IndyGoGirls: September 2009

It's Festival Time!

Hoosiers love their festivals: chocolate, wine, maple syrup, fiber, spring celebration, 500, jazz and blues, arts and music, canal days, western days, strawberry, covered bridges, round barn, Cole Porter, mermaid, pickles, bluegrass, freedom, craft, midsummer, Swiss days, hot dog, hometown, bean blossom, lazy day, potato, herb, pork, harvest, gourd, popcorn, marshmallow, Little Italy, blueberry, Scottish, fall, apple, fiddler’s and fur trappers, back to the fifties, chili, turning leaves, pioneer, coal, pumpkin, navy bean, moon , Christmas, trees, angels, circle of lights, and winter. These are just some of the reasons festivals are held in Indiana.

The IndyGoGirls are determined to attend as many festivals as possible. Our inaugural event was the Elwood Glass Festival held August 14th-16th. The festival features the usual heartland fare: carnival midway, music, food, various contests and a quilt show. What interested us though was the tour of various Elwood creative businesses. Sponsored by the Elwood Chamber of Commerce as a means of increasing the awareness of their own version of Main Street, USA, the tour featured the following:

House of Glass
Venus Chocolate Shop
Spencer Lapidary
Historic Opera House
Prestige Crystal
New Day Meadery

We watched glass artisans create original works of glass at the House of Glass and spent an enjoyable 30 minutes with a charmer of a woman named Junie Theoharis, of the Venus Chocolate Shop, learning the art of chocolate making and, of course, chocolate eating.

Joe Rice, of the House of Glass, held demonstrations featuring his signature paperweight creations. For more than 20 years, this craftsman has continued the legacy of his extended family, the St. Clairs, by creating beautiful art glass using traditional methods mixed with the contemporary. The modestly priced glass art is available for purchase at the factory and via the internet.

Meanwhile, over at The Venus Chocolate Shop, the inimitable Junie was serving a tray of hand-made chocolate confections to visitors. Junie has spent a lifetime perfecting the art of making chocolate. In fact, one of the tables used to lay out the chocolate is one from Junie's childhood when her parents were the chocolatiers. The passion and warmth of this unique woman only added to the delightful freshness and goodness of the chocolate she makes. Thanks, Junie, we had a great time with you!

Visit the Venus Chocolate Shop at 2840 South A Street in

Elwood, IN. The chocolate is divine!

With the most primitive means the artist creates something

which the most ingenious and efficient

technology will never be able to create.
Kasimir Malevich

Minnetrista. The IndyGoGirls toured the former Ball Brothers estate on a warm, sunny day enjoying the history, the nature and the beauty of this “gathering place by the water.”

The year was 1893. The Ball Brothers had already relocated their glass manufacturing company from New York when they purchased land along the White River, in Muncie, to make their family home. All five of the brothers built homes on this land.

Today, Minnetrista is a cultural center where visitors can tour Oakhurst, the former home of G.A. Ball, stroll through the stunning gardens and walk along Oakhurst Boulevard along the White River.