For one Saturday each August, a small city’s worth of people flock to downtown Greenwood.
They come searching for world-class art from all over the country, from sculpture to glass to upcycled lawn decor. Indiana breweries and wineries set up their taps and open up their bottles to give people a taste of the thriving craft beer and wine industry in Johnson County and beyond. Food stands will be serving up everything from Cajun gumbo to Brazilian steak to shaved ice.
The whole afternoon, rock, R&B, funk and country will reverberate from two stages offering continuous music.
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WAMMfest, the yearly celebration of wine, art, music and microbrews, has become one of the region’s most popular festival. Close to 7,000 people attended the event last year, and organizers expect more this time around. And while they come for a day of revelry, attendees are also helping making their community stronger with every ticket they buy.
The festival has become the primary fundraiser for the Sertoma Club of Greenwood, which uses the money generated by WAMMfest to fund dozens of social outreach programs throughout Johnson County.
“Our community is so important to us, and it’s important to show off what’s so special about it,” said Callie Herrenbruck, chairman of the festival for the Sertoma Club of Greenwood.
WAMMfest was created in 2009 by the Sertoma Club, a philanthropic organization focused entirely on raising money for community causes. The idea was to put together a cultural showcase in Greenwood that would appeal to a wide variety of people, therefore generating more money for good causes.
Modeled on popular Indianapolis events such as the Broad Ripple Art Fair and the Penrod Arts Fair, the festival was an immediate success. More than 4,500 people attended the inaugural WAMMfest, and attendance has grown steadily over the past decade.
“It actually brings a lot of money into our community, but most importantly, it bring people from all sides of town and from all over,” Herrenbruck said.
Through ticket sales, the Sertoma Club has been able to donate more than $750,000 to local causes. Last year, the club was able to support efforts ranging from Greenwood parks, police and fire departments to Girls Inc. of Johnson County to the White River Township Fire Department’s Christmas Angels program.
For club members, this is the heart of what they do, Herrenbruck said.
“That’s the best part, to see this money go towards such great things. Our members like to see that,” she said.
Since its inception, WAMMfest has essentially followed the same successful formula year after year. The paintings, sculptures and other works will be grouped together in “Artist Alley,” a breezy corridor of creativity where people can peruse at their leisure. The festival is a juried show, with between 50 and 70 artists accepted into the show.
“People plan around this now. Now that we’re in our 11th year, they want to see these artists and find this fabulous art,” Herrenbruck said.
Artists from around the country have been included in this year’s show. A majority are returning participants, though about 30 percent are showing at the event for the first time, said Jackie Tinnerman Briggs, arts chair for WAMMfest. Festivalgoers can browse through booths featuring oil paintings, acrylics, fabric arts, jewelry, glasswork, leatherwork and other styles of art.
Prizes will be given for best artwork and best booth design.
“This has been a part of the festival from the beginning, people expect to see it there,” Tinnerman Briggs said. “The quality of the artwork, the relationships that have been built up over the years between artists and the Sertoma Club and the people who come to the festival, it’s all made the art so important.”
Two stages are set up for musical acts, as bands rotate from one end of the festival to the other. The staggered schedule ensures that at any moment, people can find outstanding live music playing at one of the stages. This year’s lineup includes longtime regional favorites such as The Doo! and Blue River Band, as well as some acts injecting a fun new vibe to the festival.
The Windbreakers channel the best easy listening sounds of the late 1970s, covering bands such as Christopher Cross, Michael McDonald and Hall & Oates. Another group, the Spazmatics, blast non-stop ‘80s classics.
All around the stage area, food vendors, breweries and wineries are arranged so people can try out the best that local producers have to offer, without missing a beat of the music.
“(WAMMfest) actually started out as a way to have something to showcase Greenwood, we want to make sure people can discover all of these local businesses,” Herrenbruck said. “We want to show off what we have to offer.”
But despite the continuity of the festival, organizers needed to make some changes to this year’s festival. With the ongoing construction at Craig Park — the longtime home of WAMMfest — some rearranging needed to be done.
The Artist Alley will be moved to another part of the park, though that move may end up benefiting the artists in the long run, Herrenbruck said.
“It’s going to work, when they said the park was going to be completely under construction, we all kind of gasped and wondered what we’re going to do,” she said. “But I think it’s going to be really nice, because our artists are going to be in a more visible place.”
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WAMMfest
When: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday
Where: Craig Park, 10 E. Smith Valley Road, Greenwood
What: A celebration of wine, art, music and microbrews held every summer in Greenwood. Proceeds from the event, which is organized by the Sertoma Club of Greenwood, go to support local programs and organizations.
Tickets: $15 in advance, $20 at the gate.
Wine
- Mallow Run Winery, Bargersville
- Cedar Creek Winery, Martinsville
- Ertel Cellars Winery, Batesville
- Holtkamp Winery, Sunman
- Rettig Hill Winery, Ripley County
Microbrews
- Oaken Barrel Brewing Co., Greenwood
- MashCraft Brewing Co., Greenwood
- Planetary Brewing Co., Greenwood
- Taxman Brewing Co., Bargersville
- Quaff On! Brewing Co, Nashville
- Bier Brewery, Indianapolis
- Cedar Creek Brewing Co., Martinsville
- Centerpoint Brewing Co., Indianapolis
- Indiana City Brewing Co., Indianapolis
- Sun King Brewing Co., Indianapolis
Art
Up to 70 artist booths will be featured to display work, from photographers and painters to iron-workers and glass specialists
Music
11 a.m. to noon: Smith/Hause Project
Noon to 1:30 p.m.: Fancy Sauce
1:30 to 3 p.m.: The Doo!
3 to 4:30 p.m.: The Windbreakers
4:30 to 6 p.m. Blue River Band
6 to 8 p.m.: The Spazmatics
Information and tickets: wammfest.com
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