Team Haverhill’s River Ruckus is a RAIN OR SHINE EVENT!
Team Haverhill’s River Ruckus is an annual festival featuring live music, classic cars, Kids Zone, great local foods, and spectacular fireworks over the Merrimack River.
September 23, 12:00 PM – 8:30 PM, at Riverfront Park in Haverhill’s Riverfront Cultural District and Washington Street
Follow River Ruckus on Facebook for the latest news and announcements about the band lineup and set schedule, the classic car show, the fireworks, the food vendors, our awesome sponsors, and family fun. Please LIKE and SHARE to spread the buzz!
Please note: Washington Street will be closed to all traffic on Saturday, September 23, 2023, from 10:00 am until 3:00 pm on Saturday for the Classic Car Show. We will post reminders and parking information as we get closer.
Thank you for NOT SMOKING at Team Haverhill’s River Ruckus.
Festival Timeline of Events
12:00 – 8:30 PM, Riverfront Park
Time Event
| 9:00 am | Run to the Ruckus 5K Road Race Sponsored by Haverhill YMCA | Washington Square |
| 12:00 – 3:00 pm | Classic Car Show Sponsored by Haverhill Bank | Washington Street |
| 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm | Haverhill High School Crew Exhibition – See the HHS Crew team show-off their skills live on the mighty Merrimack River | on the water – Riverfront Park |
| 12:00 pm | Haverhill High School Chorus – The day kicks off with the “Star Spangled Banner” and three songs (Bohemian Rhapsody, We Are the Champions, and Don’t Stop Me Now) from Queen performed by the Haverhill High School Chorus | River Ruckus Stage |
| 12:00 – 3:00 pm | Kids Zone Mass Audubon’s Joppa Flats Traveling Touch Tank, Paint Me – Free Paint, Bouncy House Basketball, Professional Balloon Artist, Face Painting, Tie-Dye Shirts, Child ID Services, and more! | Columbus Park |
| 12:00 – 3:00 pm | Community Corner Connect with non-profit organizations making in impact in Haverhill like Historic New England, Ruth’s House, Creative Haverhill, Beyond Walls, Cub Scouts Pack 63, MakeIt Haverhill, DCF Foster Care and The Sons of Italy.
This year the Community Corner also features some great demonstration performances: 12:30pm – Martial Arts demonstration by Ocasio’s True Martial Arts 1:15pm – Cheerleading demonstration by YNS Elite Cheer 1:45pm – Gymnastics demonstration by YNS Phoenix Gymnastics Team 2:15pm – The Pinewoods Morris Men – Traditional Morris English dance troupe Check it out! | 43 Washington Street |
| 12:00 – 8:00 pm | Beer & Wine Garden Paulaner Oktoberfest, True North IPA, Downeast Pumpkin Cider, Arizona Hard Teas, Budlight, Budlight Seltzer, Bud Zero, as well as Red Wine & White Wine will be served. . | Riverfront Park |
| 12:00 – 8:00 pm | A Taste of Haverhill Food for sale by local restaurants & vendors | Riverfront Park |
| 2:00 – 3:30 pm | Riverfront Cultural District Talks
2PM The Great Haverhill Fire of 1882 – History Talk 2:30PM The Essex Street Gateway Mural – Art Talk 3PM Haverhill’s Queen Anne Style Architecture – History Talk |
| 12:30 – 8:00 pm | Live Music Great live performances brought to you by 92.5 The River. See the Band Line-up for set times | River Ruckus Stage |
| 8:00 – 8:30 pm | Fireworks Spectacular A spectacular Fireworks display over the Merrimack River Best. Fireworks. Ever. Sponsored by New York Life. | RiverWalk and Riverfront Park |
Our Sponsors
Team Haverhill’s River Ruckus would not be possible without the generous support of our sponsors:
Team Haverhill’s River Ruckus 2023 – Platinum Sponsors
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Team Haverhill’s River Ruckus 2023 – Gold Sponsors
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Team Haverhill’s River Ruckus 2023 – Silver Sponsors
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Team Haverhill’s River Ruckus 2023 – Bronze Sponsors
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Additional support provided by:
This program is supported in part by a grant from the Haverhill Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.
Team Haverhill’s River Ruckus 2023 – Live Music Partner
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2023 Schedule of Events
Run to the Ruckus – 5K Road Race
Live Music
Classic Car Show
Kids Zone
Historic Walking Tour & Art Talks
River Ruckus Beer and Wine Garden
A Taste of Haverhill: Local Food Vendors
Fireworks Spectacular
Run to the Ruckus – 5K Road Race
9:00 am, Washington Square
Start festival day the right way and Run to the Ruckus! The Haverhill YMCA is hosting a 5K road race… “Run to the Ruckus”. Start time is 9am at Washington Square, downtown Haverhill. Click here to see the full flyer or click here to learn more and REGISTER NOW! Support the Y, support our community…. and RUN TO THE RUCKUS!
Live Music
12:00 pm – 8:00 pm on the River Ruckus Stage
WXRV 92.5 the River once again brings a great lineup of bands to the River Ruckus Stage.
| BAND LINE-UP | |
|---|---|
| Start Time | Appearing |
| 12:30 pm | Frontwoods |
| 1:45 pm | The Far Out |
| 3:00 pm | Life of the Party |
| 4:15 pm | Joe P |
| 6:00 pm | Phillip Phillips |
Stage management provided by DreamWeaver Presents.
Classic Car Show
12:00 – 3:00 pm, Washington Street
The Classic Car Show brings over 50 cars to Washington Street. Antiques, classics, muscle cars, hot rods, specialty cars and their proud owners gather for the afternoon.
Once again, HC Media’s Frank “I’m just along for the ride” Novak will do a car commentary for HC Media, channel 22, Haverhill. Let us know in advance with a post to River Ruckus on Facebook and tell us what kind of car you are bringing and Frank will talk about your car on the air! He will talk to you, too, and you can see the show later on tv!
Team Haverhill appreciates the ongoing support of Haverhill Bank as the sponsor of the Classic Car Show for the sixth year.
Kids Zone
12:00 – 3:00 pm, Columbus Park
Kids Zone activities include Mass Audubon’s Joppa Flats Traveling Touch Tank, Bouncy House Basketball, Professional Balloon Artist, Face Painting, Lightsaber Building Workshop, Tie Dye shirt and Bracelet Making, Paint Me! Free Paint, Child ID services, and more!
The Kids Zone is organized by Haverhill YMCA.
Community Corner
Connect with non-profit organizations making in impact in Haverhill like Historic New England, Ruth’s House, Creative Haverhill, Beyond Walls, Cub Scouts Pack 63, MakeIt Haverhill, DCF Foster Care and The Sons of Italy.
This year the Community Corner also features some great demonstration performances:
12:30pm – Martial Arts demonstration by Ocasio’s True Martial Arts
1:15pm – Cheerleading demonstration by YNS Elite Cheer
1:45pm – Gymnastics demonstration by YNS Phoenix Gymnastics Team
2:15pm – The Pinewoods Morris Men – Traditional Morris English dance troupe
Check it out! | 43 Washington Street
History & Art – Walking Talks
2PM The Great Haverhill Fire of 1882 – History Talk
presented by The Haverhill Firefighting Museum @ 2 Washington Street
2:30PM The Essex Street Gateway Mural – Art Talk
presented by Team Haverhill @ 25 Essex Street
3PM Haverhill’s Queen Anne Style Architecture – History Talk
presented by The Buttonwoods Museum @ Washington Square
Talks last approximately 30 minutes.
River Ruckus Beer & Wine Garden
Paulaner Oktoberfest, True North IPA, Downeast Pumpkin Cider, Arizona Hard Teas, Budlight, Budlight Seltzer, Bud Zero, as well as Red Wine & White Wine will be served.
Thank you for not smoking in the River Ruckus Beer Garden.
A Taste of Haverhill with Local Food Vendors and Beer & Wine Garden
12:00 – 8:00 pm, Riverfront Park
Eclectic ClamStuffed clams, fish cakes and crab cakes
| Vendor | River Ruckus Menu |
| la Pizza di Forno | Pizza, fruit cups, baklava |
| River Street Café | Syrian pockets: Chicken salad, caprese, steak & cheese and veggie |
| Kona Ice | Shaved ice with do-it-yourself Flavorwave |
| Chicken Connection | Chicken fingers, burgers and fries |
| Carter’s Ice Cream | Homemade ice cream |
| Casa Blanca | Burritos, guacamole and walking nachos |
| Home Made Hummus | Multiple varieties of homemade hummus |
| Hard Body Meals | Turkey chili and peanut butter protein balls |
| The Bakers Rack | Brownies, bars and cookies |
| Roasted | Chicken wings |
Fireworks Spectacular
8:00 – 8:30 PM, Riverfront Park
BEST. FIREWORKS. EVER. Boom!…boom boom boom Boom!
Festival Backstory
River Ruckus was born at Possible Dreams in January of 2010 as a “dream” of bringing the community together for a day of family fun along the Riverwalk and the Riverfront Cultural District; to boost the local economy; and to boast about what Haverhill has to offer. A team of dedicated Team Haverhill volunteers pulled together the first event in August, 2010.
Team Haverhill’s River Ruckus was an immediate success and has grown in numbers of guests, volunteers, sponsors and participants every year.
We have taken two breaks. A hiatus in 2012 due to the rolling out of the Essex Street Gateway Mural that spring, and another in 2020 due to the CovID-19 Pandemic.
Our original festival mascot was “Sammy the Sturgeon” chosen because there are sturgeon living in the Merrimack River in the environs of the Bassiliere Bridge. While the sturgeon used to be prolific in the river, it is now protected as an endangered species. Sammy is pictured in our former logo and he still appears at the festival to the delight of the children.
Our logo conveys the spirit of the River Ruckus: our love for the mighty Merrimack River, our passion for live music, and the excitement and spectacle of the fireworks over the river. It’s a great representation of the festival – a great day of bringing our community together – on the river.
Look through the photo gallery for memories of past events.
The Facebook wall is open so post your stories and photos and tag us (#teamhaverhillsriverruckus) in your pictures! We’d love to see them!
