Your guide to all the Month of May activities in Indianapolis
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Illustration: Maura Losch/Axios
Start your engines, Indy. The Month of May is here!
Why it matters: Over the next three weeks, Indianapolis will put on a series of events leading up to the Indianapolis 500, when as many as 350,000 people will descend on the city for the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.
Zoom in: The festivities are already underway! Here are more than a dozen ways to participate in the best month of the year.
🪑 Kick things off Friday with a Porch Party at the Harrison Center, 6-9pm. The community-centric initiative encourages Hoosiers to decorate their homes for the 500 and connect with their neighbors by hosting racing-themed hangs.
- There are prizes for the three best-decorated porches, too.
👟 Saturday is the 50th running of the 500 Festival Mini-Marathon and 5K. Half-marathon runners: Don't forget to kiss the bricks during your lap around the track!
- Good luck, runners! And if you're not running, go cheer for the thousands who are.
➰ See your favorite IndyCar drivers tackle another challenge — the Indianapolis Motor Speedway's road course — during the Sonsio Grand Prix on May 9.
🧒 May 9 is also the 500 Festival Kids' Day and Rookie Run on Monument Circle.
🟢 The roar of engines returns to IMS on May 12 for the opening day of Indy 500 practice and continues through May 15.
🇺🇲 IMS' fifth annual naturalization ceremony is also May 12, welcoming 33 of America's newest citizens.
💨 May 15 is Fast Friday, the final day of practice ahead of qualifying. Expect drivers to top 230 mph and get the best look at who might claim the coveted front row.
🥞 The annual Breakfast at the Brickyard — where you, yes, eat breakfast but also get to drive your own car around the track — is May 16.
For the first time since 2022, there isn't expected to be any bumping. So far, there are 33 entries for the 33 spots on the starting grid. But that doesn't mean there won't be plenty of drama during qualifying on May 16 and 17.
- Positions 13-30 will be set on the first day of quals. The 12 fastest get a shot at the pole position on Day 2, while the slowest will duke it out for the last row.
🏎️ With the field set, practice picks back up May 18.
🚲 Grab 10-15 of your co-workers for your own chance at racing glory on May 19 at the HandleBar Hot Lap, a series of single-elimination, one-on-one races on pedal pubs around Monument Circle.
😂 May 21 is the Last Row Party, in which the last three drivers to make the race get straight-up roasted — for a good cause.
🇺🇸 Memorial Day Weekend starts aptly with the American Legion 500 Festival Memorial Service at noon May 22 on the north steps of the Indiana War Memorial.
- The service is free to the public.
🎸 The Counting Crows are headlining the Carb Day concert on May 22 with Switchfoot, which follows a couple of hours of practice and the annual pit stop challenge.
- The Wienie 500 is back, too, after last year's exhilarating debut. See Oscar Mayer Wienermobiles race two laps around the iconic track.
🎈 The 500 Festival Parade through downtown gets race weekend going on May 23.
- You can try to snag a spot to stand along the route, but if you want a guaranteed seat, get a ticket for the bleachers along Pennsylvania and Meridian streets.
- The day before the race is also Legends Day at the track, where drivers past and present are available for autographs and spectators can sit in on the public pre-race drivers' meeting.
🏁 May 24 is race day, baby. Get your tickets now ... we could see another sellout.