The Noblesville Parks Department invites residents to enjoy outdoor movies together as a family at five city parks this summer. The 13th annual Movies in the Park Series has something for all ages to enjoy – from fun adventures to foreign lands to talkative animals and iconic personalities.

Erin Portman, recreation program coordinator joined us today with what you need to know about the movie nights.

“The Movies in the Park Series has been an ongoing tradition in Noblesville for over a decade. Attendees can enjoy family-friendly movies, bring a blanket, their dinner or snacks and enjoy an evening of cinema at Noblesville’s parks. Instead of one location for the movie series, this year we are bringing the movies to various parks across the city in order to give residents an opportunity to enjoy them closer to home,” Recreation Program Coordinator Erin Portman said.

To kick off the series, the Noblesville Parks Department is partnering with the Forest Park Aquatic Center, 1077 Cicero Road, to host two Flick ’N Float events, which include “The Shallows” on Aug. 14 for a 21 and over crowd and “Lilo & Stitch” on Aug. 21 for all ages. The movies will start at dusk and will be shown on the pool deck while attendees view the movie from the pool. Pool admission after 5 p.m. is $4 and food and beverages will be available for purchase.

Friday, Aug. 21 – Flick ‘N Float featuring Lilo & Stitch (PG, 85 min.).

The remaining movies in the series will be shown at various city parks the next four weeks. Movies will begin at dusk and are free to the public. This year’s schedule includes:

Friday, Aug. 28 – Jumanji 2: Next Level (PG-13, 123 min.) at Finch Creek Park, 16233 Boden Road.

Friday, Sept. 4 – Frozen 2 (PG, 103 min.) at Dillon Park, 6351 Midland Lane.

Friday, Sept. 11 – Dolittle (PG, 101 min.) at Federal Hill Commons, 175 Logan Street.

Friday, Sept. 18 – A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (PG, 109 min.) at Southside Park, 396 Washington Street.

CDC social distancing guidelines will remain in place during the movie series. Attendees are asked to keep a distance of six feet from others. Screen setup at each park will allow space for attendees to spread out and enjoy the films. Per Governor Holcomb’s statewide mask mandate, masks are required (for ages 8 and older) in indoor public spaces or in outside public spaces when it is not possible to socially distance. Masks are strongly recommended for ages 2-7. The City of Noblesville follows the Governor’s Back on Track plan and will continue monitoring for any changes that could impact future events or the movie series.

In the event of rain, movies may be rescheduled or moved inside Ivy Tech Community College, 300 N. 17 St. Light concessions will be available for purchase at all showings. The 2020 Movies in the Park Series is made possible through the contributions of Logan Street Signs & Banners and Urban Air Adventure Park. For more information, visit www.noblesvilleparks.org or call (317) 776-6350.

For more from Noblesville Parks visit their website, Instagram and Facebook.

NOBLESVILLE, Ind. (WISH) — The death of a man found in a ditch near Noblesville on Friday is being treated as a homicide, the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office said.

Deputies responded to the 21500 block of Overdorf Road, northeast of Noblesville, on a death investigation, and arrived to find a man somewhere between 45 and 60 years old in a ditch on the side of the road, the sheriff’s office said.

The sheriff’s office said investigators do not believe the man died at the location where he was found.

No immediate information about the identity of the victim or the circumstances of his death were immediately available.

The investigation on Friday night was ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 317-262-TIPS or Detective Greg Lockheart at 317-773-1282.

NOBLESVILLE, Ind. (WISH) – Obscene language and a swastika were spray-painted over the weekend near the top of a building in downtown Noblesville.

The Noblesville Police Department said it was reported Monday and occurred over the Labor Day weekend. Officers said they contacted the owner of the building and it was removed hours after it was reported.

“They either had a really tall ladder or they know somebody that lives in the apartments above and they got access that way,” said Jill Janusiewicz, manager at Noblesville Antique Mall.

Many people didn’t want to share their thoughts with News 8 on camera about the incident but said it was shocking to see. Some people even drove by to view it up close. Local businesses said they’re glad it’s now removed as the graffiti, which was shared on social media before being reported to police, brought a lot of negative attention.

People in the downtown square believe someone spray-painted the building at night when businesses are closed. A lot of them questioned how they were able to get up there in the first place.

“I think it’s kids. I think it’s for attention,” Janusiewicz said. ” I think they’re like, ‘Hey let’s do this and see what kind of attention we can get.'”

However, many people told News 8 they’re confident Noblesville is not a racist town.

“It’s (Noblesville), kind of a small-knit community still. Everybody knows everybody. People typically are not afraid to walk on the streets at night or dine or shop or walk. It’s fairly a safe community,” added Janusiewicz.

Police on Monday did not have any potential suspect information.

NOBLESVILLE, Ind. (WISH) – The Carmel Fire Department is training for all the things that can go wrong on the water. They’re brushing up on their water rescue safety skills to help keep people safe this summer.

Boating accidents aren’t the only reason firefighters may use this training to come to your rescue.

“We also have a lot of retention ponds, and so people can get into those,” said Tim Griffin with the Carmel Fire Department.

“They can play in them or, like earlier in the spring when we had all of that water, we can have a lot of situations where we have a heavy rain come in and create flash flooding through a small creek and kids will be in there playing and the next thing you know it’s become an emergency situation.”

Firefighters spent time Tuesday at the Hamilton County Training Center reviewing how to operate a boat, how to get on and off it safely, how to save people who fall off boat and could be injured, all while protecting themselves.

The department also uses a drone in cases where they need to drop a life-saving device to someone in distress.

“Whether it’s a pond, whether it’s a river, we can get it up into the air really fast. It moves 50 miles an hour. We can check for patients, look for them, hopefully locate them faster than we would be able to locate them in the boat and then we can tell the crews where to go,” Griffin said.

Firefighters say it’s important for people in distress on the water to stay calm before help arrives.

“If you’re going to be out fishing on the river or if you’re going to be on a pond, make sure you know where you’re at,” said Griffin. “You tell somebody that you’re going and so they know you’re there. The other thing, never mix alcohol. Water and alcohol, they don’t mix, so make sure you haven’t mixed alcohol.”

The Carmel Fire Department plans to do ice water rescue training in the winter.

NOBLESVILLE, Ind. (WISH) – Well, here’s something you don’t see every day.

Saturday night, around 7 p.m., a cow was spotted out on a stroll in Noblesville.

The animal was seen roaming College Parkway near Hamilton Town Center, blocking traffic as it caused quite the roadblock.

As you can see the cow made safely across the road where there was a Chick-fil-A.

No word on how this all began.

NOBLESVILLE, Ind. (WISH) — Noblesville city councilors on Tuesday evening will discuss developing a $24.3 million mixed-use project in downtown Noblesville called The Levinson. 

City officials explain The Levinson will include 73 market-rate and 10 affordable-rate apartments, a 337-space parking garage, retail space and a 2,000-square-foot Noblesville history exhibit. The building will have two basement floors and five above-ground floors. 

Deputy Mayor Steve Cooke said this downtown development project is in harmony with the city’s top 10 priority projects. 

“It’s been our objective to attract more residents to downtown,” said Cooke. “When you add residents into the mix, then you create a nighttime crowd.”

Cooke said parking is a major issue for Noblesville residents and visitors, and this project would create 167 public parking spots, more than doubling the current number. 

Hundreds of residents took to social media following the announcement, opposing the city’s plan to “become more like Fishers and Carmel” and “lose Noblesville’s downtown charm.” 

Cooke explained the project is small enough to maintain Noblesville’s small town feel while still moving forward as a city. The public exhibit of Noblesville history will also mark the space as distinctly Noblesville, he said. 

“We have an authentic downtown culture already. We don’t want to mess that up with our project,” he said. “We also believe in the developer that we’re going to be working with is very sensitive to the fact that they need to design and build a project that complements our downtown, our historic charm.” 

Revar Development is working on the project, and the proposed site stands north of Maple Avenue, between 8th and 9th streets. The northern border is an alleyway just south of Connor Street and the backdoor of Mike Wilson’s All Local shop and eatery. 

“Overall it’s probably good. Especially for small business owners up here on the square to have more people living right off the square,” said Wilson. “As long as it’s not hideous, as long as it doesn’t overtake it.”

Wilson said most of his customers and fellow business owners see the need for more dense development in Noblesville and certainly better parking, but want it to be done properly. 

“People want to see the progress but they want to keep the legitimacy and authenticity of what the square has and what’s lured us all here to begin with,” he said. 

Around the corner at GB Davis Folk Art, Geoff Davis agreed the development would be great for business. He said it’s too early to form a strong opinion, but he’ll be watching carefully. 

“I’m a little concerned about gentrification and rent going up. As an artist, it’s difficult to find inexpensive studio space and I just did and I would hate to see my studio displaced in a year or two when all the good things are happening and I’d have to go somewhere else,” he said. 

Ayers Real Estate, Holt Legal Group and a public parking lot are currently on the site proposed for The Levinson.

Davis said those businesses are in a historical building. 

“I feel like the building needs to be preserved and feel strongly there are other places in town they can build some dense structures,” he said. 

The Noblesville City Council is scheduled to discuss The Levinson on Tuesday at 7 p.m. inside Noblesville City Hall. The public is invited. 

If approved, city leaders hope to begin construction in March of 2019 with parking garage completion in January 2020 and apartments following in fall of 2020.