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Top 8 things to do this weekend: blood drive, basketball, pub crawl, soccer tryouts

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A blood drive, college basketball and a pub crawl top the list of Top 8 things to do in Indy this weekend. There are also tryouts for a local women’s soccer team.

Bleed Blue Blood Drive and Holiday Fest

Indiana’s largest single-day blood drive of the year takes place for the 18th year from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium. Free parking will be available to those who enter through Gate 10 in the south lot. Family friendly activities will include tours of the field and the Colts locker room, and chances to win prizes and appearances by Colts cheerleaders and Blue, the official mascot of the Colts. For more information, click here.

Crossroads Classic

Bankers Life Fieldhouse will host this year’s Crossroads Classic, where the four most-storied college basketball programs in the state will compete this Saturday. Purdue will play Butler at noon, followed by Indiana University and Notre Dame at 2:30 p.m. Tickets can be found on the Ticketmaster website or through authorized resale websites.

12 Bars of Charity – Pub Crawl

If you’re around Mass Ave Saturday evening, you will likely run into quite a few patrons in color-coordinated sweatshirts. The 12 Bars of Charity event is from 8 p.m. to midnight Saturday and supports one of seven local charities of your choice. Tickets are $30, in which $10 goes directly to one of seven local charities you chose, denoted by the different sweatshirt colors. The other $20 gets you an official sweatshirt, a shuttle pass between the 12 participating bars and specials at each location. If you’re feeling extra festive, you can be one of the “Ultimate Givers,” which will cost you $100, with $75 going to all participating charities, split evenly. To register, click here.

‘Dine to Donate’ at Indyo Frozen Yogurt

If charity bar crawls aren’t your thing, here’s another way to both get and give at the same time this weekend. Head to either of the family-owned Indyo Frozen Yogurt locations from noon to 9 p.m. Friday or Saturday, mention either “Riley Dance Marathon” or “Southport High School” and 20 percent of your check will be donated to Riley Hospital!

Music/theater roundup

There will be plenty to both hear and see this weekend around the Circle City, from country Christmas to alt rock to the classics.

  • The Vogue will host Country Christmas w/ Cowboy Jukebox (Joe Hess & The Wandering Cowboys) this Friday and Yacht Rock Revue this Saturday. Both performances are 21+.
  • Straight No Chaser, the professional a cappella group which originated in 1996 at Indiana University, will bring their Speakeasy Tour to the Murat Theatre at the Old National Centre this weekend with performances both Saturday and Sunday.
  • Vance Joy & Portugal. The Man will take the stage this Friday at the Murat Theatre at the Old National Centre at 8 p.m.. The performance is officially sold out, but you might have luck finding resale tickets.
  • You can also get into the Christmas spirit by seeing the Nutcracker at either Carmel High School (Sat – 7 p.m./Sun – 2 p.m.) or the Zionsville Performing Arts Center (Fri/Sat – 7:30 p.m. or Sat/Sun – 2 p.m.).

Holiday Jubilee

This free, family-friendly event  — the fourth annual — takes place at the Building Bridges Early Learning Center in Greenwood from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Saturday. It will feature pictures with Santa, horse-drawn carriage rides, light displays, a candy-land village and more. For information, click here.

Christkindl Village at St. John Catholic Church

This three-day, German-themed event features an indoor ice rink, music, outdoor activities, vendors and gifts, a kids area, an alpine slide, a sports area, caroling, a luminary walk and more. Hours will be from 5-9 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday. For information, click here.

Open tryouts for Indy Saints Football Club

The Indy Saints FC are a member of the Women’s Premier Soccer League, the world’s largest female soccer league. They’ll have open tryouts from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at The SportZone Indy. Registration is $25, and more information is available here.