Parks and Recreation was a sitcom that followed a group of friends and co-workers who worked for the Pawnee, Indiana parks department. The show followed their zany work and personal lives as they constantly dealt with citizens of Pawnee and other government employees.
Parks and Recreation was great at providing a consistent tone to its comedy, presenting detailed main and side characters, and also providing minuscule details that reminded the audience the show was set in Indiana. Here are some of the best details throughout the series that showed the characters truly lived in Indiana.
Tom's Bistro Offering Upland Brews
There are small moments where the audience can see the type of beer taps Tom's Bistro offers and beers from Upland Brewing Co. is one of them.
Upland is a local Indiana brewery that most people in Indiana would recognize immediately. Their main brewery is located in Bloomington Indiana and they have restaurants located throughout the state.
April Almost Going To IU
April is interested in attending Veterinary school to become a Vet due to her love of animals. Ann drives her to Bloomington, Indiana to visit IU and it's a pretty easy drive since it's in the same state.
It makes sense that April would be looking at state schools since it would be easier to commute and it would be less expensive than an out of state school.
Leslie Giving A Commencement Speech At IU
Leslie Knope gives a commencement speech for the graduates at IU Bloomington. She has, overall, become a respectable and lovable figure in Indiana and it makes sense that she would be called upon to give a speech for the graduating classes at an Indiana school even though she and Ben had moved away at the time.
There was even a real-life petition created to have Amy Poehler give the commencement speech for the 2016 graduating class.
Indiana Athletes Guest Starring
Indiana Pacers players Detlef Schrempf and Roy Hibbert had multiple cameos throughout Parks and Recreation and most notably were hired by Tom and Jean-Ralphio when they started Entertainment 720.
When they call Jean-Ralphio dunk and ing out shrimp at parties.
Bobby Knight References
There are references to the former IU basketball coach throughout the series. Ron has a poster of him near the beginning of the show while Ron also dresses up and acts like the cantankerous coach and throws a chair (like Knight famously did during his time at IU) at a children's basketball game.
There was also a Night Ranger cover band who all dressed in red sweaters like Bobby Knight.
William Henry Harrison
Parks and Recreation had an episode dedicated to William Henry Harrison, who was President of the United States for thirty days and mentioned a museum dedicated to him.
Leslie tried to find a historical reason to allow the parks department to receive the Newport land instead of Ron and Gryzzl. There is a real-life museum in Vincennes, Indiana called Grouseland and it is a historical house that was built in the early 1800s for the President.
Visiting Lucas Oil Stadium
When the guys celebrate Ben's bachelor party they realize that none of them actually had a bachelor party before their marriage so the friends each have the party of their dreams.
Andy's bachelor party brings them to Lucas Oil Stadium where the Indianapolis Colts football team play and they meet up with the owner and some Colts players including Reggie Wayne and Andrew Luck.
Going To St. Elmo Steak House
For Ron's bachelor party they go to a nice sit-down dinner at a steak house, specifically St. Elmo Steak House, which is a local Indiana restaurant. There is only one St. Elmo Steak House and it's located in downtown Indianapolis.
In the episode, they also run into Pacers athlete Roy Hibbert and he pays for their meal except for Tom because he says he still owes him a lot of money from Entertainment 720.
Andy's Reggie Wayne Jersey
Andy wears his Indianapolis Colts jersey throughout the series, but it's probably most ed as his fancy dress for his and April's wedding. He usually wears his Reggie Wayne jersey and later in the show he actually gets to meet one of his heroes at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Although anyone can be a fan of any sports team, most wouldn't wear the jersey to their wedding unless they had a special connection with the team like it representing their home state.
Donna's Last Supper With Famous People From Indiana
When a government mural is again defaced they finally decide to redesign the controversial mural and have each department submit a design so Leslie has everyone come up with their own idea.
Donna decides to paste famous Indiana people and events onto The Last Supper mural including John Mellencamp, Michael Jackson, Greg Kinnear, Larry Bird, Ron Swanson, and a racecar because there are not many famous people from Indiana.