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What’s Out There Weekend Indianapolis drew more than 1,000 visitors to 28 distinctive landscapes across the city on October 6 – 8, 2017. Throughout the Weekend, the joy in experiencing these exceptional places was evidenced by the superior turnout – many participants attended five or more tours throughout the weekend – and positive reactions. The refrain heard time and again was that people were thankful that this opportunity came to their city. According to one tour-goer who wrote to the editor of the Indy Star, the weekend presented “a unique opportunity for those who love our beautiful city to connect with the urban landscapes, historical spaces, and natural places that form the landscape legacy of our city. What’s Out There Indianapolis… is a conscious effort to connect our people to the places that form the fabric of their life experience here.”

A special aspect of this particular Weekend was the diversity of the sites explored. These included the series of prominent public spaces first laid out in Alexander Ralston’s Mile Square Plan for the city – the Indiana War Memorials Historic District – as well as less well-trodden landscapes, such as Marian University’s EcoLab, a Jens Jensen-designed landscape that is publicly accessible but not widely known among locals.

The Weekend opened with an evening reception at the Christian Theological Seminary, with hors d'oeuvres generously sponsored by Bartlett Tree Experts. A full-to-capacity tour of the Dan Kiley-designed landscape preceded the reception – it was so popular that expert guides Steve Mannheimer and David Gorden offered a reprise at the conclusion of the evening to those who had missed the first tour.

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On a sunny Saturday, an eager group of locals and visitors participated in an early morning tour of Indy’s downtown cultural landscapes, led by urban designer Tom Gallagher – the central War Memorial Historic District, and more contemporary designs, including Georgia Street, the Cummins Distribution Head