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1999 LITTLE 500 FEATURES BICYCLING,
"BREAKING AWAY" AND MELLENCAMP CONCERT
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The dogwoods and daffodils are in bloom in Bloomington, a sure sign that Indiana University's Little 500 Weekend can't be far behind.
This year's Little 500 events, on April 22-24, will include the men's and women's bicycle races, a movie "premier," and a sold-out concert by Bloomington's own rock-and-roll singer John Mellencamp.
This will be the last year that the Little 500 races will be held in Bill Armstrong Stadium in its present form. After this year's race, the stadium will undergo an extensive renovation in advance of the 50th anniversary of the men's race in the year 2000. This year also marks the 20th anniversary of Breaking Away, the Academy Award-winning film that put Little 500 and bicycling in Bloomington into the national spotlight.
The weekend's festivities will begin Thursday, April 22, with the annual Mini 500 Trike Race at 7:30 p.m. in IU's Assembly Hall. As always, the Mini 500 is an event for everyone to have a good time without the pressures that are present at the Little 500 races. Each year, the race involves high spirits, strong pride and some downright wacky costumes as teams compete on tricycles. This year is sure to be no different.
Friday, April 23, the second day of the Little 500 weekend's events, is chock-full of activities. The Little 500 Golf Jamboree will begin at 9 a.m. at the IU Golf Course. At 4 p.m., the Kappa Kappa Gamma team will defend its 1998 victory in the 12th running of the Women's Little 500 race at Armstrong Stadium.
After the women's race, the quintessential movie about Little 500, Breaking Away, will be commemorated with a reception at 6:30 p.m. with celebrities connected with the 1979 film. It will then be re-premiered at 8 p.m. in the newly restored Indiana Theatre, now the Buskirk-Chumley Theatre, in downtown Bloomington. Both events are open to the public.
Actress Robyn Douglass and David Blase, the IU student who served as the inspiration for the movie's lead character, will return to Bloomington for the event. Dennis Christopher, who played the lead role in the movie, tentatively has agreed to attend if circumstances permit.
Saturday's activities will begin with a new feature, the Little 500 8K Scholarship Run. The foot race will begin at 10 a.m. at Gladstein Fieldhouse. At 2 p.m., Dodds House of Wright Quadrangle will attempt to win again in the 49th running of the Men's Little 500 race, also in Armstrong Stadium. At 8 p.m., Columbia Records recording artist Mellencamp will launch his "Rural Electrification" national tour in a sold-out concert at IU's Assembly Hall.
Finishing up Little 500 festivities will be a victory banquet at 5 p.m. on Thursday, April 29, in Alumni Hall of the Indiana Memorial Union.
The events of the weekend serve an important purpose in uniting the IU and Bloomington community, bringing to light a rich history and tradition. The primary purpose of these events is to support the educational endeavors of IU students, said Randy Rogers, director of the IU Student Foundation. The events are focused on raising money for scholarships, a goal that often is overlooked.
All Little 500 events help the IU Student Foundation to give away $45,000 annually in scholarships to IU students. Although different scholarships have different criteria, all of the scholarships are given in the spirit of helping students who help themselves. These awards typically are given to students who are working their way through college.
All tickets for Mini 500 and the men's and women's races are available at any TicketMaster location or through the IU Student Foundation's Web site at http://www.iusf.bloomington.com/ Tickets for the Breaking Away re-premier are available separately through the IU Student Foundation at 812-855-9152. For more race ticket information, call 812-855-RACE.
(DeAnna Hines, 812-855-0850, djhines@indiana.edu or George Vlahakis, 812-855-3911, gvlahaki@indiana.edu or Christopher Turner, 812-855-0850)