INDIANAPOLIS — With less than 23 days until the Indy 500, another May tradition kicked off Friday night with this year’s edition of ‘porch parties.’
It’s the best time of year to be a Hoosier, and racing fans are showing it’s never too early to start flying some checkered flags.
“Someone walks by and sees a checkered flag in your yard – it’s just an automatic conversation starter,” racing fan Mark Hervey said.
That’s what the month of May is all about here.
“We actually decorate our house more during May than we do for Christmas, and we love Christmas,” Hervey added.
It’s a feeling shared by fans and racers alike.
“This is like, better than Christmas,” IndyCar driver Sting Ray Robb said. “Especially around here, being downtown Indianapolis, you really get to see the culture grow around the race.”
Porch parties are a part of that culture, meant to bring neighbors together and welcome visitors to the Circle City.
“Every once in a while, I’ll stop on somebody’s porch and leave a little note with a sticker that says, ‘Thanks for decorating and celebrating Indianapolis,’” Indianapolis Motor Speedway president Doug Boles said.
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Harrison Center partnered to hand out race-themed decorations – for free – kicking off the season with a big celebration.
“I think everyone really unites and becomes encouraged through the different events that are going on throughout the month,” Robb said. “It’s really fun to see.”
Indy 500 spirit seeps into the work of local artists, front porches and the connections you might not have otherwise made.
“You might have conversations with someone that you hadn’t talked to before that lives down the street, but you have race decorations and you just start talking about the race and kind of bonding that way,” Hervey added.
“In 23 days, we’ll drop a green flag and a checkered flag and we’ll have to wait again for another year to see all those porches get decorated,” Boles said.
If you’re interested in competing for the best-decorated house, you can learn even more about porch parties here.
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