INDIANAPOLIS — Cease fire.
That's what local groups are asking Hoosiers to do this Memorial Day weekend.
Starting Friday for 72 hours, local nonprofit Cease Fire Indy is asking Hoosiers to refrain from violence and instead just have some fun.
The group wants Hoosiers to do their part to make the weekend fun and safe for everyone.
Their call for a cease fire began Friday with a prayer.
"We know everything that's been going on with the shooting in New York and the shooting in Texas at the elementary school and Indianapolis, as a nation as a whole. We need healing in our land," said Cease Fire Weekend organizer Della Brown.
The group is partnering with several local nonprofits like Reaching Our Brothers Inc. to host events around the city.
Reaching Our Brothers Inc.'s Safe Summer Community BBQ will start at 3 p.m. Saturday at the Ross Center at 8901 E. 42nd St.
Their goal is simple.
"Keep the kids out of trouble. Give them something to do. It's really not a lot for our children to do out here on the far east side. I just want to give them an outlet," said Reaching Our Brothers Inc. founder Robert Booker.
Dee Ross with the Ross Foundation said Cease Fire Indy is about more than putting the guns down.
"It's an opportunity to bring awareness to the root causes in our community. To the lives of everyday people in our community who's overlooked and not seen and want to be heard," said Ross.
This might seem like a challenge for a city that has broken homicide records in the past, but the group believes Hoosiers can rise to the challenge.
"It's going to take the community. It's going to take us as a whole to make this work. If we could do it one day, two, three days, we can do it five days," said Booker.
Friday's events include movie nights at Belmont Beach and Garfield Park. The Melanin Festival starts at 11 a.m. Saturday at CAFE at 8902 E. 38th St.