5 floats named winners in 500 Festival parade

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The 500 Festival on Wednesday announced five winners in its parade float contest.

Here are the winners:

• Best Overall Entry: AES Indiana, which is the parade’s sponsor.The 85-foot-long float will feature wind turbines around the Soldiers and Sailors Monument.
• Most Entertaining: Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Matt and Maggie Novak, winners of this year’s 500 Spectacle of Homes contest, will be aboard the float.
• Marlyne Sexton 500 Festival Queen Award: The American Dairy Association of Indiana. Float will depict a celebratory milk handoff to the Indianapolis 500 winner in Victory Circle at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
• Most Original Concept: Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield. The float will pay tribute to Indiana front-line “heroes” during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Best Display of Philanthropy, Arts or Education: Eli Lilly & Co. The float showcases the words “We Stand Together.”
• Most Creative Concept and Execution: Republic Airways-LIFT Academy. The float, at 28 feet long, has a plane soaring in front of an Indianapolis skyline.

The parade — floats, marching bands, celebrities, and the 33 drivers that will compete in the 106th running of the Indianapolis 500 — will be Saturday in downtown Indianapolis.

• Tickets now on sale for AES 500 Festival Parade