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 25, 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 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.
Interested in helping at River Ruckus as an ‘event day volunteer’? Please click here!
Thank you for NOT SMOKING at Team Haverhill’s River Ruckus.
Festival Timeline of Events
12:00 – 8:30 PM, Riverfront Park
Time Event
| 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 show-off their skills live on the mighty Merrimack River | on the water – Riverfront Park |
| 12:00 – 4:00 pm | Kids Zone Mass Audubon’s Joppa Flats Traveling Touch Tank, Bouncy House Basketball, Professional Balloon Artist, Face Painting, Master Lego Builder Challenge, Obstacle Course, and more! | Gazebo Area |
| 12:00 – 8:00 pm | Beer & Wine Garden Featuring offerings from Spaten, Jack’s Abby, and Goose Island. Hard seltzer, white, red and rosé wines also available. | Riverfront Park |
| 12:00 – 8:00 pm | A Taste of Haverhill Food for sale by local restaurants & vendors | Riverfront Park |
| 2:00 – 4:00 pm |
Riverfront Cultural District Tours & Talks 2:00 pm – Queen Anne Style Architecture Tour 3:00 pm – The River Path 3:30 pm – Making the Essex Street Gateway Mural 4:00 pm – Her Voice Carries |
| 12:00 – 7:45 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 |
| 12:00 – 7:00 pm | 50/50 Cash Prize Raffle 1 ticket/$5 – 3 tickets/$10 – 10 tickets/$20 One cash prize winner, splitting with Team Haverhill’s River Ruckus | The Team Haverhill Booth in Riverfront Park |
| 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 2021 – Platinum Sponsors
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Team Haverhill’s River Ruckus 2021 – Gold Sponsors
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Team Haverhill’s River Ruckus 2021 – Silver Sponsors
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Team Haverhill’s River Ruckus 2021 – Bronze Sponsors
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Team Haverhill’s River Ruckus 2021 – Live Music Partner
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2021 Schedule of Events
Live Music
Classic Car Show
Kids Zone
Historic Walking Tour & Art Talks
50/50 Cash Prize Raffle
River Ruckus Beer and Wine Garden
A Taste of Haverhill: Local Food Vendors
Fireworks Spectacular
Live Music
12:00 pm – 7:30 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 | Red Tail Hawk |
| 1:45 pm | James Renner |
| 3:15 pm | Tall Heights |
| 4:45 pm | The Unlikely Candidates |
| 6:30 pm | Buffalo Tom |
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 – 4:00 pm, Gazebo Area in Riverfront Park
Kids Zone activities include Mass Audubon’s Joppa Flats Traveling Touch Tank, Bouncy House Basketball, Professional Balloon Artist, Face Painting, Master Lego Builder Challenge, Obstacle Course, and more!
The Kids Zone is organized by Haverhill YMCA.
Professional face painting from Fun Face Express will be at the festival as well as Ryan’s Bright Light Novelties, with glow toys before the fireworks.
Historic Walking Tour & Art Talks
2:00 Queen Anne Style Architecture Tour
The Buttonwoods Museum guides a short walking tour exploring the Queen Anne style architecture of downtown Haverhill. | Tour leaves from the Team Haverhill Booth
3:00 The River Path
Haverhill sculptor Dale Rogers discusses this prominent downtown sculpture and its connection to John Greenleaf Whittier and the Merrimack River. | 2 Washington Square
3:30 Making the Essex Street Gateway Mural
Local artists Jeff Grassie hosts a presentation about the process of completing the city’s largest mural. | 25 Essex Street
4:00 Her Voice Carries
The Switchboard presents a discussion on artist Sarah C. Rutherford’s public mural series, featuring women who are lifting up the voices of others. | 45 Washington Street
50/50 Cash Prize Raffle
12:00 – 7:00 pm, Washington Street & Riverfront Park
The CASH PRIZE grows over the course of the day! Tickets will be sold at the Team Haverhill’s River Ruckus booth. Tickets are $5/one ticket, $10/three tickets and $20/ten tickets. Cash prize will be split 50/50 with Team Haverhill’s River Ruckus. Additional prize baskets containing local restaurant gift certificates and more will be given away between music sets throughout the day with winning tickets being thrown back in for the CASH PRIZE to be drawn on the Riverfront Park stage just before the fireworks!
River Ruckus Beer & Wine Garden
Offerings from Jack’s Abby, Spaten and Goose Island. Hard seltzer, white, red and rosé wines also available.
Spaten Oktoberfest
Jack’s Abby Hoponius Union
Goose Island IPA
Goose Island Lemonade Shandy
Strawberry and Black Cherry Hard Seltzer
Thank you for not smoking in the River Ruckus Beer Garden.
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A Taste of Haverhill with Local Food Vendors and Beer & Wine Garden
12:00 – 8:00 pm, Riverfront Park
| Vendor | River Ruckus Menu |
| la Pizza di Forno | Pizza, fruit cups, meatballs, and salad |
| Kona Ice | Shaved ice with do-it-yourself Flavorwave |
| Chicken Connection | Chicken fingers, hamburgers/cheeseburgers, and fries |
| Carter’s Ice Cream | Homemade ice cream |
| Casa Blanca | Burritos, nachos, burrito bowl salads, and Mexican sodas |
| Hard Body Meals | Turkey chili, banana pumpcakes, chocolate coconut peanut butter balls and Celsius energy drinks |
| Hidden Heart Cakes | Cake pops, cupcakes, pumpkin whoopie pies, gluten free treats, and iced cold brew coffee |
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 new 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!
