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The “Say nice things about Detroit” movement was the brainchild of native Detroit resident, Emily Gail. Gail owned and operated a small camera and gift shop in Detroit in the early 1970s. While on vacation with her husband in Florida, they met numerous people from Detroit who told them “how great it was to be out of Detroit.” For the remainder of their vacation, they hired a plane to tow a banner reading, “Hi, Detroiters. Enjoy Florida. Say Nice Things About Detroit. Emily.” That event garnered media attention and led to the slogan being used widely in Detroit.

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Evansville Freedom Festival, held in Evansville Indiana, was an annual Fourth of July celebration consisting of food, fun, water sports, and air sports. The main event of the festival from 1979 to 2009 was a hydroplane boat race known as Thunder on the Ohio. Thunder on the Ohio was part of the APBA Unlimited Hydroplane circuit. The winner would receive the Four Freedoms cup, so named for the nearby Four Freedoms Monument commissioned by president Franklin D. Roosevelt. In 1989, the winner of the cup was Larry Lauterbach, with his boat the Winston Eagle. To win, Lauterbach had to defeat the favored Budweiser team. The Budweiser team's boat, the Miss Budweiser, was piloted to victory by various Team Budweiser racers sixteen times in the thirty-one years the race took place during the festival. One of those racers, Dave Villwock, holds the record for most cups, with a total of ten victories. 

Since 2010, Thunder on the Ohio has been held as its own event, Evansville Hydrofest, usually taking place in late August. The Evansville Freedom Festival has since been renamed to ShrinersFest, but is still held annually. 

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The Naples Jaycees are the local chapter of the Junior Chamber International of Naples, Florida. The group has been involved in local events, charities, community outreach, and professional development for over 50 years. They are known for their historic involvement in local haunted houses and Fourth of July Fireworks events.

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The Pan American Games, also known as the Pan Am Games, is a major sporting event in the Americas that features summer sports. These take place every 4 years in the summer before the Summer Olympics are held. The XVIII Pan Am Games were held in Lima, Peru, in 2019. The first Pan Am Games were thought up in the 1930's, and the first games were slated for 1942, but these were postponed due to WWII. The first Pan Am Games took place in 1951 in Buenos Aires, with 18 sports offered. The following year, the second Pan Am Games were held in Mexico before switching to being every 4 years.

The 1987 Pan American Games, also known as the X Pan American Games, took place from August 7th-the 23rd and included over 4,300 athletes from 38 countries in North, South, and Central America. Competitions in 30 sporting events took place in 23 venues around Indianapolis, Indiana, and 1,015 medals were awarded. The official logo for the 10th Pan Am Games consisted of 5 stylized X’s, the Roman numeral for 10. The mascot was Amigo, a green parrot that represented friendliness and festivity. Both the logo and mascot were created by local Indianapolis residents. The opening ceremony was held on the main straight of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the site of the Indianapolis 500. The X Pan Am Games were financially successful, bringing in $175 million dollars to the local economy and cost around $30 million to put on, making Indianapolis the first Pan Am Games to break even. This also led the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to consider Indianapolis for their headquarters and in 1997, they made the move to Indianapolis.

Photograph of Adler Planetarium and Chicago skyline across blue lake with white text.

The Adler Planetarium located in Chicago, Illinois, was opened in 1930 as the first planetarium in the United States. It is named after founder Max Adler to enable all citizens the chance to observe the sky like astronomers. It was also featured at the Chicago exposition and is considered a National Historic Landmark. Today, the planetarium receives more than half a million visitors annually and features many outreach programs designed to get citizens, and especially kids, into science.

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The foundations of the Kennedy Space Center can be attributed to Public Law 85-568 signed by President Eisenhower in 1958.  This law established the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, known more commonly by their acronym NASA. After land on Merritt Island, Florida, was acquired, the facility finally opened in 1962 and was named after President John F. Kennedy. The facility holds a special place in American and human history, for developing and launching the Apollo programs, including sending the first man to the moon in 1969.

In 2020, the SpaceX Dragon, the first rocket with returnable parts, was launched from the Kennedy Space Center.

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In 1990, The University of Indiana and the United Church of Christ collaborated to create an on-campus event for practicing Christians. The inaugural event, called “Faith Works, UCC Experience 1990”, lasted four days. There were activities such as workshops, music, art, and speeches. Thousands of people attended the event.

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The 1987 Pan American Games were the 10th Pan Am Games, a sporting event competition that runs alternatively to the Olympics in summer. These are also known as the X Pan American Games, which took place over two weeks in August. Over 4,300 athletes from 38 countries in North, South, and Central America participated and 1015 medals were awarded. This event took place in 23 venues across Indianapolis and there were competitions in 30 sports. The official mascot was Amigo, a green parrot that represented friendliness and festivity. The official logo for the 10th Pan Am Games consisted of 5 stylized X’s, the Roman numeral for 10. The mascot and the logo were both designed by Indianapolis residents. The opening ceremony was held at the site of the Indianapolis 500 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The X Pan Am Games were financially successful as they brought in $175 million dollars to the local community and cost around $30 million to put on, making Indianapolis the first Pan Am Games to break even. This also led the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to consider Indianapolis for their headquarters and in 1997, they made the move to Indianapolis.

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Kings Island is an amusement park near Cincinnati, Ohio, which first opened in 1972. It is open seasonally from the spring until the fall. It boasts 364 acres with over 100 attractions such as 14 roller coasters and a 33-acre water park. It is owned by Cedar Fair, which owns and operates other amusement parks across North America, including the famous Cedar Point. There are 9 areas of attractions; Action Zone, the Coney Mall, International Street, Oktoberfest, Planet Snoopy, Rivertown, Soak City, Halloween Haunt, and Winterfest. Notable attractions include roller coasters such as Flight of Fear, The Beast, and Mystic Timbers, as well as Soak City Water Park, and international attractions like a one-third scale replica of the Eiffel Tower that gives guests a view of the entire park. Kings Island was the second most visited amusement park in the U.S in 2017 behind the number one spot, Cedar Point.

Kings Island was opened by the Taft Broadcasting Company, which also owned Coney Island on the Ohio River, near Cincinnati, which was prone to flooding. Kings Island was designed to replace the historic Coney Island. Coney Island was founded in 1867, but had closed down all but it’s pool when Kings Island opened in 1972. Coney Island has since expanded out to become a water park. Kings Island was later sold to Paramount and again to Viacom. From 1992-2006, rides were named after movies and shows Paramount owned, but in 2006, Cedar Fair purchased the park changing things to their brand. By 2010, all of Paramount and Nickelodeon’s presence was completely gone from the park. Rides such as Top Gun later became Flight Deck, Tomb Raider: The Ride became The Crypt, and The Italian Job Stunt Track is now Backlot Stunt Coaster. Kings Island has won a few awards over the years, including Golden Ticket Awards 18 years in a row from 2001-2018 for, “Best Kids Area,” from Amusement today and, “Best New Ride,” in 2017 for Mystic Timbers.

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WTPI was a radio station in Indianapolis called, “The Top for Indianapolis,” which referred to its location at the top of the Indianapolis FM dial. 107.9 was first launched as an FM station in 1961 as WISH-FM and had a few changes in management as FM stations began to gain popularity and AM stations were losing listeners. The station shut down in 1976 and remained vacant until 1982 when it was granted to Peoples Broadcasting Corporation. On August 13th, 1984, the FCC assigned the call letters WTPI for the existing 107.9 FM station. It stayed WTPI until 2005 when it changed to--and as of 2020 remains--WNTR.