Past Festivals
See links at right to view past festivals events.
Past Festival Themes / Public Conversationalists
2012: Play - Jane McGonigal, author, futurist, game designer; Susan Sparks, professional comedian, former trial lawyer, senior pastor of the Madison Avenue Baptist Church in New York City.
2011: The Body - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, basketball icon; Anita Diamant, author; Thomas Lynch, poet.
2010: Food for Thought - Will Allen, CEO of Growing Power; Frances Moore Lappe, author; Harrell Flectcher, gardner/international artist.
2009: Inspiring Places - Former Indianapolis Mayor William Hudnut III, and Braddock, Pennsylvania Mayor John Fetterman.
2008: Exploring Imagination - Producer, writer, and director Julie Dash; author, songwriter, and pastor Brian D. McLaren; and essayist and journalist Richard Rodriguez.
2007: Living Generously - Patty Stonesifer, CEO of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; Nathan Dungan, president and founder of Share Save Spend; and Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon, singer, composer, founder of Sweet Honey in the Rock.
2006: Tradition & Innovation - Author and human rights activist Sr. Joan Chittister, author and scholar Manning Marable, and Hoosier film writer/producer Angelo Pizzo.
2005: Moving & Staying - Poet and novelist Wendell Berry, writer and humorist Rabbi Lawrence Kushner, and award-winning journalist A'Lelia Bundles.
2004: Building and Belonging - Author Andre Dubus III, educational reformer and psychologist Howard Gardner, and theologian Renita Weems.
2003: Remembering and Reconciling - Editor Jim Wallis, author Charles Johnson, and Nobel Peace Prize winner Betty Williams.
2002: Breaking Silence - Novelist Mary Gordon, journalist Barbara Ehrenreich, and critic bell hooks.
2001: Crossing Boundaries - Scholar Cornel West, novelist Jane Smiley, and author Rabbi Harold Kushner.
2000: Growing Up - Jonathan Kozol, Terry Tempest Williams, and Martin E. Marty.
1999: Changing Landscapes - Barry Lopez, Sister Helen Prejean, and Kathleen Norris.
1998: A Gathering of Voices - Peter Matthiessen, Reynolds Price, and Maxine Hong Kingston.
1997: Leaving and Returning - Thomas Keneally, Clifton Taulbert, and Joy Harjo.
1996: Thinking Out Loud about Indianapolis - Kurt Vonnegut, Dan Wakefield, and John Updike.
Essays on the 2012 theme: Play
Neal Brown, Chef - “The Playful Side of a Dish” (listen here)
Dane Clark, Musician - “The Unsung Heroes” (listen here)
Bernie DeKoven, Author and ‘play’ expert - “The Need to Play” (listen here)
Marianne Glick, Artist and Philanthropist - “Increasing the Fun Factor” (listen here)
John Green, Author - “John Green’s essay on Play” (listen here)
Felipe Martinez, Associate Executive Presbyter at Whitewater Valley Presbytery - “Play. Love. Repeat.” (listen here)
Polina Osherov, Photographer and Editor - “To Play or Not to Play, That is the Question” (listen here)
Chris Stanton, Writer and Designer - “Character Creation” (listen here)
Essays on the 2011 theme: The Body
Jody Bahre - “My Body on Drugs”
Rhonda Fox-Waltz - “Homebody”
Richard Gunderman, MD PhD, Professor, Schools of Medicine and Liberal Arts, Indiana University - “Cutting Dad's Meat”
David Hochoy, Artistic Director, Dance Kaleidoscope - “My Body is My Instrument”
Nick Reich, Basketball Coach, Indianapolis Metropolitan High School; Director of Youth Services, Goodwill Industries - “The Sense of Smell”
Michael Saahir, Imam, Nur-Allah Islamic Center - “Partners for Life: Mind, Body, and Soul”
Wayne Zink - “No Worries, I’ll Just Push Through”
Essays on the 2010 festival theme: Food for Thought
Ibrahim Khalil AlGhani, Husband and Father - “Halal Food”
Katy Marquez Carter, Food Blogger - “Blueberries”
Joshua M. Edwards, Emmerich Manual High School, STAR Academy, FFA Vice-President - “A Smorgasbord of Friends and Food”
Louise E. Goggans, Registered Dietitian, MS, DMSc, and Independent Consultant - “Soul Food: My Legacy”
Warren P. Henegar, Farmer and Monroe County Councilman - “Eating Seasonally and Locally in South Central Indiana”
Amy Norwalk, Proud mother and daughter and Corporate Communications Manager at Ernst & Young LLP -“It's My Mom's Fault”
Mike Redmond, Writer and Eater - “To Everything There Is A Season. Including Dinner.”
Jeff Simmons, President, Elanco - “Opportunity Knocks - Feeding a Hungry World”
Ann Stack - “From Cock-a-Doodle Creek to Provence”
Essays on the 2009 festival theme: Inspiring Places
Maurice Broaddus, Horror and Fantasy Writer - “The Oddest Places”
Gloria Gaither, Gaither Family Resources and Gaither Music Company - “Michigan”
Edgar Huang, Associate Professor, IUPUI School of Informatics - “Serendipity”
Meghan McCormick, Co-Founder, Green Piece Indy - “Bloom Where You're Planted”
Kevin McKelvey, Visiting Assistant Professor, University of Indianapolis; Board of Directors, Second Story - “Barns”
Vop Osili, Architect, Founding Partner and Principal, A2SO4 - “Asa Dam”
Brian Payne, President, Central Indiana Community Foundation and The Indianapolis Foundation - “A Long Steep Hill”
Rob Smith, President, Eli Lilly and Company Foundation - "Cosmos, Consciousness, and Community"
Joyce A. Sommers, President Emeritus, Indianapolis Art Center - “Confluence”
Aaron Spiegel, Rabbi, Information Technology Director, Indianapolis Center for Congregations - “Sanctuary"
Essays on the 2008 festival theme: Exploring Imagination
Jon Adland, Senior Rabbi, Indianapolis Hebrew Congregation - “The Next Place on the Journey”
Maxwell L. Anderson, President and CEO, Indianapolis Museum of Art - “Active Imagination”
Frank Basile, Professional speaker, author, and philanthropist - “Achieving What I Imagined”
Jeanne Farah, Principal Consultant, Excelleration, Inc. - “Cultivating Imagination: Embracing Your Possibilites”
Carolyn Hadlock, Creative Director, Young & Laramore Advertising - “Someplace Pure”
Eric M. Meslin, PhD, Director, Indiana University Center for Bioethics - “Bioethics and Imagination”
Betty Perry, Founder and Director, Metropolitan Youth Orchestra - “The Mustard Grain”
JoEllen Florio Rossebo, President and CEO, Young Audiences of Indiana - “Catching the Big Fish”
Kanwal Prakash “KP” Singh, Architectural artist, author, and public speaker - “A Gateway to Wonder and the Unknown”
George Srour, Director, Building Tomorrow, Inc. - “$1.81”
