INDIANAPOLIS (WRTV) — An Indianapolis neighborhood festival has announced its return this year, along with a multimillion-dollar announcement.
Move Martindale-Brightwood's PreEnact will returns from 2-8 p.m. July 30 to the Historic Polk Stables at 1533 Lewis St., said a news release issued Monday from Harrison Center for the Arts in Indianapolis.
Move Martindale-Brightwood represents a coalition of four neighborhood-based institutions, 20 organizations, and stakeholders collaborating to secure funding, build programming, and advance the Quality of Life Plan for the Martindale-Brightwood community. Part art festival, part interactive theater, the goal of the event is to help act out the community's shared vision for its future.
The free festival kicks off at 2 p.m. July 30 with a neighborhood parade down the Monon Trail, followed by a "Quality of Life Plan" press conference and the Tysha Hardy-Sellers leadership award announcement at 3 p.m. The 2026 award will honors the late Gina Fears, a community builder who helped shape the neighborhood's Quality of Life Plan.
From 3:30 to 6 p.m., attendees can enjoy live music, dance performances, a double Dutch showcase, a community sing-along, a porch party, and networking events for business owners. Tours of coworking spaces, Polk Stables, and the Polklore Micro-Museum, will run from 3:30 to 7 p.m. July 30.
At 4:30 p.m. July 30, the Polklore Micro-Museum will host a debut storytelling performance, followed by a poetry reading at 16th Street and the Monon at 5:30 p.m. The evening wraps up with gospel music, live dance, and a community feast from 6 to 8 p.m.
Food trucks, a lemonade stand, free ice cream, a Jersey cow visit, and horse-bike rides round out the family-friendly activities.
The release said the celebration will also serve as the backdrop for a major funding announcement: KIPP Indy, with a grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. through its Marion County K–12 Public Schools Initiative, will invest $5.5 million over four years in six community-based organizations serving Martindale-Brightwood. The recipient organizations — Edna Martin Christian Center, Soul Food Project, Felege Hiywot Center, Harrison Center, and Brightwood Forest Manor Community Center — were selected for their longstanding commitment to the neighborhood and their alignment with the community's Quality of Life Plan. The release said the investment is designed to strengthen student academic achievement and expand opportunities for success after high school.
For more information, contact Immanuel Ivey at iivey@ednamartincc.org or Joanna Taft at jtaft@harrisoncenter.org.
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