500 Festival Parade

After covering the Indy 500 last year, I desperately wanted to attend again this year, likely as a spectator in the infield, to get a different vantage point of the action. Unfortunately, our ridiculous schedules made it impossible to go, so I decided to do something else related to "the greatest spectacle in racing:" Check out the 500 Festival Parade that takes place downtown on the day before the race.

Much to my delight, Mommles agreed to accompany me. We set off at 9:00, so we wouldn't have any issues with traffic or parking. Luckily, we nabbed a perfect spot in a nearby parking garage, picked up our tickets at will call with no problem, and settled into our awesome bleacher seats on Monument Circle.

We had some time to kill, so we walked around downtown, dog people-watched, and enjoyed coffee/Italian ice on the monument steps.

The parade itself was awesome. I've never been to a parade that actually had helium balloon floats, so I was enamored by those, in particular. One highlight was seeing an Uncle Sam-like eagle float get caught in a nearby tree and take a massive dive. Fortunately, the parade marchers untangled it quickly and it bounced back up and continued down the street.

There were quite a few celebrities in the parade, too. In addition to all of the 500 drivers, the parade featured Mark Cuban, Florence Henderson (Carol Brady), Jim Nabors (Gomer Pyle), local Olympians Nick Goepper and Gracie Gold, former racer Mario Andretti, Colts quarterback Andrew Luck, singer-songwriter Josh Kelley, and the newest winner of The Voice, local singer Josh Kaufman.

Aside from the traffic on the way home, the entire experience was perfect. I would absolutely go again and would highly suggest pre-purchasing bleacher seats on the Circle to anyone. There was something so special about watching such a popular parade in Indianapolis with the city's iconic monument as a backdrop.

I also felt so happy to share such a cool, first-time experience with my mom. There's truly no one cooler. Oh, and she seriously rocks floppy sun hats, am I right?