Holiday Adventure Pass offers rewards for celebrating Indy holiday classics

Check-in at holiday activities and earn prizes

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A new rewards system offers locals and visitors alike a way to celebrate central Indiana traditions with incentives.

Earlier this month, Visit Indy and Visit Hamilton County launched the Holiday Adventure Pass. It’s a list of classic holiday events and activities in both Marion and Hamilton County. People can sign up on either tourism agency’s website.

Tourism officials hope the program will help drive visitors and locals alike to the area’s holiday traditions.

Once a person visits one of the attractions they can check in and earn points. Phones need to have location services turned on to participate.

Among the list of events is the Festival of Trees at the Indiana Historical Society. This year the museum once again features over 80 trees decorated by local families, companies and community organizations.

President and CEO Jody Blankenship says they were glad to hop on board for the first year of the program.

“We feel like (Festival of Trees) is the unofficial start to the holiday season here in Indy,” Blankenship said. “We love this time of year. So, it’s great to team up with our peers at the other museums and cultural organizations downtown and just get in the holiday spirit.”

Another downtown Indy classic is Jingle Rails, now entering its 15th year at the Eiteljorg Museum. President and CEO Kathryn Haigh says they love being part of that holiday spirit in downtown Indy.

Joining the Indiana landmarks represented in this year’s model train route is the Madam Walker Theater.

“We always look for iconic buildings that have historic stories that we’d like to tell,” Haigh said. “The Madam Walker Theater was a really logical option for us. They’re our neighbor right up the street. And what a fantastic story to tell about Madam Walker. It’s a great collaboration as well with the Madam Walker Legacy Center.”

In total, there are 15 stops including the Christkindlmarkts in Downtown Indy and Carmel, Circle of Lights, Celebration Crossing at the Indiana State Museum and Merry Prairie Holiday at Conner Prairie.

Rounding out the downtown Indy museums on the list is the Children’s Museum and its newer tradition, the WinterFaire.

Melissa Trumpey, the museum’s director of public events and family programs, hopes the Holiday Adventure Pass can let more people know about everything the museum has to offer.

“One of the new things that we’re doing this year is (on Black Friday) we’re going to welcome Santa in grand fashion,” Trumpey said. “It is the largest indoor snowball fight here in Indianapolis. We’re gonna drop about 3000 snowballs from our second floor to our first floor and have a big snowball fight with Santa to welcome him to the museum for the season.”

One check-in earns the first 2,000 people a Holiday Adventure Pass sticker. Three different visits earn the first 500 people a tree ornament. Then at five stops, people will get a beanie.

The prizes can be picked up at The Index in Pan-Am Tower or the Carmel Christkindlemarkt.

The Holiday Adventure Pass does not include admission to the activities. Points can be earned now until Christmas Eve.