Indiana
Pickles, pierogis and popcorn: These food-themed festivals are happening around Indiana
Sights and sounds of the AES 500 Festival Parade
The AES 500 Festival Parade marched through downtown Indianapolis on Saturday, May 25, 2024, on the eve of the 108th Running of the Indianapolis 500.
Summer is here, and if you’re looking for sweet or savory ways to spend the next few months, Indiana has an assortment of food-themed festivals that should serve up good memories.
Here’s what to know about summer food festivals happening around Indy.
Taste of Indy
Starting off our list is Indy’s largest food festival, Taste of Indy. There is a kids play area and bounce house, as well as performances, a video game truck, face painting and a rock climbing wall.
When: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. July 6
Where: White River State Park 901 W. Washington Street, Indianapolis, IN 46204
Website: tasteofindy.org
Things to do: Taste of Indy fest returns with dozens of food vendors
Pickle Fest
The annual Pickle Fest in Saint Joe, a town north of Fort Wayne in DeKalb County, features a pickle juice contest, a pickle eating contest, pizza eating contest, a volleyball tournament, parade and more.
When: July 18-20
Where: Saint Joe, Indiana
Website: stjoeindiana.org/pickle-festival
Pierogi Fest
Indiana’s Pierogi Fest is celebrating 30 years this year. There will be live music, food vendors, arts and crafts, beer gardens and more. Visit the website to view the festival map and schedule of events.
When: July 26-28, Parade is at 7 p.m. on Friday
Where: 1417 119th St., Whiting, Indiana
Website: pierogifest.net
Juneteenth 2024: Indy has everything from jazz performances to boxing to celebrate the holiday
Hot Dog Festival
This annual festival takes place in Frankfurt and includes art and food vendors, a 5K race, Dock Dog diving, the Doxie Dash competition for daschunds, a classic car show and (of course) a hot dog eating contest.
When: July 26-28
Where: 62 N. Main Street, Frankfort, IN 46041
Website: frankfortmainstreet.org
Van Buren Popcorn Festival
The Van Buren Popcorn Festival is a free festival. This year marks the 51st anniversary of this event and this year’s theme is ‘Poppin’ Up Behind the Scenes Honoring the Blue Collar Worker.” There is music, parades, a 5K and more. Visit the website for the full 2024 schedule.
When: August 1-4
Where: 205 S. 1st Street, Van Buren, IN 46991
Website: popcornfestivalofvanburen.org
Chocolate Walk
Are you a lover of chocolate? Hancock County will host its 15th annual Chocolate Walk, a scavenger hunt type of event, where attendees pick up a punch card and stop by local business to receive samples of chocolate. Register to attend the event on their website, $20 per ticket.
When: Chocolate Walk is from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday, Aug. 9
Where: One Courthouse Plaza, Greenfield, IN 46140
Website: greenfieldcc.org
More Indiana Festivals
For the full list of festivals across the state through the rest of the year, the Indiana Festival guide can be viewed here.
Katie Wiseman is a trending news intern at IndyStar. Contact her at klwiseman@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @itskatiewiseman.
Indiana
FBI thwarted ‘ISIS-inspired plot’ at Indiana school, but won’t say where
Dan Bongino announces he will be leaving the FBI in January
FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino announced he is leaving in January after less than a year as the law enforcement agency’s number two official.
At some point in 2025, the FBI helped a local police agency foil an “ISIS-inspired plot” that at least one minor planned to carry out at an unnamed central Indiana school, according to an annual summary released by the federal agency’s Indianapolis field office on Jan. 5, 2026.
FBI agents “disrupted an ISIS-inspired plot targeting a Central Indiana high school through rapid coordination with local partners,” according to the news release.
Beyond that, the agency provided few details, sharing neither the name of the school involved nor the city or town in which the school was located. Nor did the agency clarify why the report characterized the plot as ISIS-inspired.
Chris Bavender, an FBI spokesperson, declined to answer an IndyStar request for additional information about the foiled attack, responding in an email that “this matter is ongoing.”
“Because the student had immediate access to firearms, FBI Indianapolis worked closely with the high school and our local law enforcement partner to remove all firearms from the house, and the student was expelled from school. DOJ did not file charges as the individual is a juvenile,” Bavender wrote.
Bavender did not provide any information on whether the student is facing charges in the juvenile justice system.
Although high schools in both Mooresville and Westfield were the site of high-profile threat investigations in 2025, neither matched the details mentioned in the FBI report.
In February 2025, Trinity Shockley, 18, was arrested after sharing plans for a Valentine’s Day school shooting at Mooresville High School. Though the investigation into Shockley began after the FBI received a tip, Shockley was not a juvenile at the time of her arrest. Nor did court documents filed in her case reference any connection to ISIS.
The Mooresville Police Department did not immediately respond on Jan. 5 to a request for comment.
In September 2025, Westfield High School was placed on lockdown after a “potential threat.” Billy Adams, the assistant chief of the Westfield Police Department, said there’s no indication the lockdown “had anything to do with an ISIS-inspired plot.”
IndyStar reached out on Jan. 5 to multiple police agencies in central Indiana, including the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, the Southport Police Department, the Speedway Police Department and the Beech Grove Police Department.
Officials for IMPD, Southport, and Speedway police said their agencies handled no such threat. Beech Grove’s police department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Ryan Murphy is the communities reporter for IndyStar. She can be reached at rhmurphy@indystar.com.
Indiana
Unseasonably mild temperatures for central Indiana this week | Jan. 5, 2026
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Temperatures in Central Indiana are expected to remain above normal through late this week, with highs near 60 degrees expected by Thursday and Friday. Rain showers are predicted from Thursday through Friday night, with the possibility of isolated thunderstorms.
Today:
Dry and mild, with high temperatures ranging from the mid 40s to low 50s. Just a mix of sun and clouds with light winds should make for a pleasant afternoon.
Tonight:
Lows in the mid 30s to low 40s, with patchy drizzle or fog possible late.
Tuesday:
Mostly cloudy skies and breezy conditions with wind gusts of 20 to 25 mph, elevating highs into the lower to middle 50s. A few light showers will be possible through the day as well.
Wednesday:
Should be the best day of the week, featuring more sunshine and lighter winds, with highs in the low to mid 50s.
Late week storm system:
Highs on Thursday and Friday are set to approach 60°, which will be pushing a few records across the state.
A warm front moving through Thursday evening will spark scattered showers and possibly some thunderstorms across the area starting Thursday afternoon.
A stronger storm or two can’t be ruled out.
Showers will continue into the first half of Friday, before the cold front pushes out of the state later in the day.
As the weekend approaches, the cold front will move through, leading to a significant drop in temperatures. Conditions will become cooler and breezy, with spotty flurries possible as temperatures return to seasonal norms for this time of year.
Looking ahead, the weekend is expected to bring a return to cooler temperatures and near-seasonal norms, with potential light snow flurries in the forecast as a cold front passes through Central Indiana.
Indiana
Indiana football adds explosive running back out of transfer portal
BLOOMINGTON — Curt Cignetti reinforced his running back rotation, which will need an offseason makeover due to eligibility related attrition, on Sunday with the commitment of Boston College running back Turbo Richard according to multiple media outlets.
Richard helps relieve the stress created by the departures of Kaelon Black and Roman Hemby, the Hoosiers’ leading rushers in 2025, both of whom will exhaust their eligibility at the end of the current season. Cignetti and his staff add Richard to a running back room already anchored around Lee Beebe Jr., returning from injury, and Khobie Martin, the one-time Fishers star who flashed meaningful potential this season.
Here’s what to know about IU’s newest running back:
Turbo Richard provides proven production
Indiana has, in Cignetti’s two seasons in Bloomington, shown a repeated desire to add skill players who’ve shown impact in numbers and film. Richard fits that bill.
Across two seasons in Chestnut Hill, he posted 1,027 yards and 11 touchdowns on 200 carries, with another 275 yards receiving and two more touchdowns through the air.
Last season, Richard accounted for 962 total yards and 11 scores.
He’s shown explosiveness too: Richard posted at least one carry of 10-plus yards in seven different games last season, with single-game highs of 18, 43, 46 and 71 yards.
How much eligibility does Turbo Richard have remaining?
Cignetti often refers to players with more than one year of eligibility remaining as more valuable in the portal. His program will get as many as two from Richard.
Additionally, the Charlotte native played right away at Boston College, in 2024, meaning he has a redshirt year if he needs it for any reason as well.
Fit to type
Listed at 5-8, 207 pounds, Richard looks on film a lot like the kind of back Indiana has had success with in Cignetti’s tenure.
He’s quick and nimble enough to get involved in the pass game, but powerful enough to make an impact between the tackles. He also shows excellent burst — as evidenced by those explosive numbers — potentially replacing the second- and third-level burst that made Black and Hemby so dangerous this season.
Indiana led the Big Ten in rushes of 10-plus yards in 2025. Richard profiles as the kind of back that can help sustain that production into 2026.
Back rotation settled?
It’s not clear exactly where Beebe stands in his recovery from a season-ending injury suffered in September. If IU is confident in his return to form, coupled to Martin’s development, this could wind up as Indiana’s running back rotation into next season.
The Hoosiers have reportedly hosted other portal running backs, so it’s possible IU isn’t done here. But especially given Martin’s flashes this season (74 carries, 463 yards, six TDs), if Indiana is settled here, then the Hoosiers appear to have handed position coach John Miller another healthy stable of backs to build a run game around.
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