Hoosier sugar shacks open to the public in March for a behind-the-scenes look and taste of Indiana maple syrup. Photos courtesy of Indiana Maple Syrup Association  By Natalie Derrickson Breakfast enthusiasts, preservationists, and nature buffs all have something to love when it comes to maple syrup, and one magical weekend a year, they can see… Continue reading.

By Natalie Derrickson It’s not every day that a business’s marketing tactics live up to the hype of their product, but at the Uranus Fudge Factory in Anderson, Indiana, the in-store experience is as silly, wacky, and all-out fun as advertised. Visitors can satisfy their sweet tooth with delicious confections such as fudge, chocolate, popcorn,… Continue reading.

By Natalie Derrickson When the weather turns cold, one need only visit the Fort Wayne History Center’s Festival of Gingerbread to be enveloped in the warmth of the season and the tantalizing aroma of gingerbread.  During the festival’s run from Nov. 24 through Dec. 17, visitors can expect to see professional-level gingerbread creations, including depictions… Continue reading.

According to the Indiana War Memorials Foundation, no other city in the United States maintains as much acreage dedicated to honoring veterans as Indianapolis. Featuring a variety of museums, parks, memorials and monuments, downtown Indy provides several opportunities to pay tribute to the state’s rich military history and the men and women who have served…. Continue reading.

Constructed in 1908, the Indiana State Sanatorium was originally built to give respite and healing to those suffering from tuberculosis.  More than a medical facility, the Sanatorium, and its surrounding buildings situated on over 200 acres, functioned as a self-sufficient community. Doctors and nurses lived on the property. There was a greenhouse, a dairy barn… Continue reading.

The day before our nation’s “four score and seventh birthday,” the momentous question whether the United States would survive intact to celebrate any future birthdays hinged on the outcome of the Civil War battle fought at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. This month marks the 160th anniversary of that battle. Fought July 1-3, 1863, Gettysburg is perhaps the… Continue reading.

Strawberry Fields may be forever — at least in some of our Beatle-inspired minds — but the juicy red morsels of late spring and early summer are fleeting. Be certain not to miss out on these first fruits of the season by visiting a strawberry festival near you. All around Indiana, festivals featuring strawberries kick… Continue reading.

March and April are the two months when the four letters “N-C-A-A” roll off the tongue most frequently — especially in basketball-crazed Indiana. Though the clock runs out on the college hoops season with the Final Four, Hoosiers don’t have to let the lore or excitement fade with the arena crowds. The NCAA Hall of… Continue reading.

Valentine’s Day falls perfectly between the year-end holidays and spring break, which is usually still a month or so away. In the deadest of winter, Valentine’s Day is a shining moment that gives everyone from harried parents to budding couples a chance for some rest and romantic relaxation. Whether you live in the northern or… Continue reading.

Eighty years ago this spring, the Nazi regime in Germany, already in the throes of its genocide against millions of people it deemed undesirable and a World War it instigated, began conducting perverse pseudoscientific medical experiments on sets of twins. Among those pulled from the population bound to the concentration camps in the spring of… Continue reading.

Something magical happens when trains couple with Christmas. Be it a model electric train circling the base of a Christmas tree firing up a child’s imagination or a genuine old-fashioned steam or diesel engine chugging through a winter’s night to real holiday delights, trains add to the nostalgia and memories of the holidays like no other… Continue reading.

The hills of Monroe and Owen counties will be alive with the sound of music — not to mention the whirring of wheels, grinding of gears, huffing and puffing, and oohs and aahs of Indiana autumn splendor. The Hilly Hundred Weekend returns Oct. 21-23 for its 54th annual go-round … and up and down.  The… Continue reading.