Historic District of Madison Indiana
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Ribberfest BBQ & Blues

Barbeque rib recipe, cooking, & preparation contest!
& Blues festival concert!

Ribberfest
BBQ & Blues,
BBQ spice
& cooking contest,
August 15 & 16, 2025,
Friday & Saturday
.

Schedule

Gatesopen & close
Friday5 - 11pm
Saturday11am-11pm

Teams compete in Chicken, Pork Ribs, Pork, Beef Brisket, Barbeque Sauce, Anything Butt, and Desserts. This is some of Madison’s best outdoor, family safe, food, live music, fun & entertainment, and even river boat rides!

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Ohio River
Riverboat Cruise

2017 Ribberfest wristband wearers ride for $10 each (prices change). Public pays $15 each (13 & older), $3 for children age 4-12, FREE for those under 3 years of age when riding with an adult. Buy a ticket over the phone and get a $5 rebate at the Boat Ride Will Call next to the West Street gate on Vaughn Dr, see map. No refunds, so use it or lose it. Note: $1 fee for buying tickets in advance. To reserve a particular cruise, call (812) 265-2956 or (800) 559-2956.

Friday   4:30pm, 6:30pm, 8:30pm
Saturday   12:30pm, 2:30pm, 4:30pm, 6:30pm, 8:30pm

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Live Blues
Music

 

Throughout the day,
&
into the night.

 

Band & musicians change throughout the day.

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Tickets

Price include two-day wrist bands (2 day pass) at $25 each when purchased at the gate. Buy in advance for only $20, between June 1st and August 1st, and you might receive a free bonus for purchasing early. To obtain a pass in advance, purchase at Visitor’s Center, Craig Toyota, Koehler Tire or buy online. Tickets are $25 each, even if you buy on the second day. So plan ahead. Children 12 & under are FREE with a paid adult.

FBI CIA FBI CIA NSA

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Pig Mania

You or your business can adopt or buy a pig for the competition. They deliver the pig to you, you decorate, paint, and add props for your display.

Everyone who attends Ribberfest has a chance to vote on their favorite.

Pigmania helps support the annual Ribberfest and unleash local amateur artists.

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BBQ Cook-Off!

They’re anticipating about 40 competing BBQ teams, which set up along the streets.

 

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"Running is a spectator sport for me,
I walk on a good day"

5k Ribber Run,
Walk
& Bicycle race

Register online & get details about how you might save $5 and guarantee a T-shirt. Also, pick your ride path, 28 mi or the 64 mile (ouch). The run and rides are sold separately, but discounted for those who do both (here). 6 AM Registration, 8 AM races begin.

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Supervised
Child Care
at the
"Piglet Pen"

 

See Rules below.

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And you thought
you had toys?

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Piglet Pen Rules

Schedule

All children must be signed in and out by a parent or guardian presenting photo ID. No child will be allowed to leave otherwise!

You must have a working cell phone number so they can contact you immediately if needed.

Parents must stay with children under 10 years of age.

Prices: $6 per child.
Family rate: or $5 each for two, $4 each for 3 or more from same household.
Weekend Pass: may not be available this year.

Note: rules & prices are subject to change.

Piglet Pen hours
Friday 6pm-10pm
Saturday 12noon-4pm
6pm-10pm

 

Magic Show
Friday 7:30pm
Saturday 7:30pm

Note: Magic Show takes place inside the Piglet Pen. See below
for details.

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Carson Magic
Show

In the category of live performance art, the Magic Act holds a special place. And the Greg Carson show is no exception.

Magic Show
See Schedule
Ribberfest

He has a magical way with the audience, making everyone feel comfortable and included, adapting to the audience with his aloof friendly comedy and encouraging audience participation. He actually held everyone’s attention with his quick wit and rapid pace, there was never a boring moment.

Note: The show happens in inside the Piglet Pen, and thus, pen rules apply.

 

Magic

He taught the audience several magic tricks, including how to:
1) invert a dollar bill;
2) cheat at card games;
3) cheat at dominos;
4) get children to eat green vegetables (by turning them into rabbits);
5) make a banana disappear;
6) magically make his whole head expand and shrink;
7) make a rabbit appear in an empty box;
and
8) the fiery dangers of taking money from their parents wallets.
Not neccessarily in any order.

 

Comedy

The show was for children, but cute and funny enough to keep the adults entertained. The engineering and math types (myself included) were left scratching their heads long after the show (about the do-nothing-machine AKA strings-in-tube-routine).

He did all that and more! The CarsonMagic show was creative, delightful and mesmerizing. It was terrific! And everyone had a great time!

For a great show,
Thank you Greg Carson

~MHDS

See CarsonMagic for testimonials and reviews.

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Security

The entire event is fenced in with security at the gates, at either West Street or Mulberry Street, along Vaughn Drive. You'll need tickets or wrist band pass to access this gated region.

This is where they throw away stuff not allowed. Read the rules! Note: no bring-your-own-alcohol, Adult beverages are for sale here, no food, food may be purchased inside the gates, no coolers to hide food or drinks in, no umbrellas, no canopies, no pets, no hula-hoops. No skates, no roller blades, no bicycles, and definitely no golf carts. Obstructing the viewing pleasure of others behind you is not cool! And everyone wants to feel safe to enjoy the all-ground-level-sitting in the all-grass-seating. You may bring blanket like items to sit on. Based on past pictures on their web site, it appears you may also bring folding chairs, ASK TO BE SURE. You may bring an "empty water bottle" with you and refill it FREE, at any time, at the gates, ticket tent, and souvenir tent. 

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Ribberfest

Parking

There is limited public parking lots in the historic district. Most visitors will park first-come-first-serve along the streets.

Handicap
parking

at the corner of West St & First St. One may drop off/pick up handicap patrons at the West St. gate, at the corner of West ST and Vaughn ST.

Back to Welcome Page | Visit their official site MadisonRibberfest.com

Trivia: Suggest a good trivia question a trivia question.

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Back to

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Sometimes people think Madison Historic District, also known as Historic Madison, is located in Milton Kentucky, but we are actually located just 1 mile north in Downtown Madison Indiana, across the Harrison Bridge on the north side of the Ohio River.

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Map to Bicentenial Park with the Weather Report


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