HENDRICKS COUNTY — Schools are getting out for summer, and if you’re looking for ways to entertain your kids, WRTV is going around Central Indiana to find places that might be in your own backyard.
The first stops are in Hendricks County. We stopped into Oinking Acres Farm in Brownsburg.
"Oinking Acres Farm [is] a rescue and sanctuary,” said Olivia Head, the owner and founder.
The rescue puts an emphasis on pigs, but you’ll find other large farm animals as well.
“So many of the animals come from such terrible neglect cases, but you would never know. They’re all so forgiving and loving and they’re such wonderful creatures,” said Head.
Learning about each of them is why the farm exists. You can take self-guided tours and visit with the animals.
“We’re all about dispelling myths about pigs. People think they’re nasty, gross, unintelligent,” said Head. "They’re very intelligent, so we hope when people come out here they leave with a new appreciation for pigs and overall new respect for them as well.”
Oinking Acres is open on Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. The last tour starts at 2 p.m. They recommend children be at least 6 years old for self-guided tours.
Stop No. 2 is Splash Island in Plainfield. The water park opened on Memorial Day and will be open through Labor Day. It includes a leisure pool, splash pads and slides. The park sees 125,000 visitors a year and went through an $8.3 million expansion last year.
“Three state-of-the-art slides were added last year. One’s a bowl slide, a tube slide and then we have another fast body slide,” said Town of Plainfield's Director of Parks and Recreation Matt Wood.
There are plenty of places for parents to relax as well with new cabanas and 900 chairs.
“It’s a great option because you can come and enjoy a day pass here or come and have a membership with unlimited use,” said Wood.
After a day at Splash Island or if you’re looking for a fun place for lunch you can check out Rusted Silo Southern BBQ. It’s in Lizton and owned by pit master Robert Ecker. Before finding himself in Indiana, he was a chef for Disney for many years.
“[I] opened Euro Disney in France,” said Ecker. “People always ask me how did I end up in Indiana. How did I go from Florida to Indiana, and I pull that old Blues Brothers line out, 'We're on a mission from God.'”
That mission is centered around family, BBQ and bringing people together.
“It brings everybody together, so that's what we wanted to do here and kind of revitalize that open wood, open hearth cooking,” said Ecker.
Ecker is also adding new menu items for kids, including a cheese quesadilla with the option to add pulled pork or chicken, along with a grilled cheese with the same options. There’s also a new strawberry lemonade on the menu.
Rusted Silo will be open for lunch starting on June 15. They’re open Tuesday through Saturday.
