Team Haverhill’s River Ruckus 2016 is an annual festival featuring live music, Classic Cars, Kids Zone, great local foods, and spectacular fireworks over the Merrimack River
September 24, 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!
From Team Haverhill to River Ruckus! From River Ruckus to the World!
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.
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 – 12:30 pm | Zumba Fun and high-energy dance for everyone! Sponsored by the Haverhill YMCA | Riverfront Stage |
| 12:00 – 4:00 pm | Kids Zone Bouncy House, Face Painting, Games, Sidewalk Chalk Art, Balloon Artist, Arts & Crafts, and more! Sponsored by MedExpress | Gazebo Area |
| 12:00 – 8:00 pm | Beer & Wine Garden Featuring Harpoon crafted beer and served by Butlers & Bars. Sponsored by Team Haverhill | Riverfront Park |
| 12:00 – 8:00 pm | A Taste of Haverhill Food for sale by local restaurants & vendors | Riverfront Park |
| 12:00 – 6:00 pm | Haverhill Art Market A juried marketplace showcasing the work of regional artists | 90 Washington Street |
| 1:00 – 7:45 pm | Live Music Great live performances brought to you by 92.5 The River. See the Band Line-up for set times | Riverfront Stage |
| 2:00 – 7:50 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 |
2016 Breaking News!
August 20th: And it is in! Seth Wonkka and Brad Byrd will be performing on the Riverfront stage. We remember Seth from his appearance at THRR last year.
August 18th: Team Haverhill is happy to welcome our friends at Creative Haverhill as a Silver Sponsor!
August 8th: The Alternate Routes will be the headlining band for Team Haverhill’s River Ruckus 2016! And Gretchen & The Pickpockets will open the show at 1:00 pm on the Riverfront stage. We all remember the great performance by G&P from the festival last year! Our other two bands are Amy & the Engine and Ruby Rose Fox.
Check out music videos and backstories on our River Ruckus on Facebook page.
July 25th: Team Haverhill is happy to announce that New York Life will be our Platinum Sponsor and Med Express will be a Silver Sponsor for the second year. Thanks to both wonderful businesses for their continued community support!
June 29th: Team Haverhill’s River Ruckus has a new name and a new logo! We are now calling the festival “Team Haverhill’s River Ruckus” rather than “River Ruckus” so that everyone will know that Team Haverhill “brings it” to the city!
April 16th: Just in! Pentucket Bank will be a Gold Sponsor of the festival. Stay tuned to see which band Pentucket Bank will be sponsoring.
April 13th: Haverhill Bank will be a Gold Sponsor of the festival and the sponsor of the Classic Car Show, a highlight of the event, for the sixth year. We are so grateful for the ongoing support of Haverhill Bank!
April 4th: Team Haverhill was awarded a grant from the Mass Cultural Council, through its new Festival Program for Team Haverhill’s River Ruckus 2016. This grant includes a marketing partnership with ArtsBoston which provides marketing and technical expertise to enhance collaborative promotion and data collection capacity for festivals state-wide. Team Haverhill is excited to work with the Massachusetts Cultural Council and ArtsBoston. When attending the festival be sure to #MassFestivals on your social media to be a part of this growing community of rich and diverse arts and cultural festivals across the Commonwealth.
Our Sponsors
Team Haverhill’s River Ruckus would not be possible without the generous support of our sponsors:
Pentucket Bank New York Life Haverhill Bank Med Express
Creative Haverhill Greater Haverhill Foundation Lowell Five
2016 Schedule of Events
Live Music
Classic Car Show
Zumba
Kids Zone
50/50 Cash Prize Raffle
A Taste of Haverhill: Local Food Vendors and Beer & Wine Garden
Fireworks Spectacular
Live Music
1:00 pm – 7:45 pm on the Riverfront Park Stage
WXRV 92.5 the River is once again brings a great lineup of bands to the Riverfront Park Stage.
| BAND LINE-UP | |
|---|---|
| Time | Appearing |
| 1:00 – 1:30 pm | Gretchen & The Pickpockets (Gretchen & The Pickpockets | video) Sponsored by TBA |
| 2:00 – 2:30 pm | Seth Wonkka (website) Sponsored by TBA |
| 3:00 – 3:30 pm | Brad Byrd (Brad Byrd | video) Sponsored by TBA |
| 4:00 – 4:45 pm | Amy & The Engine (Amy & The Engine | video) Sponsored by TBA |
| 5:15 – 6:15 pm | Ruby Rose Fox (Ruby Rose Fox | video) Sponsored by TBA |
| 6:45 – 7:45 pm | The Alternate Routes (The Alternate Routes | video) Sponsored by Pentucket Bank |
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.
Zumba
12:00 – 12:30:00 pm, Riverfront Stage
Zumba… yes… ZUMBA! High-energy, great music, a dance workout for the whole family! No experience necessary, really! Led by our “Girl from Ipanema”, Stephanie Smith, instructor at the Haverhill YMCA. Kids love this so bring them and have some fun! Join the Team Haverhill girls and guys give it a try. Baila!
Kids Zone
12:00 – 4:00 pm, Gazebo Area in Riverfront Park
Fun Face Express is creating face art at the Gazebo. It’s an experience!
Kids Zone activities include a bouncy house, sidewalk chalk art, a balloon artist, arts & crafts, games and more.
The Kids Zone is sponsored by MedExpress and organized by Haverhill YMCA, and Girls, Inc.
50/50 Cash Prize Raffle
2:00 – 7:50 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!
A Taste of Haverhill with Local Food Vendors and Beer & Wine Garden
12:00 – 8:00 pm, Riverfront Park
| Vendor | River Ruckus Menu |
| Harpoon Brewery | Harpoon IPA, Take 5, Flannel Friday, and Alloy Ale |
| The Chicken Connection | Chicken Fingers, Hamburgers, Cheeseburgers, French Fries |
| Carter’s | Ice Cream |
| Casa Blanca | Tacos, Quesadillas, Chips & Salsa and Guacamole |
| Haverhill Beef | Hot Dogs, Sausages, Seafood Chowder, Shrimp Scampi and Meatball Subs |
| Kona Ice | Shaved Ice and pre-packaged Ice Cream |
| Hobbsies | Hobbsie-Q Ribs, Korean Style BBQ, Chicken Wings, Potato Salad, Collard Greens, Cornbread, BBQ Brisket, Coconut Corn on the Cob |
| SoulFire* | Pulled Pork and Coleslaw
*Soulfire is located in Allston, MA, and Pitmaster Jason Tremblay is a Haverhill guy!
|
| Your Place and Ours | Cheese and Pepperoni Pizza, a variety of Double-Baked Stuffed Potatoes, and a variety of Brownies and Cookies |
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 2009 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, 2009.
Team Haverhill’s River Ruckus was an immediate success and has grown in numbers of guests, volunteers, sponsors and participants every year. (We took a hiatus in 2012 due to the rolling out of the Essex Street Gateway Mural that spring.)
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 THRR: our love for the mighty Merrimack River, our passion for live, local music, and the excitement and spectacle of the fireworks over the river. We think it says that Team Haverhill’s River Ruckus is a rockin’ good time for everyone!
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!
