They can be fun!
I shared with you all last week one of the down sides of the business world for an avid sport motorcyclist; getting stuck in a business meeting on a prime weekend riding day. I made it through the week and learned about an interesting “business meeting” scheduled for Friday evening, Aug. 7 in a popular art district in downtown Indianapolis.
The Indianapolis Downtown Artists & Dealers Association (IDADA) stages a First Friday Art Tour event on Massachusetts Avenue the first of each month. The media announcement for last Friday’s event stated:
“MOTORCYCLE-RELATED ARTWORK - ranging from custom bikes and helmets to live paintings which will occur on the street - will come to Mass Ave on Friday, August 7th, as part of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s festivities related to the MotoGP weekend coming later in August.
In celebration of the 2009 Red Bull Indianapolis GP racing scheduled for August 28-30, IMS officials will stage a business meeting on August 7th at the Athenaeum, leading to the evening’s activities to be coordinated with First Friday events.
The evening’s schedule was not complete at press time, but planning involved participation by INDY DESMO Owners Club, a DESMO/DUCATI Owners Club, which planners believe will draw a unique crowd to the Mass Ave Art & Theatre District.
IMS is working to have MotoGP pilot Nicky Hayden who rides for Ducati Marlboro in attendance during the event.”
Well, the “business meeting” at the Athenaeum turned out to be a very exciting event, revving up the local hospitality industry to the upcoming Red Bull Indianapolis GP. Nicky Hayden did make it to the event and was introduced by IMS executive Mel Harder. Nicky even participated in a live painting by motorsports artist Bill Patterson. Also on display was the newly created 2009 Red Bull Indianapolis GP first-place trophy, mounted on one of the original Brickyard bricks from 1909. This was definitely a much better “business meeting” than the one I got stuck in Lansing, Mich., for part of last weekend.
Be sure to look for more local activities to come over the next couple weeks as we count down to the second running of the Red Bull Indianapolis GP Aug. 28-30, 2009.
I’ll see you all next week at www.redbullindianapolisgp.com
Greg