As part of September's Youth Soccer Month festivities, Indy Eleven, Indiana Soccer & the Brickyard Battalion invite soccer fans young and old to gather at Carmel's Sophia Square (110 W. Main Street) on Saturday, Sept. 20, for a "Parade of Banners" Workshop & Indy Eleven Watch Party. The party will take place in the Sophia Square Clubhouse and run from 6:00-9:30 p.m.
The evening's activities will start at 6:00 p.m. with a fun-filled tutorial and workshop on the art of banner-making run by members of the Brickyard Battalion's Slaughterhouse-19 BYB Supporters Group. Supplies for the banners will be provided by Indy Eleven and SH-19 ... for those groups that have artwork created in advance, you can send it over in a standard image file (.jpeg, .eps or .png files will work) over to [email protected] so that they can help sketch out your banner in advance.
The focus will turn to the field (or, more accurately, the Clubhouse's TV screens) at 7:30 p.m., when the event will turn into a Watch Party for Indy Eleven's away match-up at the Fort Lauderdale Strikers. Families that attend the Banner Making Party on the 20th will be able to enjoy free refreshments and tasty food provided by The Pint Room in Carmel ... all that's asked is that you RSVP via this page so that the proper amount of food can be ordered!
The banner-making party is open to all fans, but is especially geared towards youth players and families that will be participating in the halftime "Parade of Banners" at the following weekend's Indy Eleven-Carolina RailHawks game on Saturday, Sept. 27th. Teams from participating youth clubs will be recognized over the Carroll Stadium PA system and invited to show off their own homemade banner to more than 10,000 fans at the game! Youth clubs are encouraged to reference on their banners Youth Soccer Month and/or the program's four pillars of Fun, Family, Friendship & Fitness, as that will be part of the criteria considered in judging for the "Top 5" banner contest that night, with winners receiving special prizes from Indy Eleven and Indiana Soccer.
If youth players or families cannot make it to the Parade of Banners Workshop/Watch Party on September 20th, you can still be part of the Parade of Banners on September 27th! Get together with your family and friends to create your own Youth Soccer Month banner and bring it with you that day. Please visit the Indy Eleven tent in the Honda Fun Zone (East Lawn at Carrol Stadium) before the game between 6:00-7:00 p.m. for details on how you can come down to the field to be part of the parade at halftime. If you have further questions, please contact Paco Espinosa at [email protected].
If you have any questions about the Parade of Banners Workshop/Watch Party at Sophia Square, please contact Molly Kruger at [email protected].
If your youth club has yet to secure their tickets for the Sept. 27th match that will include the halftime Parade of Banners event, please call 317-685-1100 during regular business hours (Mon.-Fri., 9am-5pm) - and inquire about the special discount rate for groups of 15 or more (click here for more details). Individuals tickets can be purchased by clicking here to visit IndyEleven.com.