27th Annual Carmel International Arts Festival to Take Place This Month

The 27th annual Carmel International Arts Festival is coming up quickly. On September 28 and 29, join the over 30,000 visitors as they take to the streets of the Arts & Design District in Carmel to admire and purchase art, to eat and drink at local restaurants and festival vendors and to get their groove on! CIAF recognizes all forms of art, so you’ll be dancing in the streets as you enjoy musical artists from both local and national entertainers on 3 stages! In addition, there will be dance presentations from groups of several different nationalities.

“Here in Carmel, we are blessed to have such a thriving creative and artistic community. The culmination of the arts, in all its forms and disciplines, happens annually at the Carmel International Arts Festival,” said Don Farrell, CIAF Board Member and one of the organizers of this year’s entertainment.

It all starts Saturday, September 28, at 10 am. The line up for the Main Stage features the Latvian Folk-Dance Ensemble from 10:05 to 10:30 am, followed by The Hippie Dream from 11-1. The Hippie Dream is a Woodstock-themed band that has expanded into a full classic rock variety act. The 6-piece group includes lead and rhythm guitars, bass, drums, keyboards and saxophone with male and female lead singers and three-part harmonies. 

At 1:30, entertainment continues with Tim Brickley and the Bleeding Hearts. This legendary, long-running, critically-acclaimed rock and roll band is from Indianapolis. 

From 3:40 to 4:40 pm, enjoy the sounds of Tim Wright. He is most famous for performing with the Wright Brothers and for having a voice as nimble as his fingers. He’ll move from singing in a Garth Brooks twang to a James Taylor song that when you close your eyes, you’d swear you were at a James Taylor concert, all the while picking a seemingly endless succession of stringed instruments: banjo, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, dobro and pedal steel.

On the Record covers a multitude of genres from the 1960s to today, encompassing rock ’n’ roll, rhythm and blues, soul, funk, country, beach and Cajun, among others. It all adds up to a neatly packaged, high-energy, feel-good vibe. They will perform Saturday from 5 to 7 pm. 

Saturday wraps up with ART ROCKS! From 7:30 to 10:30 pm, you’ll be rocking to the music of a popular band during the largest street party in the Carmel Arts & Design District. This dance party is a free, family-friendly, community event that you will not want to miss! And the special guest? The Bluewater Kings Band! From Chicago, this high energy band plays music from every genre. They love playing your favorite songs and seeing all of you out on the dance floor – or street as it may be.

Sunday is the final day for the festival, but the entertainment goes all day long. The music starts when the Kenny Phelps Trio plays from 11 am to 12:30. Kenny Phelps cut his musical teeth in church, enlivening worship services and later touring with gospel groups as a drummer. A self-taught percussionist, Phelps developed his jazz knowledge and experience in the 1990s and has now been performing jazz for 25 years. 

They are followed by Touch of Grass from 1 to 3:30 pm. This local bluegrass band plays traditional tunes and old-school country. Next up and wrapping up the Main Stage lineup is Phone Club from 3:45 to 5 pm. The Phone Club is a six-piece pop/rock cover band playing a grab bag of fun, surprising, and sometimes confusing selection of songs from the ’60s, ’70s, ’80s, ’90s to now.

 CIAF’s 2024 Wine & Bier Garden will also have its own entertainment lineup. On Saturday from 1 to 3 pm, Elizabeth Lee will perform. She is a musician and singer-songwriter local to the Indianapolis area. She typically performs in a trio with her dad, Bobby Pugh & bass player, Jason McKay. The group is known for their soothing, relaxing vibes and eclectic mix of cover songs and original music. Love it Saturday? Catch her again on Sunday from 2 to 4 pm. 

 On Saturday from 3:30 to 4:30 pm Don Farrell and the Terry Woods Trio will thrill you with crowd favorites. These talented guys can frequently be found onstage at Feinstein’s in Hotel Carmichael performing songs from Barry Manilow, Frank Sinatra, Jimmy Buffet and other cherished performers. This is followed by Ten Branches with Phil Stockton who will round out the Saturday list from 5:30 to 7 pm. 

 On Sunday, Tim Wright moves from the Main Stage to the Wine & Beer Garden. His performance from 1 to 2 pm is followed immediately by that second Elizabeth Lee performance from 2 to 4.  

 “The festival has continued to grow larger in scope each year. We have many of the great offerings as last year, but for 2024, we are pleased to increase our staging support with the addition of a new and larger East Stage. This allows us to attract more performing groups and highlight the exciting and diverse international talent coordinated by fellow CIAF board member Andris Berzins,” shared Farrell. “The Carmel International Arts Festival is grateful to have these wonderful arts groups share their talents and culture with our community.”

CIAF will also have a West Stage and International Stage. On the West Stage you can enjoy local music from groups like Island Mixtape, John Alvarado Classical Guitar, North Central High School King’s Court Madrigal Choir and Eliott Ferguson Blues. Also appearing on the West Stage are Buck’s Stove and Range Company, Accordion Stomp, the Metropolitan Youth Ballet of Indiana, Joven/Goodman Jazz, Laughing Jack and The MAD Band.

On the International Stage you can watch dancers from around the world: The Lielupe Folk Dance Group, Vlad the Impaler “Dracula” Dance Group, Indianapolis Chinese Community Center, Holy Trinity Hellenic Dance Group and Ballet Folkorico Mosaicos.

To get the times of performances on the West Stage and International Stage, click on the ATTEND tab on the website at https://carmelartsfestival.org/festival-events/