23rd Annual Rocky Ripple Festival
11:00 am - 6:00 pm EDT
Saturday, September 23, 2023
Hohlt Park @ 840 W 53rd St, Indianapolis
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Thank you
Thank you to everyone who attended this year's festival, and to all those who contributed to a successful event.
We'll see you in 2024!
Join us for a wonderful day in Rocky Ripple
The Rocky Ripple Festival is held each year in our unique Indianapolis midtown neighborhood, just across the Central Canal from Butler University. An eclectic set of bands play throughout the day. Over 70 artists bring their unique items for sale. Beer and wine are provided by the Broad Ripple Brewpub, and a variety of food offerings are available from local vendors. Children activities are held near the playground.
All at a family friendly admission price - FREE
Local Artists
80 artists from across central Indiana
Live Music
Andra Faye & Scott Ballantine - 11:15 am
Rock E Bassoon - 12:15 pm
Tilt-A-Squirrel - 1:15 pm
Maximum Zero - 2:15 pm
Ripple Coast Drums - 3:15 pm
Billy Pilgrim & The Earthlings - 4:15 pm
Sax Pistols - 5:15 pm
times are approx.
Beer & Wine
Broad Ripple Brewpub
Food & Treats
La Chinita Poblana
Lou Malnati's Pizza
Pita Place
Punch Burger
Lick Ice Cream
Market Square Popcorn
Moo & Lou Frozen Treats
Prufrock Coffee
Prize Drawings
Friends of the White River
Paw Patch Place Veterinary
Eiteljorg Museum
Illinois St Food Emporium
BRICS Ice Cream
Twenty Tap
Frank's Livery
Ty's Automotive
Indianapolis Zoo
Flatwater Restaurant
Yats
Bazbeaux Pizza
Safeway Grocery
The Jazz Kitchen
Sullivan Hardware
Pots & Pans Pie Co
Pawn Shop Pub
Red Key Tavern
Good Earth Natural Food Store
Kids Ink Bookstore
Volunteer
Our community volunteers are the backbone of our festival, and help us organize the event ahead of time, assist with setup, provide day-of support, and help with teardown and cleanup. Contact Rachel Wuthrich for more information.
Sponsorships
We wish to extend a big Thank You to all our of our sponsors. The festival is our biggest fundraiser, and their support ensures a successful event every year.
Sponsorship is a great way to keep your business front of mind with area residents. We thank sponsors from our website and festival social media (over 2,300 followers and 17,500 reached in 2022!), announce sponsors throughout the day, and include your information in our printed materials.
Sponsorship opportunities include a booth near our festival entrance, displaying prominent banners during the event, providing specialized services that benefit the festival, providing donated prize drawings, and more.
Connect with our team to learn more.
Artists
The Rocky Ripple Festival has over 70 booths for artisans from the central Indiana region. While all booths have been filled for 2023, join our email list for next year's updates.
Live Music
We host an eclectic mix of live music from local bands throughout the event from our main stage. While all spaces have been filled for this year's event, contact our music coordinator for more information about next year.
FAQ
- Well-behaved dogs on-leash are welcome. We try to have water bowls filled at the park entrance.
- Artists and food vendors typically accept cash or card. The RRCA Booth has affordable snacks, drinks, and t-shirts, but may only accept cash. There is no ATM available at our event.
- Parking is free on neighborhood streets. 53rd St fills up most quickly. Find more spaces on 52nd St and on side streets Byram, Clarendon, Lester, and Crown, or continue north on these streets to 54th St once in the neighborhood. And if needed, drive further into the neighborhood on 52nd St and park along Annette or Patterson. Our neighborhood is not large, so you're no more than a few blocks from the park. Please respect residents who block their frontage and avoid parking in residents' yards unless directed to by a volunteer. Do not block traffic, especially on 53rd St, so emergency vehicles may enter and exit.
- Free bike parking will be provided by Pedal & Park, right by the park entrance on 53rd St. This section of 53rd St, between Crown and Annette, will only be open to foot and bike traffic.
- Please, no smoking or vaping in Hohlt Park during the event. You may smoke just outside the park along 53rd, Annette, or Crown Street.
- Our community garden is open to explore. Please do not remove plants or vegetables from members' plots.
Festival History
The first stirrings of an annual Rocky Ripple festival began in 1998 when the town officially obtained the land now known as Hohlt Park. After much legal wrangling, Rocky Ripple had its first official park, and townsfolk were anxious to use it. The Community Association decided a celebration should be held. Because of the large number of musicians that were residents of Rocky Ripple, it was agreed it should be a day of music utilizing local talent.
The event was held in August, during a near record heat wave. Planning was impromptu – requests for bands were put out by word of mouth. Handy-carpenter-types built a small stage. No one had sound equipment, but someone knew someone in Henry Lee Summers’ band. Not only did Henry end up letting Rocky Ripplers use his equipment, he decided to participate and sang some of his hits from the nine albums he had produced by that time. The excellent music brought out neighbors from near and far and the first Rocky Ripple Festival was deemed a success!
The next year brought about a dedication ceremony for Hohlt Park, but no festival in 1999. The Community Association and interested members of the neighborhood began to expand the vision for an annual celebration. They decided music was fundamental, but we had other “artist types” in the community, and why not make it into an “Art in the Park” festival? Local artist Megan Wright provided information about juried arts festivals and artist Vandra Linder created a unique logo for the festival that would continue to be used year after year to draw attention to our small scale tribute to the arts.
The first RR festival featuring music and local artists displaying their wares occurred in 2000. A small food booth manned by Community Association volunteers was added. And the rest, as they say, is history.
Each year, the number of participating artists has increased, and the reputation of the festival has grown. The name of the festival was changed from “Arts in the Park” to “Rocky Ripple Festival for the Arts” so people would know that a wide range of activities were included, such a games, kids’ entertainers, a raffle and more options for food and drink.
In addition to the growth of the festival itself, the money raised at the festival has increased from year to year. This is now the major annual fundraising mechanism for the Rocky Ripple Parks Endowment fund, which was established to maintain the parks in Rocky Ripple.