INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Black Expo Summer Celebration, cancelled last year because of the pandemic, is underway.
The two-week celebration kicked off Thursday with an ecumenical service, held this year at Grace Apostolic Church.
"We're back," said IBE's Bryan Kelley. "Not full steam in terms of events, but we are back."
The annual health fair at the Indiana Convention Center is still a go, but the business and educational conferences typically held there will be virtual instead, and some events were cancelled.
"We decided indoor events are not the way to go with the mass people we attract," Kelley said.
The free outdoor concert is by far the biggest event, but it has been moved from the American Legion Mall to Lucas Oil Raceway in Clermont. Promoter Amp Harris says when they finalized plans in March, COVID-19 restrictions were still in place.
"This we had to figure out, somewhere we could go following CDC guidelines, social distancing and being able to control how many can come in," he said.
He says the stands at Clermont provide that, plenty of seats and room for some overflow, along with plenty of parking. They expect a good crowd.
What makes this year even more special is that it's the 50th anniversary of Summer Celebration, with a gala at IMS set for Saturday night
"History is really important, especially when talk about the culture of Indiana Black Expo, all the people it touched and touches and the bottom line is it's about education, being able to educate young people, giving them opportunities to go to college," Harris said.
What other people are reading:
- FBI: Officer shot and killed at federal building in Terre Haute was ambushed
- Chick-fil-A chosen as America's top fast-food spot; McDonald's ranked last
- A family of fans cheer for Colts usher stricken with cancer
- Indy man with autism who police helped after he was allegedly robbed, abandoned is back home safe