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, live demonstrations, art and history talks, great local foods, and spectacular fireworks over the Merrimack River.
Saturday, September 13, 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 13, 2025, 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
| 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 |
| 12:30 pm | The National Anthem – Ariana Manzano, junior at Whittier Tech High School, delivering a solo performance of “The Star-Spangled Banner”. | River Ruckus Stage |
| 12:00 – 3:00 pm | Kids Zone Mass Audubon’s Joppa Flats Traveling Touch Tank, Bouncy House, Professional Balloon Artist, Face Painting, Free Children’s Books, Tie-Dye Shirts, crafts and Touch-A-Truck! | Columbus Park |
| 12:00 – 3:00 pm | Community Corner Connect with non-profit organizations making in impact in MakeIt Haverhill, DCF Foster Care and The Sons of Italy.
This year the Community Corner also features some great demonstration performances: 1:30pm – Basketball Handling Demonstration – by Hoops and Handles 2:00pm – Martial Arts Demonstration – by Ocasio’s True Martial Arts 2:30pm – Boxing Demonstration – by Haverhill Downtown Boxing Check it out! | 43 Washington Street |
| 12:00 – 8:00 pm | Beer & Wine Garden – True North – Northern Haze IPA, True North – Scale Breaker Pumpkin Ale, Paulaner – Oktoberfest Bier, Bud Light, Downeast – Cider Donut, Arizona Hard Iced Tea – Lemon, NUtrl – Orange, Bud Zero, Wine – Red & White
Drink responsibly. | Riverfront Park |
| 12:00 – 8:00 pm | A Taste of Haverhill Food for sale by local restaurants & vendors | Riverfront Park |
| 12:00 – 3:00 pm | Art & History Talks & More
12-3PM – Creative Haverhill – Get artsy! Stop in to see the current art show, Más Fuertes Unidos, and to make paper flowers! 43 Washington St. 2PM – The Wonders of Haverhill – Haverhill’s incredible history highlighted in an informative talk presented by Historic New England. 41 Washington St. – in front of The Time Machine 2:30PM – Essex Street Gateway Mural – Artist Jeff Grassie discusses the process of creating downtown Haverhill’s largest mural. 25 Essex St. |
| 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 2025 – Platinum Sponsors
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Team Haverhill’s River Ruckus 2025 – Gold Sponsors
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Team Haverhill’s River Ruckus 2025 – Silver Sponsors
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Team Haverhill’s River Ruckus 2025 – Bronze Sponsors
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Additional support provided by:
This program is funded in part by a grant from the Haverhill Cultural Council, a local agency, supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.
Team Haverhill’s River Ruckus 2025 – Festival Partners
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2025 Schedule of Events
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
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 |
| 1:00 pm | Clandestine |
| 2:00 pm | Ava Valianti |
| 3:15 pm | Nate Perry & Ragged Company |
| 4:30 pm | The Tano Jones Revelry |
| 6:15 pm | The Strumbellas |
Stage management provided by Audio Spectrum.
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.
If you have a Classic Car, or know someone that does, please get it to Team Haverhill’s River Ruckus! The Top 3 favorites will be awarded trophies and gift certificates! The classic car show is first-come-first serve as cars line-up on event day, but you can save time by pre-registering by clicking here! Pre-registration does not guarantee you a spot – it simply saves you time from having to register your vehicle once you arrive. Cars line up to enter at 10:45 am in Washington Square. Please make sure to enter Washington Square heading westbound (from Essex, Emerson or Merrimack Streets).
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 14th year.
Kids Zone
12:00 – 3:00 pm, Columbus Park
Kids Zone activities include Mass Audubon’s Joppa Flats Traveling Touch Tank, Bouncy House, Professional Balloon Artist, Face Painting, Free Children’s Books, Crafts, Tie Dye shirt and Bracelet Making, 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 exposition performances:
1:30pm – Basketball Handling Demonstration – by Hoops and Handles
2:00pm – Martial Arts Demonstration – by Ocasio’s True Martial Arts
2:30pm – Boxing Demonstration – by Haverhill Downtown Boxing
Check it out! | 43 Washington Street
History & Art – Walking Talks
12-3PM – Creative Haverhill – Get artsy! Stop in to see the current art show, Más Fuertes Unidos, and to make paper flowers! 43 Washington St.
2PM – The Wonders of Haverhill – Haverhill’s incredible history highlighted in an informative talk presented by Historic New England. 41 Washington St. – in front of The Time Machine
2:30PM – Essex Street Gateway Mural – Artist Jeff Grassie discusses the process of creating downtown Haverhill’s largest mural. 25 Essex St.
River Ruckus Beer & Wine Garden
True North – Northern Haze IPA
True North – Scale Breaker Pumpkin Ale
Paulaner – Oktoberfest Bier
Bud Light
Bud Zero
Downeast – Cider Donut
Arizona Hard Iced Tea – Lemon
NUTRL – Orange
Wine – Red, White
Liquid Death
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
| 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 |
| Carter’s Ice Cream | Homemade ice cream |
| Barrio Haverhill | Burritos, guacamole and nachos |
| Home Made Hummus | Multiple varieties of homemade hummus |
| Joseph’s Trattoria | Meatballs and calamari |
| The Hidden Pig | Pull pork, burnt ends, wings |
| Polish Prince Pierogis | Gourmet pierogis |
| Wang’s Table | Egg rolls, teriyaki chicken, crab rangoon |
| The Bakers Rack | Brownies, bars and cookies |
| Aroma Joe’s | Coffee, beverages |
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!
