INDEPENDENT'S DAY FESTIVAL

Independent’s Day

Date: Saturday, September 17^th 2011

Location: East Gay Street – Columbus, Ohio

… from Noon ‘til Midnight …

 Independent’s Day is quickly becoming one of the premiere annual festivals in Columbus. While it may sound confusing in any simple conversation, let me assure you this extravaganza is completely unrelated to the 4^th of July. So what is Independent’s Day?  In short, it is an approximately twelve-hour, non-stop, live demonstration that aims to show off the immense presence of independent business, arts, and music that the city has to offer. 

 

 
Each year, in the middle of September, the city shuts down one of its usually hustling and bustling streets right in the heart of downtown, to host this amazing festival. 

On Gay Street, between High and 3^rd Street, (and the adjacent alleys of Pearl and Lynn Street) you can find eclectic local merchants selling a wide variety of goods, eccentric artists sprawled about like Easter eggs, food carts, beer carts, and of course, music.  The exponential growth of this event is probably most apparent when looking at the entertainment lineup. Beginning with a mere 2 stages in 2008, this year’s fest is scheduled to host 5 stages for its 30+ musical acts, and handful of live performances.

Music is almost always a good thing, but the most incredible part of this festival is the Art.



 The individual artists, as well as the mediums of art, seem to change from year to year – in 2009, there were mostly sidewalk chalk artists (which happens to be when I fell in love with this festival). 

All up and down Gay Street were just absolutely phenomenal portraits, landscapes, and abstracts – each with amazingly vibrant colors and definition. 
 I about peed my pants when I was invited to sit down and ‘doodle’ with one of the local artists on their allotted canvas of asphalt. Walking around a bit, I eventually got to do some painting on one of the live working murals – badass! – I am in no way an artist, but if and when given these opportunities in life, you should definitely enjoy them, right?

In 2010, I’m not sure if it was the festival, or just me, that took more interest in the musical and alcohol aspects than the art, but either way, that is what I ended up enjoying, and I still had a blast.

Independent’s Day 2011 is looking to be quite a spectacle with the local art collective supergroup, CloudHaus at the helms. With a flux of creativity and ridiculous amounts of talent, these folks have spent the past number of months plotting and scheming in order to make their outstandingly elaborate ideas into possibilities and realities. 




As if that weren’t enough, this year’s musical lineup is killer – any festival that opens with Enrique Infante and closes with roeVy is good in my book (for more info on the lineup, check out: http://thisisindependent.com/?page_id=80). Some of the additional acts I’m looking forward to seeing include (but are not limited to): Bum Wealthy, Trains Across the Sea, Wing & Tusk, Teen Fiction, Mount Carmel, and G. Finesse and the N.S.

            If you’ve never been to Independent’s Day, I implore you to come. Get out and enjoy this quickly growing festival before it too gets super-huge crowds like ComFest (don’t worry ComFest, I still love you). Come find some amazing art, and meet the incredible people behind it; grab a drink and some munchies then check out some of the great bands; spend the day downtown, surrounded by skyscrapers, you can even have a picnic in the middle of the road! Basically, get off your butt and out of that mindset that ‘nothing ever happens in Columbus,’ because the truth is: It is happening, you’re just missing it.