Around The Bend: Osceola Music Festival
There’s nothing quite like a day filled with live music, good food, and a community coming together to celebrate the sounds of summer.
In this episode of Around The Bend, we visited Osceola for the Osceola Music Festival to experience the sounds, sights and fun that make this local festival worth checking out. Come along as we turn up the music and explore what makes this event a great time for music lovers of all ages!
Around The Bend takes a deeper look into the stories of beloved favorites and hidden gems throughout St. Joseph County that make this place unforgettable. These places we cherish didn’t just appear—they were built with passion, purpose, and stories worth telling.
Festival Fun and Small-Town Energy
A passion for music and love for community has helped keep the Osceola Music Festival going for 42 years.
The festival started in 1984 during Osceola Businessman Appreciation Days. It evolved into the beloved Bluegrass Festival a few years later. Outside bluegrass bands would be brought to town, but the cost wasn’t sustainable. In 2021 the festival changed to the Osceola Music Festival we know and love today.
Now, everything is kept local. The food, the vendors, the music and entertainment. It is a true community event in St. Joseph County.
“We have walleye sandwiches. Where do you get walleye sandwiches? Osceola. You know that we got the pizza. We got guys doing ice cream…We have 68 different vendors. People doing arts and crafts,” shared Tom Krueger, Festival Chair.
Krueger has been a part of the festival for 32 years and counting.
“I always tell people, you know, if you come to Osceola to our festival…It’s very down home. I mean…this is down home Indiana at its best.”
Beyond the music floating through the summer air, the Indiana sweet corn, food vendors, and the shopping you can do while you’re there, there are other events to experience. Perhaps the largest frog jumping competition in the Midwest.
Bus Kelver's frog jumping contest can include all ages from children to adults who want to participate. They are given a frog at random, and the entertainment ensues.
“It's just a fantastic time for the community to come out together, enjoy food, enjoy free music, and just be one as a community and hang out,” added Joe Nehls, Osceola Town Council member.
“We've really been striving over the last couple years just to improve the park. We've done a lot of electrical upgrades, new playground, new sidewalks, and we're working to continue that just to make it a better place for the community to come out to, but also to help events like this in the future to be more self-sustaining and really thrive.”
These improvements also include plans for a new amphitheater to replace the current stage that is put together by local high school football players every year. From the ground up, it truly is a community event.
“Osceola is just kind of this small little pocket in in between Mishawaka and Elkhart,” added Nehls. “A lot of people don't even realize it's here, but there's a lot of great events happening, and it's a great little community, great people, great spaces just to hang out, and it's a fun little spot that just a lot of people don't know about.”
A hidden gem in the pocket of St. Joseph County. Add Osceola Music Festival to your to-do list next August! Be ready to dance, and come hungry.
ATTEND THE OSCEOLA MUSIC FESTIVAL: FERN HUNSBERGER PARK
Learn more about Osceola Music Festival
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