Fishers bringing back summer festival with concerts, fireworks

Fishers plans to bring back its annual patriotic summer festival this year with a full schedule of in-person events, it announced Friday.

Spark!Fishers—as the event has been known since 2018—was called off last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but city officials said vaccinations and a continuing decline in virus cases will make a return possible.

The event will take place in the Fishers’ Nickel Plate Cultural District starting Tuesday, June 22, and run through Saturday, June 26. This year’s theme, Hometown Heroes, will honor Fishers residents who have served the country and the community, from the military to the frontlines of the pandemic.

Events will include a concert series at the Nickel Plate District Amphitheater, a farmer’s market, 5K walk/run, car and art show, street fair, parade and fireworks.

Applications are open for festival vendors, entertainers and parade participants until May 1. More information is available at sparkfishers.com.

First Internet Bank, which is building a new headquarters in Fishers, is the main sponsor of the event.

Fishers conducted an annual summer festival known as the Freedom Festival until 2017, but organizers called it off after the city cut its funding. The event typically drew about 50,000 attendees, 130 juried fine art and craft exhibits, 80 business booths, 30 food vendors, 20 games booths and 14 live entertainment performances annually.

The city brought back a similar event in 2018 under the Spark!Fishers name.

“We’re excited to host these popular summer traditions to bring our community back together after a difficult year,” Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness said in written comments. “Our team is coming together to make sure we’re providing a COVID-safe environment while giving our residents a little bit of normalcy.”