Fishers Freedom Festival - June 26 - 27, 2010
Freedom Festival
June 26 and June 27, 2010
Newcomers to the Fishers area might ask, “What is the Fishers Freedom Festival”? But those of you who have attended might agree that it is as close to Uncle Sam and homemade apple pie as you can get.
The annual Fishers Freedom Festival, which offers multiple activities, events and food for all ages is held at the Roy G. Holland Memorial Park (1 Park Drive) off Holland Drive & Ellipse Parkway in Fishers. This free event offers fine arts & crafts, food & business vendors, live music, 5K walk/run, K-9 demonstrations, children’s tent, teen tent, street dance, children’s parade, main parade, fireworks and much more to the 60,000 attendees who come from all over the U.S. each year.
The Festival occurs annually on the last Saturday & Sunday in June. It kicks off on Saturday morning with the 5K Walk/Run. The public may park at Holland Park at a small cost per vehicle. Free parking is available at Town of Fishers Municipal Complex with a free shuttle running approximately every 15 minutes during Festival hours.
Even though the event is at no charge, the Festival encourages participants to donate canned foods, new toys, baby food, nonperishable goods, school supplies and/or toiletries for admittance. These items go to various non-profits organizations such as the Festival’s “Roy Holland Backpacks for Kids” program and the Good Samaritan of Hamilton County. The Festival also accepts donations year-round of items to be used in the Children’s Tent for different crafts. Those items include buttons and clean baby-food jars with lids; please remove the labels.
In 1989, the founders of the Fishers Parade and Festival decided to have a community gathering to celebrate Independence Day. With the help of volunteers, the event originated as a one-day community picnic, parade and a few games for the children. Due to the overwhelming participation by the public, this event grew to its present two-day event status.
The Fishers Parade and Festival was incorporated, as a private not-for-profit volunteer corporation in 1991. In 1998, Fishers Parade and Festival Inc. d.b.a. Fishers Freedom Festival became a 501C-3 charitable private not-for-profit volunteer corporation.
Responsibility for the Festival is in the capable hands of Jennifer Kehl, as Executive Director, and 40 volunteers who serve as event coordinators, co-coordinators and currently has a five member Executive Board of Directors. During the actual Festival weekend an additional 250 or more volunteers are hard at work.
Many committee members donate up to thirty hours per week for at least three or more months of the year to make the Festival a success. Several other committee members donate time during the entire year to provide the community with a safe and fun-filled family-oriented weekend with a strong Americanism flavor.
Funding ● Sponsorships ● Grants ● Monetary contributions (residential and corporate) ● Booth rentals (craft booths, business booths, and food booths)
● Fundraisers T-shirt sales, Fishers Freedom Festival Guide to Family Fun Booklet (advertising sales), silent auction, raffles and fall fundraiser which include: Fireworks Scramble Golf Outing in August and “Christmas in October” Craft Show in October ● The Town of Fishers financially contributes less than one-third of the annual Festival budget. The 2010 budget is $297,000.
The Fishers Parade and Festival, Inc., dba Fishers Freedom Festival is a private not-for profit volunteer organization and is not affiliated with any other organization or governing body. However, the Town of Fishers and the Fishers Town Council continues to support the annual Festival through financial contributions, public relations and with their town departments such as the police, fire, public works and parks department and for that we are very grateful.
The committee is always looking for volunteers who can donate as much or as little time as possible and is always looking for suggestions to improve our annual event.
“The mission of the Fishers Freedom Festival is to encourage community pride and a sense of community through civic partnerships and citizen involvement. We promote a safe, secure, community environment while developing community services and promoting family integrity. We continue to strive for excellence to improve the overall quality of life for all facets of our community by investing in human potential.”
