The holiday weekend is almost upon us (can I get a whooohoooo!) and there is no shortage of fun, family-friendly things to do in Indy over Labor Day.  One major hub of activity will be downtown's White River State Park...seriously, you could go there every day of the long weekend and experience something different on each trip. 

Catch the last home games of the season when the Indianapolis Indians take on the Louisville Bats at beautiful Victory Field tonight, Friday night (fireworks afterward!) and Saturday evening. Tickets start as low as $8 - very affordable.  And, might I suggest a seat on the outfield lawn.  You can bring your cooler (sans alcohol), your picnic basket and a blanket for a super casual approach that the kids will love. 

Saturday is the ever-popular Skyconcert, an incredible fireworks display synchronized to music.  The ohhs and ahhhs start at 9:30 p.m., but the fun gets underway at 4 p.m. with live music, food and beverage vendors, and a play area for the little ones.  We are definitely hitting this up!  Oh, and P.S. - if you go to the Indians game on Saturday night, you can stay after and enjoy an incredible seat to watch the show.

Sunday is all about food, specifically ribs. Oh ribs, how I love thee.  Between the out-of-this-world (albeit a little pricey) food, the live music and the free admission before 1 p.m., RibFest, held in Military Park, is the place to be.  It goes on all weekend, but I like the entertainment the best on Sunday: The Elms (awesome local band!), The Why Store, Blind Melon, Jonny Lang (he was amazing the last time I saw him live, granted that was a few years ago) and Ted Nugent (not my bag, personally, but a good show nonetheless). 

Finally, Monday is your last chance to see "the duo from down under" at the Indianapolis Zoo.  Two adorable koala bears have been on exhibit at the zoo since Memorial Day, the first return trip to Indy for the marsupials since 1994.  They are might be hard to spot at first, but look up in the trees, where they like to stay perched incessantly munching eucalyptus leaves.  Did I mention that they're SO cute?!? 

WOW - that's a lot of stuff going on...and that's just downtown in White River State Park.  I would be remiss if I didn't mention a little event happening at O'Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis - after all, it's only the biggest, richest drag racing events in the world.  I'm talking about the NHRA Mac Tools U.S. Nationals.  For speeds so fast you can feel it, this is the only place to be. 

Good luck deciding what to do with your family this holiday weekend.  For more events, click here.  Be safe and HAVE FUN this Labor Day!