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If you need a band to perform along downtown’s canal when it’s dyed green or a band to perform on the deck at the top of a skateboard ramp, Bryan Apolskis can make those arrangements.
Apolskis, founder of event company Sequence, has one of the most unusual entertainment careers in the city. He’s served as event director for the St. Patrick’s Day Parade since 2006 and he’s the owner of the only indoor skate park in Indianapolis. About 10 times a year, Q Skatepark doubles as a venue for all-ages punk rock shows.
These ventures didn’t happen intentionally for Apolskis, an alum of Crown Point High School in Lake County and the University of Evansville at the opposite end of Indiana. He played baseball and football at Evansville before graduating in 1995.
In Indianapolis, he worked for the Midwestern Collegiate Conference—now known as the Horizon League—and he had promoted rodeos and monster truck shows.
His parade career launched after the Indianapolis Athletic Club dissolved. The club, 350 N. Meridian St., sponsored the city’s St. Patrick’s Day celebrations from 1980 to 2004. Although the holiday’s celebrations continue to be overseen by the Athletic Club Foundation, Apolskis proved to be an effective organizer when the foundation needed a hand.
The origin story of Q Skatepark, 1727 Stout Field East Drive, is that Apolskis and his wife, Shane Apolskis, needed a place to store a mobile skate park.
After visiting Major Taylor Skate Park, 3649 Cold Spring Road, Bryan decided that local skaters could use an indoor facility during cold-weather months. Q Skatepark opened in 2016, and the facility offers lessons as well as spring and summer camps.
The punk rock shows are a natural extension of skateboarding culture. The “Sequence” name is used for the venue, which will host Cloakroom—a high-profile band from Chesterton, Indiana—on April 10. Tickets for the show organized by local concert company 317 Shows are available at eventbrite.com.
“We created a really cool community,” Apolskis said. “Then entertainment and the arts really go with skateboarding.”
In 2019, rapper Lil Wayne visited Q for a private skating session between tour stops in St. Louis and Cincinnati.
On March 17, the St. Patrick’s Day Parade festivities will include the bands Highland Reign and A Beautiful Day playing a tent party near the parade’s starting point at North and Pennsylvania streets. For detailed information about the greening of the canal on March 13, the Shamrock Run & Walk on March 15 and the St. Patrick’s Day Parade, visit indystpats.com.
After St. Patrick’s Day, Apolskis will turn his attention to the 500 Festival, where he’s helped with parade logistics since 2007.
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Hey Dave, as an alumni, it’s University of Evansville, not Ev Uni. : ) Thanks!
Argh. Sorry about that!