Community Corner

🌱 Patch AM: Have you walked Carmel’s Magnificent Monon holiday lights yet?

Make time for The Nutcracker - presented by Metropolitan Youth Ballet on the Carmel Patch calendar

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Good morning Carmel! We're back again in your inbox, keeping you updated with what's happening in and around town. ☕️️

In today's newsletter:

  • Have you walked Carmel’s Magnificent Monon holiday lights yet?
  • How Carmel came together to build its new history museum
  • Why did ATI’s former director come out of retirement?

Also on today's calendar: The Nutcracker - presented by Metropolitan Youth Ballet and 6 more events.

Find out what's happening in Carmelfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Today's riddle: What did one astronaut stranded on the moon say to another? 🤔 (Answer below!)

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Find out what's happening in Carmelfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Weather forecast:

  • Friday: Windy and much colder, with a high of 28 and low of 24 degrees.
  • Saturday: Breezy with periods of sun, temps: high: 47, low: 23.
  • Sunday: Sunny, breezy and colder, with a high of 32 and low of 25 degrees.

📰 News we're reading

1. Best Free Christmas Lights Near Indianapolis (2025) (indyschild.com) — Carmel residents can enjoy the free Magnificent Monon display, a nightly stretch of holiday arches and lights along the Monon Greenway from Carter Green to Main Street, with easy access to cocoa, dinner, and photo ops nearby. The guide also rounds up other no-ticket light displays around greater Indianapolis, from Monument Circle to neighborhood drive-through routes.
   

2. Retiring CCHS director thankful for community collaboration (youarecurrent.com) — The longtime director of the Carmel Clay Historical Society, Debbie Gangstad, will retire at year’s end after helping lead the creation of the new Carmel Clay History Museum. Her tenure showcased broad community collaboration, with support from Clay Township, the City of Carmel, Carmel schools, the library, and private donors, and she plans to keep volunteering after stepping down.
   

3. Former ATI executive director returns to job (youarecurrent.com) — A longtime Carmel resident, Jim Reilly, has returned from retirement to again lead Actors Theatre of Indiana, based at the Center for the Performing Arts in Carmel. He plans to focus on crowd-pleasing shows after recent sellouts and is preparing for ATI’s next production, “Lucky Stiff,” opening Jan. 30, 2026.
   

4. Carmel man charged in $200 million water vending machine Ponzi scheme (fox59.com) — A Carmel man who worked in high finance is facing federal criminal and civil cases tied to an alleged $200 million Ponzi scheme involving water vending machines. Prosecutors say he steered institutional money into a company he’d invested in, while Indiana’s public retirement system is also suing in Hamilton County.
   

5. Boone County man sentenced after trying to meet up with who he believed was a 14-year-old girl for sex (wthr.com) — A Boone County sting operation led to multiple arrests, including a Carmel resident, after investigators posed online as contacts for a 14-year-old girl. One man from Richmond has now been sentenced to three years in prison, and prosecutors are using the case to highlight how undercover work and public reporting can help stop child exploitation and potential trafficking across central Indiana communities.
   

📸 Around Carmel

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💬 Chatter

What your neighbors are talking about on social media

  • Extra Space Storage posted a job opening for Assistant Store Manager in Carmel. Apply here.
  • Carmel Clay Schools posted a job opening for Custodian - Split Shift in Carmel. Apply here. You can search for other jobs near Carmel here.

Ok Carmel! So now you're in the loop about what's happening today. Thanks for reading, and see you in your inbox next time! Oh -- and if you like what you're reading, invite a friend to Patch AM!

-- The Patch AM Team

P.S. The answer to today's riddle: I don’t think you know the gravity of this situation.
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