Watertown Riverfest – the biggest FREE festival around!

Watertown Riverfest is not your average small-town affair. This 4-day event entertains with national headliners and regional music acts, a HUGE vendor craft fair, a HUGE (400+) classic car show, 5k and kids fun run, chainsaw art demonstrations and auction, a large carnival, fireworks, over a dozen restaurants and food trucks on site, large beer selection including craft beers, a raffle with dozens of cash prizes, and more! Best of all, admission to the event is FREE!  Tens of thousands attend in beautiful Riverside Park. Several free shuttle locations are available around the city for your parking convenience.  Watertown Riverfest runs August 10-13, 2023.

The Music

This free festival boasts major entertainment!

Thursday, August 10

4pm-5pm      Happy Hour with Mariachi Voces de America

5-7:30pm      Big Spoon

8-10pm         Pop 2000, Featuring Chris Kirkpatrick of *NSYNC, O-Town, LFO, Ryan Cabrera, and David Cook

Friday, August 11

5:15pm-6:30pm      Dan Lepien

7pm-10pm   Bootjack Road Band

Saturday, August 12

1-3:30pm      DJ Shawna with special guests, Milwaukee Bucks Rim Rockers and Bango

1:30-2pm Rim Rockers Performance

2-2:30pm Bango Mingle and Dance Party

2:30-3pm Rim Rockers Performance

3:45pm-6pm            Pat McCurdy

6:30-8:15pm            33RPM

8:45pm-10:15pm   Tommy DeCarlo singer of the band Boston + guitarists of the Dennis DeYoung Band. They will open with a full set of Styx followed by a full set of your favorite music of Boston.

Sunday, August 13

12pm-3pm   Big Al and the HiFis (50s-60s Classic Rock)

3:30-5pm      The Drifters

The Craft Fair, August 12-13

100 vendors set up on the island of Riverside Park.  The variety of goods is outstanding!  Food items, art, home décor, hand crafted toys…the list goes on and on. The craft fair is open 9am-5pm both days.

The Sunday Classic Car Show, August 13

This is an event in itself.  400+ cars fill the park, featuring classic automobiles, trucks and motorcycles.  It is an impressive sight! The car show runs 9am-3pm.

Taste of Watertown

Area restaurants and food trucks set up at the park to offer you a variety you won’t find anywhere else!  Salads, wraps, tacos, mozzarella sticks, fresh sausage, pizza, cheeseburgers, ice cream, pastries, chicken wings, gyros, and many, many more items.  The hardest part is deciding what to eat! The 2023 event will welcome the following vendors.

Bigg’s Bar & Grill, Tipsy Goose, Mercadito La Rosita Ice Cream & Treats, Hopper’s Mini Donuts, Main Street Treats, Emil’s Pizza, Maria’s Taco Truck, Phil’s Gyro Palace, The Iron Pig Food Truck, Sarah’s Sweet Treats Food Truck, Jandy’s Base Camp Food Truck, Latte Donatte.

Carnival

Rainbow Valley Rides will be back again to provide quality rides for all thrill levels!  Rides will be running all 4 days: Thursday 5pm-10pm ($20 wristband special 5-9pm) Friday and Saturday from noon-10pm ($25 wristband special noon-5pm), Sunday noon-5pm ($25 wristband special noon-5pm).

Riverfest 5k and Kids Fun Run, August 12

Sign up for one of the most high-energy runs around. After crossing the finish line, let the celebration begin!  You will be on site to enjoy the music, food, drinks, carnival, and energy of the crowd.  This one is a must!

Fireworks

New this year! The fireworks are going up a notch with bigger shells, the addition of a laser light show, and music to go along with both! Fireworks will shoot off over the Main Stage. Don’t miss the pyromusical fireworks show on Friday, August 11th at 10:00pm. Rain date is Saturday at 10:15 pm.

Chainsaw Art

Professional chainsaw artists carve masterpieces right before your eyes.  The items are created on the grounds as you view the process.  All items are then auctioned off on the last day of the event.

Raffle

More prizes than ever! Grand Prize $10,000, 2nd prize $5,000, 3rd prize $2,500, 4th prize $1,000, 5th prize $500, and 10 prizes at $100 each. The drawing

Tournaments

Several tournaments take place on the grounds, including bean bags, horseshoes, and tennis.  Why not compete in a sport you love surrounded by awesome music, amazing food choices, and thousands of your closest friends?

See you there!

Watertown Riverfest runs August 10-13, 2023. Take advantage of Free admission, free parking, and free shuttle buses!