Independents’ Day, a celebration of all things independent and distinctly Columbus, will take place on Saturday from noon to midnight at Gay Street and Pearl Alley. Thanks to Couchfire Collective this indie lovefest of food, music, and art is back for a second year. Adam Brouillette, Couchfire’s president, describes Independents’ Day as “a mishmash of a bunch of cool things all happening at the same time.” He hopes that 20,000 people from Central Ohio and beyond will attend the daylong festival whose motto is All For One, One For All.
During Independents’ Day more than 150 vendor booths will line Gay Street, Lynn Alley, and Pearl Alley. Three music stages will host 28 bands courtesy of Columbus Music Co-op, Central City Recording, and Outer Sounds. Deejays from The Clampdown will host a dance party from 11:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. at Due Amici and Tip Top Kitchen & Cocktails, the proceeds of which will benefit the Mid-Ohio Foodbank.
Local cuisine will be provided by a slew of eateries including Banana Bean Café, Barcelona Restaurant & Bar, Cotters Restaurant, DeepWood Restaurant, Due Amici, Elevator Brewery and Draught Haus, G Michael’s Bistro, Katzinger’s Delicatessen, Pattycake Vegan Bakery, Pistacia Vera Dessert Boutique, Rad Dog!, and Tip Top Kitchen & Cocktails.
Live art will be created throughout the day by friends of Via Colori, Franklinton Arts District, and Ohio State’s Master of Fine Arts program. Films will be projected along the side of the Modern Finance Building. Ohio Roller Girls will make special dunk tank appearances, and artist Aaron Hibbs will attempt to break the Guinness Book of World Records’ world hula hoop record.
Adam thinks that Columbus residents should feel pretty darn good about the state of our creative culture. “A lot of art and music scenes in other cities do well as pocketed entities, but all of our groups work together,” he said. “People blame the Midwest for being too down-home, but we work as a team and know our neighbors. We’re successful because we’re not isolated.”
Admission to Independents’ Day is free. Visit thisisindependent.com for more information.
Alexandra Kelley is a featured writer for Columbus Underground and can be reached at alexandra477.com.