500 Festival Associates, Inc. Nonprofit organization in charge of pre-race festivities for the Indianapolis 500. Events include the Mini-Marathon, 500 Festival Memorial Parade, and many others. Space Shuttle Flag This flag was designed for the 500 Festival Associates in order to commemorate the United States' involvement in space technology. It was launched into orbit on the space shuttle Atlantis on December 2, 1988 and is now presented as the first unit in every 500 Festival Memorial Parade.