Indianapolis native and novelist Kurt Vonnegut.
The Republic file photo
You can celebrate one of Indianapolis’ best-known native sons and one of the nation’s top novelists Sunday.
The Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library will present its annual Night of Vonnegut fundraiser in the year commemorating the 100th anniversary of Vonnegut’s birth (he died in 2007 in New York). The event is slated at 7 p.m. Sunday at the Indiana Roof Ballroom, 140 W. Washington St. in downtown Indianapolis.
This event falls on the day when the Vonnegut Library is unveiled at noon as the first Literary Landmark on the federal register in the State of Indiana (go to VonnegutLibrary.org to learn more about the free daytime events.)
Hosted by honorary event chairs Mike and Leslie Rubin, this fundraiser will feature a silent and live auction, food and drink. Emcee for the evening will be David Brancaccio of NPR’s Marketplace Morning Report with music by Rob Dixon and other Indiana notable musicians — all followed by a performance by a past winner of the Kurt Vonnegut Humor Award, Gary Gulman.
With more than 25 years in comedy, Gulman has established himself as a polished performer and writer. His most recent standup special for HBO, “The Great Depresh,” is a unique look at mental illness, equal parts wry and inspiring. A product of Boston, Gulman has been a scholarship college football player, an accountant, and a high school teacher.
He has made countless television appearances as both a comedian and an actor. He is currently writing a memoir for Flatiron Books, tentatively titled “K Through 12.”
Additional featured and free events on Sunday include the unveiling of the new exhibit “Women Who Shaped Vonnegut,” the installment of a time capsule in conjunction with Shortridge High School, and a Youth Writing Program announcement.
The Centennial Celebration also will feature ping pong, free ice cream by BRICS, free hula hoops to the first 100 students, and free copies of the author’s classic “Slaughterhouse Five” to the first 100 students.
