, had breakout years in 2024 with three pole positions and three wins in the INDY NXT drivers’ championship, propelling the 25-year-old driver to the NTT INDYCAR Series the following year.
Practice for the 110th Indianapolis 500 begins on Tuesday, May 12 with qualifying being held on May 16 and May 17. The race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway goes green on May 24, coverage begins at 10 a.m.
Copyright 2026 WAVE. All rights reserved.
Indianapolis, IN
IMPD: Man stabbed in downtown Indianapolis
INDIANAPOLIS — A person was stabbed in downtown Indianapolis Sunday evening.
According to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, officers were called to the intersection of East Market and North Delaware Streets around 8:28 p.m. to investigate a stabbing. When police arrived at the scene, they located an adult male victim with apparent stab wounds.
IMPD has confirmed that the victim was transported from the scene to a local hospital in critical but stable condition.
Investigators believe the stabbing “stemmed from a disturbance between multiple individuals and the victim.”
IMPD has reported that it has not identified or detained any suspects or persons of interest at this point in its investigation of the stabbing. Police have indicated that they are hoping witnesses come forward with information that can help them identify or locate the suspects.
“The officers now are doing a complete investigation,” IMPD Lieutenant Frank Wooten said during a media briefing Sunday night. “They’re going to investigate this to the best of their ability. We’re going to try to locate our suspect, arrest the suspect, prosecute the suspect and hold that suspect accountable for this heinous crime in Indianapolis. This is not an indication of what our city is about. This is not an indication of what we do downtown, and we hold this to be very serious. So, we will hold whoever did this responsible for their actions tonight.”
Sunday night’s stabbing represented a continuation of a violent weekend in downtown Indianapolis.
Early Sunday morning, two men were critically injured in a shooting near a White Castle on South Street. Before that shooting occurred, police arrested two juveniles on gun charges at Monument Circle.
Police also conducted a shooting investigation near the Hilton hotel located at 120 W. Market St. around 4 a.m. Sunday. Nobody was injured in that shooting.
Elsewhere in the city, a person was injured in a shooting in a CVS parking lot on Kentucky Avenue Saturday evening. Another individual was killed in a shooting outside a residence in the 2300 block of South Pennsylvania Street Saturday night.
Public police reporting systems indicate IMPD has investigated nine shootings that caused injuries since midnight Saturday. During that same timeframe, IMPD has investigated six shootings that did not result in any injuries and five stabbings.
Numbers available on shootings and stabbings in IMPD’s public reporting system may not be complete, as some reports on weekend shootings and stabbings may not have been entered yet.
“This is not what we want Indianapolis to be,” Wooten said. “This is not what we expect out of the citizens of Indianapolis. We expect them to be safe, come downtown and have a good time, and be able to go home the same way they came down here. So, we will hold these suspects, once located, accountable for this crime.”
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