Click to view larger photo.

Wondering where to park for On The River 2012? We’ve got you covered. Read below, and then click the above map to see a larger version. One thing to note – Colfax is closed east of On The River’s location, so use LaSalle if you’re travelling from that direction.

There are a limited number of handicapped parking spots available directly in front of the  event just off of Colfax (above, in blue).

Regular parking (in green) is located in the Commerce Center parking lot, right across the street from the event (between Colfax and LaSalle), and it’s free! You may also park in the PeopleLink parking lot just down the street from the Commerce Center.

You may also park in city parking (green) near the old Nipsco Building at the corner of Michigan and LaSalle, or in the Main and Colfax parking garage (green). Both options are free after 6:00 PM, and are just a short walk away from On The River.

Additionally, you may park in any non-private parking lot or legal street parking anywhere in downtown South Bend. You can find a map of those locations at DTSBParking.com

DO NOT PARK in the Stephenson Mills parking lot right next to On The River (above, in red). Those are private parking spots reserved for Stephenson Mills residents only.

Sign up for the Volleyball or Cornhole Tournament between now and Saturday, and every member of your team will get FREE DRINK tickets in addition to getting FREE ENTRY to the party (plus FREE t-shirts for volleyball players)!

Sign up here:
Volleyball and Cornhole

Check out our OTR 2012 commercial, courtesy of Fox 28!

The On The River 2012 Teen Night would not be possible without the efforts of our amazing Teen Night committee. This group of incredibly motivated, forward-thinking young people is working hard to make sure that Teen Night 2012 is THE BEST Teen Night ever! Interested in getting involved? Send an email to contact@ontheriverfest.com.

Teen Night Committee Coordinators
John Beven, Ed Beven, Pablo Martínez, Colleen McQuillan

Teen Night Committee

• Kevin Bradford
• Jamison Donoho
• Bridget Doyle
• John Ferlic
• Aubrei Hayes
• Megan Hickey
• Devyn Jackson
• Elizabeth Karczewski
• Maggie Karczewski
• Rose Karczewski
• Nick King
• Mike Kokot
• Emily Merriman
• Billy Miller
• Releesha Moore
• Tiara Moore
• Nick Ortega
• Anyjah Perkins
• Tashawn Reese
• Joey Sawyer
• Madi Simpkins
• Hannah Simnick
• Sarah Villeneuve

This list will be available permanently on our Teen Night Committee page.

On The River is proud to announce our committee members for 2012! Check out the list below – it’s arranged by subcommittees, so you can get an idea of who’s doing what. As you can see, we’ve got a wide range of enthusiastic volunteers that will be responsible for bringing OTR – the biggest beach bash of the summer! – to downtown South Bend on August 3-4, 2012.

OTR couldn’t happen without people who volunteer their time to help change the landscape of our community – people, hopefully, like you. Each of these subcommittees is looking for dedicated, hardworking volunteers to help bring everything together.

Whether you patrol with our security team, put together awesome activities for Family Day, or brainstorm how this year’s Teen Night can be the BEST EVER Teen Night in the history of OTR – when you volunteer in any of our subcommittee areas, you’ll have a chance to to meet great people, make new friends, work hard and play even harder.

And all the while, you’ll be helping OTR support the Center for the Homeless in their mission to break the cycle of homelessness. If getting involved sounds like something you might be interested in, send an email to contact@ontheriverfest.com.

If you’ve ever been interested in getting involved with one of the most unique and dynamic events in the area, this session is for you! On the River is seeking the help of a diverse group of people who desire to not only make a difference in their community but also those who wish to have a ton of fun in the sun!

This philanthropic summer festival has attracted thousands of people to beach right in the middle of downtown South Bend over the past three years.  This year, On the River wants you to “Catch the Wave!” Come join us on for snacks, socializing and some information about how you might be able to get involved.

When:

• Wednesday, March 2
• Registration: 5:30 PM
• Event: 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM

Where:

• Legends of Notre Dame
• 100 Legends Drive
• Notre Dame, IN, 46556
• (100 Yards South of Notre Dame Stadium)

Please RSVP no later than February 23rd to info@ontheriverfest.com

Finally, we’d like to be clear that your attendance at this meeting requires no additional commitment; however, at the conclusion of the session you will be given the opportunity to express how you might want to be involved with On the River 2011.

We look forward to seeing you soon…summer is right around the corner (kinda)! Oh yeah, and for those of you who just can’t wait until the meeting, On the River 2011 will take place on Friday, August 5th and Saturday, August 6th.

~On the River 2011 Event Directors,

Aaron Perri, Matt Money, & Paul Phair

P.S. – Please invite your co-workers, friends, neighbors, distant relatives, random kids you see at the mall, etc. We’re looking for teenagers, young professionals, moms and everyone in between. Please just make sure we get an RSVP for everyone who will attend.

It’s really starting to feel like OTR season now! We had our first big build, paint, and prep session on Thursday evening at the warehouse where we’re keeping all of our props and decorations. It sort of looks like a luau exploded in there. Well, see for yourself:

The committee has spent the last two summers creating — drawing up blueprints, building the tiki huts and lifeguard chairs, cutting out the surfboards, stenciling on the designs, painting, painting, and painting. We’re now shifting from creation to preservation. As Blake, one of our decór managers, said the other day, “Who really wants to do something three times when it only needs to be done once?” This year, we’ll touch up the paint jobs on the surfboards and chairs and then throw some polyurethane on them so that hopefully they’ll last us a few seasons.

They could use a good scrub down first, though. Did you know that sand will actually cling to all this stuff through nearly a year in storage and two rounds of loading and unloading? Yeah, neither did we. Thanks, guys!

We’re also working on reinforcing all of these tiki hut roofs so that they’re sturdier and less likely to break.

We had another big project to work on this week, though: getting ready for the College Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement Parade, which is…today! Look for our float and make sure you get “lei’d” — we took the liberty of affixing a little OTR 411 to each of the 2,000 leis we’re handing out along the parade route today. Everyone is excited to come party at On the River in their beach gear and leis in a few short weeks, so we figured it’s time to start looking the part!

Thanks to our helpers from the Junior Committee!

Hey FYI, On The River Staff are going to be at the Enshrinement Festival on July 16-17. We’ll be the ones that look like we just walked in out of a luau or a Hawaiian circle dance. Just to save you time when you see us there (you will be there, right?), let me clue you in on the typical opening conversation at one of these events:

Q = You.
A = OTR Beachcomber Dude/tte.

Q: Hey you! Yeah you in the Hawaiian shirt! What is “On The River?”
A: It’s a two-day, fun-filled beach bash for all ages!

Q: What’s the point?
A: To enjoy the sun, sand (1500 tons of it), and have a blast! Plus, all the profits go to support the South Bend Center for the Homeless.

Q: I like that. What is there to do?
A: You can:

• Enjoy Teen Night on Friday with live music, dancing, and a battle of the bands
• Bring the kids for Family Day Saturday with face painting and kid’s games
• And rock the 21+ Beach Bash on Saturday night with volleyball, cornhole and music!

That’s only the start! You can get way more info on our website.

Q: Sounds like a blast! Where do I sign up?
A: Find out how to get tickets by going to the tickets page on our website. FYI you can save up to 38% if you buy in advance.

So there you have it! Now that you’re clued in, you can skip the opening chatter and talk about how your teenager’s band is so going to win the Battle of the Bands, how much your kids are gonna love Family Day, and how your team is totally going to pwn (defeat in a humiliating fashion) everyone else in the volleyball tournament. You are going to sign up for those, aren’t you?