The 29th annual Spirit & Place Festival will explore the topic and practice of GRATITUDE for 10 days beginning Nov. 1. Through family activities, insightful lectures and workshops, a variety of performances, and transformative dialogues, this year’s festival invites the community to intentionally practice and reflect on gratitude as a way to take care of themselves and each other.
As Indianapolis’s largest co-created community festival that aims to shape both individuals and public life, the Spirit & Place Festival will host ten days of events — created by artists, scholars, performers, congregations, cultural institutions and more — at different locations around Central Indiana.
This year’s festival will highlight the importance of cobbling out moments of gratitude during challenging times, which is crucial for both personal and community health.
The festival will kick off on Nov. 1 with “In Gratitude: An Opening Celebration,” which will include live music, storytelling by locally renowned Sally Perkins, and artmaking activities. The rest of the week will follow with the various events ranging from exhibits, book and panel discussions, concerts and dance performances, film screenings, workshops, and other interactive community activities.
The festival will close with its annual “Public Conversation,” featuring Dacher Keltner and Ebony Chappel, and moderated by R. Eric Thomas, writer of the popular advice column, “Ask Eric”, on Sunday, Nov. 10. The always-popular Public Conversation is a partnership between Spirit & Place, GANGGANG and the Indiana Medical History Museum with support from Indiana Humanities in cooperation with the National Endowment for the Humanities.
One of the many things I love about Spirit & Place is that it offers the community so many surprising pairings between topics, speakers and experiences. This year’s festival offers the community a variety of opportunities to explore their own journey with gratitude because it isn’t always easy to find.
Many are still dealing with grief connected to the pandemic and have other challenges on their mind. Those in attendance might go to a classical music concert one night and a pub sing-along the next; they might get their hands caked with glue and glitter in the afternoon and then turn around and hear a lecture on Anna Karenina later. No matter the event, “gratitude” will be at the center of it all.
From start to end, the festival has something unique and individualistic for everyone. Some highlights include:
- Four family events spread across Central Indiana — Adventures in Gratitude; Growing Gratitude; Ordinary Joy; and Walks & Art. These events are geared towards families with children of all ages and will include hands-on and interactive activities.
- Lou Harry — Indianapolis-based author, journalist and playwright — will debut a new play, Balsa Wood, with four performances.
- Serene NOW, Coloring & Conversations, Exploring Wellness through Card Making and The Testimony Service will focus on slowing down and engaging in self-care.
- A Cinematic Quest for Gratitude through Grief and Attitude of Gratitude will provide a brave and caring space to think about gratitude and grief.
- A deep dive of Dacher Keltner’s book — Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How it Can Transform Your Life — ahead of the Public Conversation.
- ASL interpreting will take place at In Gratitude: An Opening Celebration; Growing Gratitude; A Blessing, Not a Burden; Gratitude in the Greatest Novel: Anna Karenina; Attitude of Gratitude; Having our Stories Told; Exploring Wellness through Card Making; and the 29th Annual Public Conversation.
- For a break on election day, The Legacies We Hold: A Celebration of Our Ancestral Communities is a place to gather or join in a non-political pub sing-along in Brownsburg called Notes of Thanks: A Paperless Music Celebration.
Most events are free, but registration is requested. To view a full calendar and description of all events, please visit: https://spiritandplace.org/events/month/2024-11/
