Independents' Day is the background of Grand Theft Auto meets New Age wonderlust. It is Thrash Metal mixed with childhood innocence and unvarnish creativity. It is Gallery Hop circa 1994. In the ubex cool section of Franklinton ID decks the rusted industrial remains of Rich and Town streets and everything inbetween with gritty street paintings, dilapidated sculptures, wood works, and various other crafts from local artists and artisans; from hippies to hip-hop, from punk to pedestrian, from the quintessential quirky to the conspicuously clean, it seems everyone here is independent of the social memes dictating art and are free to be themselves. Sideshows and psychics add an out-of-the-margin and off-the-mainstream appeal, while a zone of mythic creature and exotic cultural performances add a wonderment even the most discerning fantasy geek will love. Other areas featured an off-the-wall future-seeing exhibits, a graffiti beautiful urban jungle, and an area dedicated to sustainability themed by the four elements of classic thought. A children section rounds up the zones of the 2016 ID. Art is everywhere: out in mud meadows, on sidewalks, down alleys, a visual feast of beauty and weirdness. The air is filled with music, live bands spanning hip-hop to grunge, from electric jazz to hot R&B. Beer tents of crafts, 20-some food truck including the best in town are there for hunger and thirst while venders with unique and fun products add a look-see rivaling art fest. Of quick escapes from the elements are The Rehab Pub, Land Grant brewers, and the stripped down environs of Strongwater. The Idea Foundry is good for a walk through as is 200 Rich. My first time experiencing Independence Day finally, after years of it, my schedule, and my motivation not being in the same place at the same time. I could kick myself for not forcing myself into going in years past. This goes on my yearly summer festival must-do list. read more

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Independents' Day is a beautiful reminder of why I love Columbus -- it's weird, wonderful, quirky, artsy, and gritty. I loved ID back on Gay Street, but now we have Moonlight Market to fill that void. So I definitely celebrate the move to Franklinton. Franklinton Arts District is reminiscent of the Short North of yore -- it's so raw and alive and bursting with potential. That's exactly why ID belongs there. I swear each year the festival manages to up its game, with better art, more organization, and tastier food and drinks -- all while keeping the feeling that a bunch of friends threw it together overnight. To me, the image of simplicity means loads of well-orchestrated details happened behind the scenes. Some highlights for me: +the art -- it's truly spectacular and wonderfully bizarre. +the food/drinks -- so many local choices! +idea foundry -- this is such a seamless fit for ID; I loved watching all the local artisans working on their craft. +the craft show -- I'm not really a crafts person, and I couldn't get enough of this area. So many beautiful and affordable items! +the music -- several well-placed stages with awesome local bands. Independents' Day is my favorite festival of the year, and I can't wait to see it get better and weirder each year. It has great energy and is hosted by truly fantastic people. read more

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We came Sat night to see the amazing Angela Perley & The Howlin' Moons perform but had time to walk around beforehand. I like the newer site; the last time I checked it out it was held downtown on Gay St. Interesting vendors and booths, but too few food trucks as the lines were long. I did get a great veggie wrap from the Explorers Club truck. I bought two $3 drink tokens and pondered over whether to get one good drink (beer, wine, cocktails made by Brothers Drake) or two PBR's. Cheap won out. The parking situation was very weird; they had no event lots, and a lot of the meters had the no parking bags over them. We finally found a spot on the street a few blocks away. read more

No, we're not talking fireworks or red, white and blue and no, the name isn't a misspelling. I-N-D-E-P-E-N-D-E-N-T DO YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS! (I have NO idea who "sings" that song... but it seemed appropriate.) Independent's Day is a collaborative effort from Columbus' independents to bring together a day-long explosion of creative spirit. In its second year in 2009, Independent's Day gathered over 150 Columbus artists, organizations and businesses to Gay and Pearl Streets, including a huge range of Dine Originals restaurants, awesome craft vendors, live art performers, music, movies, dancing and even a dunk tank. All combine to create one hell of a day. A must-attend. read more

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2017 was the last year for this festival and I'm happy that I was able to experience all of its weirdness and Franklinton couldn't have been a better location for it. The festival is a cool and unique way to experience a fraction of what Cbus has to offer. There were tons of local bands, food trucks, artists and more. It was 2 days of 90 degree debauchery, most of what at this point is a blur and for good reason. read more

Independents' Day - Festivals Near Me - Columbus, Ohio

This Festival has a wonderful community feel. The whole day had great energy. Great volunteers, great vendors, great music, great downtown spot. There is no other festival like this one! I love that it's free. I love the variety. I love how it creates awareness for local and downtown. And lets just say it, I love how the crowd at IDFest is nothing like that at comfest. This festival will be a must for me for years to come. If you missed it this year. Make a point to get there next year! read more

Awww! It's like a baby Comfest! I'm glad I worked the Yelp booth at Independents' Day this year... cuz I've never been before, and I was obviously missing out. This is a cool collectivist-style street fair featuring local businesses and restaurants, as well as live music, art, and of course Roller Girls. ;) Aside from the fantastic Yelp booth, highlights for me included the live music - I'm sad I couldn't stay for Phantods and Stucco Jones - as well as Foodie Cart and Skillet. I really liked that some of the Dine Originals restaurants had stalls, and that the food carts were there (Rad Dog was right next to Pattycake, of course). I wish Ray Ray's Hog Pit had partook - I bet they would have made a killing. I was actually also surprised that none of the local music/record stores took part. Huh. Anyway, any event where you can buy reasonably priced PBRs and walk around the streets drinking in the daytime is a win for me... add to that all of the above and well, I'm looking forward to next year already! read more

Five stars for the new venue alone. This year, Independents' Day moved to Franklinton, and it was boss. Not that I don't love Gay Street festivals, but they tend to be a bit cramped--here, we had plenty of room to roam, some great independent bars and restaurants nearby, and a cool art showing at 400 W Rich, as well. (Though we had an awkward moment where we got kicked out because they hadn't locked the doors and we wandered upstairs. Don't be surprised when people wander upstairs if there are no signs posted and all the doors are open, heh.) Really cool vendors, cool events--my friend was working a comics booth where there was live drawing going on, which was awesome; our local publisher, Two Dollar Radio, was also on-scene with their catalog of great books. I saw jewelry, knitting, t-shirts; the usual suspects at any Columbus festival, plus about five Jeni's locations (well, at least three), Mikey's, Tatoheads, and other good noms. There were three stages with live music happening, all spaced far enough apart that the noise wasn't a cacophony. I really just dug the neighborhood vibe of the new location. I love downtown--I love it so much--but having room and grass to walk on rocked my socks. I am actively looking forward to it next year. read more

I'm all for rehab/gentrification! However, I'm still not 100% gung-ho about this local fest moving to The Bottoms. There's only a few "restaurants". Gay Street is so central, and I don't get the same neighborhood vibes here in Franklinton. On with it. Music, food, and art, that is the gist. Local artists, musicians, mom and pop eateries, basically anything that's been started here in Columbus, and has retained its originality. Several food trucks. Multiple music stages (I saw at least three). And if you're a big craft beer fan, plenty to choose from. I do like the multiple craft/art tents/awnings all over the square-block radius. Some fantabulous paintings, jewelry, beauty products, accessories, that I saw, while I the Craftin' Outlaw big top. The highlight, for me! read more

Its free so that is one big positive about the festival. My wife and I took the little one around 5 pm and we could maneuver around pretty well. I like all the cool little booths but I wish they wouldn't set up so close to the stages. I was trying to learn more about one of the booths but the loud stage really disrupted any talking. People close to beer stands also need to learn to walk more than ten feet away from the beer stand because it logjams these areas. They have arts, pottery, shirts, food, authors, and a lot of cool stuff. I watched a couple of kids dance on one stage while jazz on another. I will think about coming back next year but maybe mid afternoon if I bring the kid. read more

This is probably one of my favorite festivals of the year. The vendors for this one is not like the typical stuff because it is all local independent products and art. I enjoy looking at all of the cool handmade crafts and end up bringing quite a few things home. I did make the mistake of eating before going. There were a good number of my favorite food trucks there. There are about 3 or 4 music stages too which was really nice. We got to watch a few bands. My favorite part? It was not over crowded and the weather was amazing! Will be back next year. read more

Beer, food, live music, supporting local small business, admiring some art (if i had any taste in art I would comment here but I don't). All of which sums up what Independents day is all about. If you have never been.. Go check it out next year. It is a good way to kill an hour of your day. But I wouldn't waste much more than that. read more

Accidently stumbled upon this festival as I was going to the Tip Top and didn't even know this was going on, so they may want to do more promotion perhaps. But maybe not, because I liked the smaller, laid-back nature of this whole thing. Great local food and vendors selling their art and apparel, etc. and not a huge crowd where folks would get out of hand. The music was fantastic. I saw a great country band and apparently, although I missed it, Kelly Deal played. I'm definitely going to hopefully remember to make this next year. read more

Independents day is a small festival on gay street celebrating independent local artists and musicians. I had never been in previous years and was really impressed with the turnout. The bands I saw were really talented and entertaining. My favorite thing about this festival is the craft alley which has lots of sewn crafts like; fabric headbands, potholders, clothing and plushies plus handmade jewelry and other cutesy stuff. I would have liked to see more fine art... granted its a small festival with bands and nearly all of gay street was filled with food trucks (delicious) but I would have liked to see more paintings, canvases, hung work etc. All in all I loved this mini street fest and the sense of community these events encourage. I will definitely return next year. Just another reason I love columbus! read more

I decided to stop in and take a look after going to the Blue Jackets' first day of training camp this morning, and I'm so glad I did. Lots of live music, the Theatre 24x7 project from Wild Goose creative, just about every local artist I've ever met, and SO. MUCH. TASTY. FOOD. (This town makes it hard to be on a diet, you know?) I ended up meeting up with Christine and a few others at the Yelp booth, got myself a tasty crepe from foodie cart, sampled cupcakes from three different cupcake bakers, bought some art prints, and made myself walk away before I did any more damage to my diet or wallet. :) It's a fun atmosphere and a ton of interesting stuff packed into such a relatively small area - absolutely worth visiting today if you can, and I'm certainly planning to return next year! read more

I must admit that the poster with the tiger on a motorscooter is initially what grabbed my attention. In fact, I liked the poster so much, I... wait, I'm not saying anything more about that. It was a beautiful day out, and that probably helped the experience. There were several stages at the end of alleys, with one big stage at the end of where all the food is. The music was very good, and the stages were separated enough that the music didn't seem to bleed together. I didn't eat from any of the food vendors...went to a fabulous bar/restaurant near the main stage (see my other review for the Tip Top). The stalls had some pretty cool stuff to browse and see (although some junk was there too... ); I just loved seeing people out and enjoying the crowds. It had a great community-vibe going. We even got silk screened shirts with that tiger on the scooter. : ) I bought some other odds and ends, including some pottery from a young husband/wife couple. This was our first Independents' Day; we celebrated Mark's birthday with a weekend in Columbus. We'll be back. read more

We were there during the day, so I'm guessing the music portion reeved up a bit more as day turned to night. That said, this is a fun, laid back afternoon event. Lots of community-related stuff, local vendors, and good food truck options. Gay Street is an up and coming area, and this event showcases some of the nice additions and coming attractions. Not as big and "organized" as some other festivals, but I think that's a good thing. read more

Independents' Day - Yelp Booth on Pearl Alley - Festivals Near Me - Columbus, Ohio

Cheers to being awesome, Columbus! Local vendors + live music + cheap PBR + Columbus Pride = my kind of Saturday afternoon! read more

Independents' Day - Festivals Near Me - Columbus, Ohio

Fantastic and much bigger than last year - good live music (free,) excellent live art including the Couchfire Collective and Via Colori (free,) lots of Dine Originals Restaurants (not free, but on the cheap,) plus vendors, people, dancing, dunk tanks, flea market, movies, and one last day of summer in Cbus. Parking is ample if you look around and everyone from Pattycake Bakery and Rad Dog to Flower Child and Gypsi Gold are there. read more

This was my first trip to Independents' Day, and it was a pretty worthwhile experience I'd have to say. I loved seeing all the cool stuff that people were making and the blending of all of the different styles of the community. I will say though, since I went on both Saturday and Sunday, that I'd like to see a little bit more balance in the future in terms of having the same vendors, level of entertainment, etc. on both days. This time around, there was much less to see and do on Sunday and I feel like anybody who just went on that day wouldn't have gotten the full experience. read more

I love Independents' Day. It's such a good venue to see people you know in a different context and find new local bands, food trucks, artists, and other lovely things that you may like. read more

SOOO glad we went to this! The artists are amazing and we've got some real talent in Columbus! We were especially impressed with IKC and her recycling of vinyl records. AWESOME! The local bands were a nice addition and Karate Coyote was absolute ear candy! We got to try quite a few different restaurants we'd been wanting to sample and this was the perfect venue. Some of the food was a hit (Foodie Cart) and some a miss for us (Mikey's) but it was great to be able to try these places without commiting to a restaurant experience. I'm miserable now even 7 hours later but I don't care! Heh heh. Will definitely be hitting it again next year! read more