INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The 40th annual Circle City Classic is promising to make a positive impact on Indianapolis.

For Indiana Black Expo CEO Alice Watson, the Circle City Classic is all about coming together to uplift one another. She said she’s most excited about the football game between North Carolina Central University and Norfolk State University on Sept. 28.

“We’ve tried to make it accessible,” Watson said. “It’s 40 years of celebrating HBCU universities. Two great schools. Two great matchups. It’s like a party inside Lucas Oil Stadium.”

Actor and R&B artist Jacob Latimore will be the grand marshal for the Circle City Classic Parade. Watson said Latimore will also speak to 1,400 kids at the education day and college fair.

“It’s really just about having successful young people, so the kids can see themselves in them,” Watson said.

The Circle City Classic kicks off on Sept 22. A new event includes a President’s Reception Gala the night before to celebrate community impact and help raise funds for scholarships.

The parade will take over downtown Indy on Saturday, Sept. 28.

Downtown Indy President and CEO Taylor Schaffer said the Circle City Classic is part of the Indianapolis’ legacy of being a great host city.

“One of the wonderful things about an event like this is that it’s really about more than the game,” Schaffer said. “It’s about the parade, the days of programming leading up to it, and it’s about taking advantage of the amenities that make downtown great on a daily basis.”

For Watson, the event reinforces the bonds of our community, provides opportunities, and shows the world that Indianapolis is the place where people lift each other up.

“There are now 30 Classics across the country,” Watson said. “And it’s very bittersweet because a lot of those Classics, when we travel across the country, they speak of the fact that they came to Circle City Classic in Indianapolis, and we’re the footprint.”