Blog - home

If you love Jack Kerouac, you've got to make plans to be in Bloomington, Indiana between May 18 and June 2, 2012. The Bloomington Playwrights Project and Indiana University are gearing up to present Maggie Cassidy: An American Musical as part of the BPP & IU New Musical Series.

Maggie Cassidy is a musical adaptation of Jack Kerouac's highly autobiographical novel of the same name (a predecessor to On the Road). This production, created by Chris Jeffries based on Kerouac's novel, is the first stage play ever produced with the support of the Kerouac estate and we're proud that it's starting right here in Bloomington! 

Maggie Cassidy presents a new and unfamiliar look at Jack Kerouac, before he wrote the American classic On the Road and became the father of the Beat Generation. The forces that shaped him - tensions surrounding his religion, cultural economic background and an America struggling to find itself again after the Great Depression - are all present and at play. Maggie Cassidy is the powerful sotry of a great American author coming of age.

The musical tells the story of Kerouac's early years as a French-Canadian high school start athlete and would-be writer on whom everyone in town pins their opes. He has everything, except someone who understands his passion for writing... until he meets and falls in love with the Irish girl from the other side of the tracks, Maggie Cassidy. His love for her creates a new dream that threatens to derail his plans to leave his hometown of lowell behind. 

The cast will feature talented students from the Indiana University Theatre & Drama Department under the direction of BPP Producing Artistic Director, Chat Rabinovitz. The production will feature a one-of-a-kind scenic design by resident artist Shane Cinal. 

Performances of Maggie Cassidy are scheduled for May 18, 19, 24 - 26 and May 31 - June 2 and 8 pm and May 20 at 2 pm at the Bloomington Playwrights Project theatre located on West 9th Street in downtown Bloomington. Tickets are $18, available online through the BCT Box Office. A special $89 rate is available at the Bloomington Holiday Inn in connection with the production. Details are available on our Special Offers Page.

Spring break in B-town is drawing to a close and soon we'll have thousands of students back on campus and around town sporting tans and souvenir t-shirts from their various spring break travels. Over the course of the week, however, we spotted several students still in the area.

So, what's a student (or visitor) to do in Bloomington over spring break? 

I was fortunate to acquire a set of tickets to last night's IU Men's Basketball game at Assembly Hall. If you've never been lucky enough to catch a home game at the Hall, here's a snapshot of what that experience is like:  

It was a cold, snowy night in Bloomington...

Perfect for warming up at a local pub like Crazy Horse with some great food and a pitcher of your favorite beverage (for us on this night it was Woodchuck cider).

The venue was legendary, with five NCAA banners hanging proudly in place.

The atmosphere was incredible with a nearly packed house of cheering fans clad in IU red, the pep band, the big heads, and even a celebrity spotting or two!

Yes, the Hoosiers sadly ended up losing  a close game to Minnesota, but the Hoosier Basketball experience was still an incredible way to spend the evening, and the nail-biting, heart pounding, down-to-the-wire finish reminded me that win or lose...

This is Indiana. We love the game. We love the experience. 
Go Hoosiers!

Downtown Bloomington is, well... lit up like a Christmas tree, and we're ready to start celebrating the holiday season! We've even got a gift for one lucky B-town Blog reader - two tickets to this year's performance of the Chimes of Christmas at the IU Auditorium.

A true Indiana University tradition, the Chimes features performances from incredible ensembles from the Jacobs School of Music and great holiday music, perfect for a fun holiday evening out.

So, for a chance to win two tickets to the Chimes of Christmas and a Grazie! Italian Eatery gift certificate, leave us a comment and tell us all about your most favorite thing about the holiday season in Bloomington!

We'll announce a winner on Friday. Good luck!

We've got two tickets to the ultimate Indiana football rivalry game - IU vs Purdue, or the Old Oaken Bucket Game and, that's right, we're giving them away! What better place is there for a Hoosier fan to celebrate the Thanksgiving weekend?

Regardless of the rest of the season, both the IU Hoosiers and the Purdue Boilermakers always up the intensity for this contest. At stake? Possession of the legendary Oaken Bucket... and statewide bragging rights! Be there for this year's historic game on November 26th. 

But wait, there's more!
You know us, we just love giving away great Bloomington experiences, so here's what we're going to do: In addition to the two tickets to the game, we're also going to give our lucky winner a gift certificate to B-town Pizza for tailgate munchies... and a gift certificate to the Scholars Inn for dinner after the game! (Scholars Inn certificate can be used at either the Gourmet Cafe & Wine Bar or the Bakehouse.)

So, what do you have to do to win this fabulous prize? Nothing too complicated... just leave a comment on this blog post and share your favorite Oaken Bucket Game memory!

We'll randomly choose a winner on Friday afternoon.
Good luck!

There's a hint of color in the trees, fresh cider on the shelves at Musgrave Orchard and a huge variety of special events and performances on the Visit Bloomington calendar... you know what that adds up to: Fall is here and it's the perfect time to plan your fall getaway to Bloomington! 

Be sure to check our calendar for fun events, including everything from live music to film festivals and theatre performances to football games, to plan your trip around. A few even have special hotel rates to make planning your getaway even easier (and more affordable)!

Check out these great deals for the weekend of October 21-23: 

	Enjoy the SFJAZZ Collective's tribute to Stevie Wonder at the IU Auditorium on October 22 with a special discounted ticket price along with a special overnight rates from several area hotels. To find out how to redeem these discounts, visit our Special Offers page and look for the IU Auditorium offer.
	If you love the darker side of Halloween, check out the Dark Carnival Film Festival at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater. A weekend pass is only $20! Mention the Dark Carnival when you make your hotel reservations at the Hampton Inn (discount code DCF)  or Homewood Suites for a special rate!
	For something a little more out of the ordinary, take a look at Abraham Lincoln's Big Gay Dance Party, a musical production from University Players. Details about special rates at five area hotels are available on the event's calendar listing.

So, what are you waiting for? Start planning your fall getaway to Bloomington!

We've got a very special promotion coming up next week in honor of the first IU home football game of the season against Virginia. We love to show our support for IU Football and Coach Wilson and we've got a lot of Bloomington-themed posters in our inventory here at the Bloomington Visitors Center, so here's what we're planning...

It's as easy as 1-2-3 to show your Hoosier pride and take home a free Bloomington poster for your wall!

1) Watch for the IU-related secret phrase, which will be announced between Sept. 6-8. To be in the know, just make sure you follow @VisitBtown on Twitter or like our Facebook page for Visit Bloomington or the Bloomington Visitors Center.

2) Stop by the Bloomington Visitors Center at 2855 N. Walnut Street on Friday, Sept. 9 or Saturday, Sept. 10 during our normal hours. (That's 8:30 am to 5 pm on Friday and 9 am to 4 pm on Saturday.)

3) Check in on your favorite location based social network (such as Foursquare or Gowalla) or tag the Bloomington Visitors Center in your Facebook update. Include the secret phrase in your check-in or status update, show it to the Visitors Center staff and presto!

Yep, it's that easy. Just 1-2-3 and you go home with a free Bloomington poster! 
Go Hoosiers! 

The chaos of student move-in has faded, new and returning students alike are hopefully settling in to their new digs and classes are ready to begin. Welcome to B-town!

On the first official day of classes, we thought we'd kick off the new school year with a bit of advice for all those brand-new (and returning) Hoosiers in town! I polled the entire staff and here's what the experts at Visit Bloomington had to say:

• Wait to purchase books for classes, until you know if you really need them. Don't buy new ones that are expensive if there are used ones available.

• Use your meal points. You will miss them once they're gone.

• Take full advantage of the SRSC/HPER gym! You're paying for a gym membership and your metabolism is still high! It's easy to slip into a lazy funk freshman year so stay active!

• Leave time in between your classes to stop by Sugar & Spice at the IMU for a bagel in the morning or a Special K chewie in the afternoon!

• Get involved - as much as you can - and you will meet all kinds of people. Any opportunity you are given, take it.

• Venture outside your comfort zone. You may have come to school with other kids from your high school, but the point of freshman year is to meet new people. You're sharing your first year with 6,000 other freshmen who are in your shoes. Meet as many new people as possible!

• Join a club or a student organization. This is an awesome way to meet new people (not just freshmen), it will keep you busy, and it'll look great on a resume!

• Get familiar with the one-way streets, because there are many and sometimes they sneak up on you (Third Street!).

• Don't worry about getting lost because nothing is more than a 15 minute drive.

• Visit the IU and Bloomington museums, they are amazing and most students only hit the big ones.

• Eat at a new local restaurant at least once a month. Try something different- you'll probably love it!

• Don't be afraid to explore the entire community. The downtown area has a ton of great, local shops and restaurants, and believe it or not there's actually life west of Rogers Street! The outdoor recreation opportunities are tremendous, so take advantage of that.

• Take it a step further and spend a few Saturdays exploring beyond the confines of Bloomington. Within a very short drive, you and your new friends can experience a multitude of day trip destinations including a quaint artist colony, unique small towns and big city attractions. Go to Holiday World at least once.

• At least one summer during your student career, you must stay in Bloomington. The town has a totally different vibe in the summer. If you can't stay all summer, at least stay a couple of weeks or come back a little early. (This is true during the holiday break, as well!)

Oh, and don't forget that we're here to help. Whether you need advice on where to take your visiting parents for dinner or information on regional attractions, Visit Bloomington is here to help. Drop us a note on Facebook or follow us on Twitter, where you can just #AskBtown for help!

Here are some words of wisdom from our intern, Lauren, as she welcomes IU's incoming freshman class to Orientation this summer. 

Freshman Orientation is well under way and as I talk to all the incoming freshmen I can't help but reminisce about my past four years here in Bloomington. It's been an interesting journey, definitely with its fair share of ups and downs, but overall it's been a great experience. I've been able to do and experience things here no other university or town could offer, everything from a whitewater rafting class to spending a semester in Hawai'i; Broadway musicals to world class opera. 

Bloomington itself is such a unique town, it's hard not to fall in love with this place. With state parks and incredible hiking available in any direction and annual festivals such as Lotus and Taste, there's always something to do. And the restaurants! With everything from Tibetan to Thai, Mongolian to Japanese and everything in between, it's sometimes difficult to choose just one!

My advice to incoming freshmen would be "work hard, play hard." There will be moments you want to give up, but believe me, it will get better! Experience new things and step outside of your comfort zone. Talk to new people, join a club or start your own! Learn to kayak or rock climb. There's something here for everyone. It's hard to believe it's been four years since I was going through the same orientation programs these new students are now and I wish them the best as they start their journey!

The Indiana University Lee Norvelle Theatre and Drama Center presents the first-ever season of Indiana Festival Theatre this summer. The IU summer theatre season kicks off this week with Meredith Willson's The Music Man. Additional productions will include Shakespeare's The Comedy of Errors and Eugene O'Neill's Ah, Wilderness! Performances will continue through the end of July. See the complete schedule for show times and other details.

Tickets are available online, but you could win a pair of tickets to see The Music Man right here on the B-town Blog! Just leave us a comment and share your thoughts about the theatre scene in Bloomington. Do you enjoy attending performances? What's your favorite venue? Do you prefer Indiana University productions or another local theatre company?

As always, our Winning Wednesday winner will be notified tomorrow via email. Thanks for participating and good luck!