With Little 500 approaching this weekend, local residents and business owners have varying opinions about its effects on the city.
Every April, the competition brings 25,000 people to the campus and therefore Bloomington, according to the IU Student Foundation website.
While this brings customers and diversity to some, for others it can be too much excitement for one weekend.
Bloomington residents seem to have mixed feelings about the annual bike race, which results in numerous parties during the weekend.
Terry Baer, 81, who has lived in Bloomington for 35 years, said Little 500 is great.
She and her husband used to go and meet the teams, and he would take their children out to the race.
“Maybe if we had a party house next to us, it might affect us,” Baer said. “It’s good for the town. It’s good for the school. You know, most people behave themselves, and I am all for it.”
The Baers live on the outskirts of town, toward Nashville, she said.
As long as IU continues to inform people of the potential risks, everything is fine, she said.
However, Janis Starcs, 73, owner of Caveat Emptor Used Books And Music, said he thinks Little 500 is a nuisance.
Starcs, who has lived in Bloomington for about 50 years, said he normally regards anything that brings customers to town as a good thing.
But Little 500 is different.
“Little Five weekend people come to town for one thing: getting drunk or, in a few cases, bicycle enthusiasts or parents of bicycle enthusiasts,” he said.
This event is not one that brings in people who want to read books, Starcs said.
It instead causes his usual customers to take shelter in their homes during the weekend or take a vacation.
He said he understands it’s just college students having fun, but it’s just not a good weekend for book selling.
“When I come to the store in the evening to do my nightly book keeping, there will usually be an awful lot of ambient noise around,” Starcs said.
Ahmad Popalyar, 62, is another business owner in Bloomington and has lived in the city for 30 years.
The owner of Stefano’s Ice Cafe said he loves Little 500 because it brings in many people and is a celebration of which the people of Bloomington are proud.
Popalyar said he has never experienced anything negative during the Little 500 celebrations.
Because it is such a short event, he said to just make the best out of it.
“It’s just once a year,” he said. “Everybody can tolerate just one day, and it is just fun for a lot of kids. Just celebrate it. It’s not a big deal.”
Somewhat in the middle of these opinions about Little 500 weekend is Pictura Gallery director Lauren Kniss. Kniss, 32, who has lived in Bloomington for three years, and this will be her third Little 500 since arriving.
She said the race is a part of the weekend she avoids coming downtown and may stay away from the activities.
The partying outside the race can be a bit much, but it does have its upsides, she said.
“I like the way it brings the town together,” she said. “It can be a great experience for us to share what we do with people who we normally don’t come in contact with.”
Even after living in Bloomington for three and a half decades, Baer said she is still supportive of the event for all of the good it does.
She said she understands why there are so many parties.
“Kids like to play, but as long as they don’t overdo it,” Baer said. “The majority of the people don’t, although the roadside do have to be cleaned up.”
