Festivalgoers listen to D’yshe Mansfield perform on Sept. 13, 2025, at Riverside Regional Park in Indianapolis. Credit: Arrianna Gupton for Mirror Indy

Naiya Ashby (left) and Aurora Roper (right) participate in the Midwest Leak Jiggalate Competition on Sept. 13, 2025, at Riverside Regional Park in Indianapolis. Credit: Arrianna Gupton for Mirror Indy

A sign reading “Black joy” sits on the street Sept. 13, 2025, at Riverside Regional Park in Indianapolis. Credit: Arrianna Gupton for Mirror Indy

Slumhaus Worldwide clothes are displayed on a rack, Sept. 13, 2025, at Riverside Regional Park in Indianapolis. Credit: Arrianna Gupton for Mirror Indy

Trap Orchestra performs its set on stage Sept. 13, 2025, at Riverside Regional Park in Indianapolis. Credit: Arrianna Gupton for Mirror Indy

The crowd listens to music on Sept. 13, 2025, at Riverside Regional Park in Indianapolis. Credit: Arrianna Gupton for Mirror Indy

Pac Abedi (left) and Kristina Hill pose for a picture Sept. 13, 2025, at Riverside Regional Park in Indianapolis. Credit: Arrianna Gupton for Mirror Indy

A festivalgoer is interviewed about the day’s festivities Sept. 13, 2025, at Riverside Regional Park in Indianapolis. Credit: Arrianna Gupton for Mirror Indy

Merannda Best (left) and Hannah Wilson pose for a picture on Sept. 13, 2025, at Riverside Regional Park in Indianapolis. Credit: Arrianna Gupton for Mirror Indy

A customer points to an item from the Nap or Nothing booth Sept. 13, 2025, at Riverside Regional Park in Indianapolis. Credit: Arrianna Gupton for Mirror Indy

Marliss Winfrey (right) and Maurine Bwambok pose for a picture on Sept. 13, 2025, at Riverside Regional Park in Indianapolis. Credit: Arrianna Gupton for Mirror Indy

Jadah Rowan poses with a treat from 414 cookies and treats Sept. 13, 2025, at Riverside Regional Park in Indianapolis. Credit: Arrianna Gupton for Mirror Indy

Customers buy artisan ice pops on Sept. 13, 2025, at Riverside Regional Park in Indianapolis. Credit: Arrianna Gupton for Mirror Indy

Mirror Indy, a nonprofit newsroom, is funded through grants and donations from individuals, foundations and organizations. Sign up for our free newsletters.

Arrianna Gupton is a Mirror Indy contributing freelancer. Contact her at http.arrisworld@gmail.com.

I hope this story helped you feel more connected to our arts and culture scene. Our nonprofit newsroom runs on donations from people like you who share our passion for arts and culture and our city's innovative spirit. You help us make good on our promise to deliver stories that reflect our community.

Give $25 Give $50 Give $20/month

Community-powered journalism can't exist without you. Please support our work today.

Amanda Kingsbury
Managing Editor for Innovation, Mirror Indy

Sign up for Westside Beat texts with Enrique

If you are not able to sign up, text WESTSIDE to (317) 659-7738

Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.

Republish this article

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our website. AP and Getty images may not be republished. Please see our republishing guidelines for use of any other photos and graphics.

BLACK: A Festival of Joy returns to Riverside Park

by Jenna Watson, Mirror Indy
September 15, 2025

<h1>BLACK: A Festival of Joy returns to Riverside Park</h1>
<p class="byline">by Jenna Watson, Mirror Indy <br />September 15, 2025</p>
<br />
<figure class="wp-block-image alignwide size-full"><img src="https://mirrorindy.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/BLACK-A-FESTIVAL-OF-JOY-2025_AG003.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-61971" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Festivalgoers listen to D’yshe Mansfield perform on Sept. 13, 2025, at Riverside Regional Park in Indianapolis.</figcaption></figure>
<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-large"><img src="https://mirrorindy.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/BLACK-A-FESTIVAL-OF-JOY-2025_AG004-1024x883.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-61972" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Naiya Ashby (left) and Aurora Roper (right) participate in the Midwest Leak Jiggalate Competition on Sept. 13, 2025, at Riverside Regional Park in Indianapolis.</figcaption></figure>
<div class="wp-block-columns alignwide">
<div class="wp-block-column">
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://mirrorindy.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/BLACK-A-FESTIVAL-OF-JOY-2025_AG002-1024x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-61970" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A sign reading “Black joy” sits on the street Sept. 13, 2025, at Riverside Regional Park in Indianapolis.</figcaption></figure>
</p></div>
<div class="wp-block-column">
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://mirrorindy.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/BLACK-A-FESTIVAL-OF-JOY-2025_AG012-1024x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-61980" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Slumhaus Worldwide clothes are displayed on a rack, Sept. 13, 2025, at Riverside Regional Park in Indianapolis.</figcaption></figure>
</p></div>
</p></div>
<figure class="wp-block-image alignwide size-full"><img src="https://mirrorindy.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/BLACK-A-FESTIVAL-OF-JOY-2025_AG011.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-61979" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Trap Orchestra performs its set on stage Sept. 13, 2025, at Riverside Regional Park in Indianapolis.</figcaption></figure>
<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://mirrorindy.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/BLACK-A-FESTIVAL-OF-JOY-2025_AG009.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-61977" style="width:810px;height:auto" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The crowd listens to music on Sept. 13, 2025, at Riverside Regional Park in Indianapolis.</figcaption></figure>
<div class="wp-block-columns alignwide">
<div class="wp-block-column">
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://mirrorindy.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/BLACK-A-FESTIVAL-OF-JOY-2025_AG015-717x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-61983" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Pac Abedi (left) and Kristina Hill pose for a picture Sept. 13, 2025, at Riverside Regional Park in Indianapolis.</figcaption></figure>
</p></div>
<div class="wp-block-column">
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://mirrorindy.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/BLACK-A-FESTIVAL-OF-JOY-2025_AG008-682x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-61976" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A festivalgoer is interviewed about the day's festivities Sept. 13, 2025, at Riverside Regional Park in Indianapolis.</figcaption></figure>
</p></div>
</p></div>
<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-large"><img src="https://mirrorindy.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/BLACK-A-FESTIVAL-OF-JOY-2025_AG007-1024x908.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-61975" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Merannda Best (left) and Hannah Wilson pose for a picture on Sept. 13, 2025, at Riverside Regional Park in Indianapolis.</figcaption></figure>
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://mirrorindy.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/BLACK-A-FESTIVAL-OF-JOY-2025_AG013-1024x731.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-61981" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A customer points to an item from the Nap or Nothing booth Sept. 13, 2025, at Riverside Regional Park in Indianapolis.</figcaption></figure>
<div class="wp-block-columns alignwide">
<div class="wp-block-column">
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://mirrorindy.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/BLACK-A-FESTIVAL-OF-JOY-2025_AG005-638x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-61973" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Marliss Winfrey (right) and Maurine Bwambok pose for a picture on Sept. 13, 2025, at Riverside Regional Park in Indianapolis.</figcaption></figure>
</p></div>
<div class="wp-block-column">
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://mirrorindy.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/BLACK-A-FESTIVAL-OF-JOY-2025_AG006-897x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-61974" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Jadah Rowan poses with a treat from 414 cookies and treats Sept. 13, 2025, at Riverside Regional Park in Indianapolis.</figcaption></figure>
</p></div>
</p></div>
<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><img src="https://mirrorindy.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/BLACK-A-FESTIVAL-OF-JOY-2025_AG014.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-61982" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Customers buy artisan ice pops on Sept. 13, 2025, at Riverside Regional Park in Indianapolis.</figcaption></figure>
<p><em>Arrianna Gupton is a Mirror Indy contributing freelancer. Contact her at <a href="mailto:Http.Arrisworld@gmail.com">http.arrisworld@gmail.com</a>. </em></p></p>
<p>This &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://mirrorindy.org/black-a-festival-of-joy-photos-indianapolis-2025/&quot;&gt;article&lt;/a&gt; first appeared on &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://mirrorindy.org&quot;&gt;Mirror Indy&lt;/a&gt; and is republished here under a &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/&quot;&gt;Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;img src=&quot;https://i0.wp.com/mirrorindy.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/cropped-Mirror-Indy-square-logo-1.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;amp;ssl=1&quot; style=&quot;width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;&quot;&gt;</p>
&lt;img id=&quot;republication-tracker-tool-source&quot; src=&quot;https://mirrorindy.org/?republication-pixel=true&amp;post=61951&amp;amp;ga4=G-X0R0QW371R&quot; style=&quot;width:1px;height:1px;&quot;&gt;&lt;script&gt; PARSELY = { autotrack: false, onload: function() { PARSELY.beacon.trackPageView({ url: &quot;https://mirrorindy.org/black-a-festival-of-joy-photos-indianapolis-2025/&quot;, urlref: window.location.href }); } } &lt;/script&gt; &lt;script id=&quot;parsely-cfg&quot; src=&quot;//cdn.parsely.com/keys/mirrorindy.org/p.js&quot;&gt;&lt;/script&gt;

Local news delivered straight to your inbox

Mirror Indy's free newsletters are your daily dose of community-focused news stories.

In the Mirror Daily: News you can use
Play List Weekly: Arts and culture

By clicking Sign Up, you’re confirming that you agree with our Terms of Use.

See faces of glee at BLACK: A Festival of Joy
Date
July 15, 2024
Author
Nichelle Short
Riverside’s 100th neighborhood parade is Sept. 6
Date
September 2, 2025
Author
Sophie Young
Free festival celebrates Black joy in Central Indiana
Date
July 8, 2024
Author
Breanna Cooper

BLACK: A Festival of Joy returns to Riverside Park

Related

Keep up with what's happening in Indianapolis

Verify your email

Related

Local news delivered straight to your inbox

Related Articles

Keep up with what's happening in Indianapolis