Spirit and Place Festival

The Spirit and Place Festival is an annual two-​week event that takes place every year at various locations around the city. Spirit and Place began back in the 1990s as a Polis Center-​sponsored project to explore the relationship between religious practices and urban life. (Sidenote: The Polis Center is a unit of the Indiana University School of Liberal Arts at IUPUI that focuses on metro-​Indy issues as well as those of similarly sized American cities.)
The precursor to our modern-​day Spirit and Place Festival was an interactive presentation by keynotes Kurt Vonnegut, Dan Wakefield and John Updike at Butler University. Rather than simply present a speech, each gentleman held a public conversation that also included literary readings and discussions — 10 other organizations apart from The Polis Center also participated.
These days, Spirit and Place has evolved to include more than 100 organizations and the participation of over 25,000 people in its activities. Through the collaboration of the arts, humanities and religion, the festival promotes the ideas of civic engagement, respect for diversity, thoughtful reflection, public imagination and lasting community change.
Many of the festival’s events are free of charge, while a few of the interactive (crafts, writing workshops to name a few) sessions require a ticket. With everything from discussion groups to music and dance performances and gallery exhibits, the festival has something to appeal to all ages and backgrounds. Check it out online or pick up a free event magazine at businesses around the city.