RHYTHM + RAKU FESTIVAL
A Celebration of Clay and Community
OCTOBER 11TH 2025 | 1:30 - 10:30 PM
About Rhythm + Raku Fest
Eric and I opened up our pottery studio for classes + workshops in March of 2023. We had no idea how much fun we’d have, and to be honest - have been blown away by the community response. Over the past couple of years our student base has grown, and we’ve befriended the most wonderful group of clay enthusiasts, curious neighbors, and those looking for something new and different to enjoy.
This event is put together to celebrate the community that has grown here, and to invite everyone else to come check it all out. We’ve hosted a handful of big events since we’ve been in this location, and with each event we dial it in a little more. This year’s celebration will be one to remember!
Thanks for planning to join us on Saturday for our biggest and most fun event of the year - Rhythm + Raku Fest! We have such a fun day ahead of us, and the weather is looking like a perfect fall afternoon. We have over 300 confirmed guests that will be visiting throughout the day, and 41 volunteers to help us ensure that everything will run smoothly.
Entry
We will have an entry gate at the North end of the path that comes in from the parking lot. You will check in there with our staff and receive a wristband that shows you have paid to get in, it will also allow you to come and go. Raku pieces will be in the merch area which is staged up in the studio. Raku pumpkins and vases are all made with the same amount of clay, but they will vary in shape and design. All raku pieces are first come/first serve as far as your pick or preference. Your raku piece will absolutely be reserved for you whenever you're able to come to the event, but we will be giving you early birds special picking time between 1:30 - 2:30pm. After that, we'll open up for additional sales of our overflow.
What to bring:
Dress in layers, and bring out your cold weather gear. The weather is just starting to shift... We have a little breeze that comes through our property, and it can get chilly at night. It almost makes me want to bust out my mittens!
Camp chairs! We encourage you to bring camp chairs, a blanket, anything you need to set up your own space in the lawn for the day, and get settled in. We do have a big tent set up with tables and chairs for you, but it's always nice (and a little more comfortable) to have your own stuff!
Reusable (empty) water bottles. Coastal Valley Water has been kind enough to lend us an extra water cooler, and donate 5gal water jugs to help keep everyone hydrated, and to help us cut down on trash. Fill up as you need to - there is a hot water option too for any tea drinkers out there. :)
A big ole smile. We have such a great community of people here, and we've all worked hard to bring you a really beautiful event. We're all ready to celebrate and have a good time together.
What not to bring:
Outside food or alcohol. All of our vendors will be ready and stocked with tasty treats for all of your needs while you're here.
Tents or beach umbrellas. We just want to make sure everyone can see our bands, and has room to move around.
Parking
Parking will be in the field to the South of our pottery studio. There will be an entrance flag, and a team of fellas helping you get parked. We strongly encourage you to carpool if at all possible, as we are expecting a really large crowd and we'd like to fit everyone in.
Clay Games!
We have some fun clay games for you, and plenty of clay metals and prizes to win! We're breaking competitors into categories this year to even out the playing field, and give everyone a chance to win. Here's the breakdown:
2-2:30 Kid's Clay Games | ages 7-15
2:30 - 3:30pm | Rookies - No experience required. Ages 16+
3:30 - 4:30pm | Seasoned Potters - This level is for those of you that have had some experience, and know your way around clay. Ages 16+
4:30 - 5:30pm | Pros - This level is for professional potters who make and sell their own work. Ages 16+
There will be 4 games in each category, with the exception of the Kid's games. Each game will have three heats. Heat winners will be determined by our team, and will receive clay "medals" that we've created. At the end of the games, our team will tally up medal winners, and announce 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners.
Amaco Brent has sponsored our clay games with prizes this year! When you arrive, please make sure to get over to the games, and sign up!
1st place - (6) pints of Amaco Glazes, Amaco tote and swag, $150 Beale Pottery gift certificate
2nd place - (5) Amaco velvet underglaze sprayz, Amaco tote and swag, $100 Beale Pottery gift certificate
3rd place - (6) 2oz. jars Amaco Velvet Underglaze, $50 Beale Pottery gift certificate
Pros winner - Collaborative piece of art created by Beale Pottery, Bryan Wilkerson, and Cody Moser
Merch Tent!
We will have a collection of pottery for sale (including tiny pumpkins!), and we have invited our volunteers to sell their pottery with us as well. In addition to pottery we will have event t-shirts for sale, stickers, texture tools and wooden knife tools. We also have a small collection of mums and perennials in the greenhouse.
Music Lineup
2-3pm | Singing Sands String Band
3:30-4:30pm | Corey Dennison
5-7pm | Head Honchos
7:30-10:30pm | Janky Limo
Food
Fatties BBQ
Lebanese Grape Leaves *vegetarian options
5pm -11pm | Zap Z Dawgz
ADDRESS
1038 N 550 E
WESTVILLE, IN 46391
GATES OPEN AT 1:30PM
(no earlier!)
We are really looking forward to spending the day with you! See you Saturday!
THE 2026 RAKU PUMPKIN EXPERIENCE
300 handmade numbered pumpkins. 6 Raku kilns. 60 live firings.
One incredible day of Raku!
$65 per pumpkin
Saturday, October 10, 2026
Choose your start time: 12 PM • 3 PM • 6 PM
• Festival admission is sold separately. A Raku Pumpkin reservation does not include your Rhythm + Raku entry ticket - it does however get you an automatic $5 discount on your entry ticket.
One of our very favorite parts of Rhythm + Raku is getting to invite you into the process. When Eric and I met 24 years ago we spent many nights hanging out around the raku kiln, and love that we get to share this experience with all of you now.
In the weeks leading up to the festival, our Beale Pottery team, members and volunteers will make 300 individual ceramic pumpkins by hand. Every pumpkin will be a little different, and every one will be stamped with our special 2026 Rhythm + Raku commemorative stamp and numbered as part of this year’s collection.
Then, on October 10, you get to finish the story..
Choose your pumpkin, decorate it with Raku glazes, and then spend some time enjoying the festival while our crew takes it through the fire. You’ll be able to watch the kilns open glowing hot, see the pieces move through the reduction process, and eventually take home a one-of-a-kind pumpkin that you helped create.
And yes - it’s every bit as fun as it sounds.
CHOOSE YOUR START TIME
To make this year’s experience run more smoothly, we’re dividing our 300 pumpkins into three groups of 100:
12:00 PM | Group No.1
2:30 PM | Group No.2
5:00 PM | Group No.3
These are START TIMES, not individual firing appointments.
Please arrive at your selected time, check in with our Raku team, choose your pumpkin and get started decorating.
Once your pumpkin is ready, it will enter the firing queue. Raku is a live firing process, and fire has its own schedule! Your pumpkin will be fired during your session, but we cannot promise an exact kiln time or completion time.
Grab something to eat, listen to the bands, shop the pottery, participate in the clay games, watch the kilns and enjoy the festival while our crew works its way through the firing queue.
If you need to leave before your pumpkin is finished, that’s okay. We’ll safely hold it for you and you can return to Beale Pottery beginning Monday following the festival to pick it up.
PICK YOUR PUMPKIN
During the check-out process you will be prompted with a choice between a plain pumpkin or a craved one. When you arrive, you will get to pick your pumpkin from the dedicated “patch”.
300 PUMPKINS AND EVERY ONE HAS A NUMBER
This year feels especially meaningful because we’re celebrating 10 years of Beale Pottery - super cool, right?!
Each of the 300 pumpkins will carry our special 2026 Rhythm + Raku stamp and its own individual number.
When you select your pumpkin, you’ll receive a matching numbered claim ticket. We’ll take your name at check-in, you’ll take a picture of your pumpkin and it’s number, and you’ll hold onto your ticket while your pumpkin makes its journey through glazing, firing and reduction.
When your pumpkin is ready, simply turn in your matching ticket and take it home.
Please keep that little ticket safe - it’s how we’ll reunite you with your pumpkin!
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU ARRIVE?
Don’t worry if you’ve never touched clay or used a glaze before. No Raku experience is necessary.
Our members and volunteers will be there to walk you through the process and help you decorate your pumpkin.
You’ll:
1. Check in and receive your numbered claim ticket.
2. Choose your handmade pumpkin.
3. Decorate it using our selection of Raku glazes and surface techniques.
4. Turn it over to our Raku crew to enter the firing queue.
5. Enjoy the festival while five kilns fire throughout the day.
6. Watch the magic happen.
7. Take your finished pumpkin home, or return Monday if you can’t stay until it’s finished.
WHAT IS RAKU?
Raku is a fast, dramatic ceramic firing process unlike the way most everyday pottery is fired.
Once your decorated pumpkin is loaded into one of our Raku kilns, it is heated rapidly. Once it reaches temperature, our crew removes the piece from the kiln while it is glowing hot and transfers it into a reduction chamber with combustible material. This is where the magic happens!
The process changes the glaze and surface of the piece in ways that can be surprising and beautifully unpredictable. You’ll see crackle effects, and copper flashings… No two pieces come out exactly alike - which is precisely why we love it.
You’ll be able to watch the process happening throughout Rhythm + Raku.
MORE FIRE. BIGGER TEAM. 300 PUMPKINS.
Last year, our incredible Raku crew ran four kilns and fired 225 pieces in one day.
This year we’re going bigger..
This experience takes a village. Long before October 10, our community will be throwing, carving, stamping, drying, bisque firing and preparing all 300 pumpkins so they’re ready when you arrive.
Then another crew of volunteers (some of the same) will spend festival day helping you glaze, manage the firing queue, run kilns, work the reduction process and get your finished pumpkins safely back into your hands.
When you reserve a pumpkin, you’re not just purchasing a piece of pottery. You’re participating in one of the experiences that makes Rhythm + Raku what it is - and your purchase directly helps us produce the festival and keep this community celebration growing.
We couldn’t do it without all of you.
A FEW IMPORTANT THINGS TO KNOW
• Your selected time is your START TIME. Please arrive at 12 PM, 3 PM or 6 PM according to the group you purchase. You will get a reminder emailed to you before your start time.
• Firing is not an appointment. Your pumpkin enters the firing queue after you’ve finished decorating it. Exact completion times cannot be guaranteed.
• One reservation = one handmade Raku pumpkin.
• Pumpkins are limited to 300 total. Each start time is limited to 100 reservations. When they’re gone, they’re gone.
• Festival admission is sold separately. A Raku Pumpkin reservation does not include your Rhythm + Raku entry ticket - it does however get you an automatic $5 discount on your entry ticket.
• Children are welcome to participate with an adult. An adult should accompany younger children through the decorating process.
• Raku is unpredictable by nature. Variations in glaze, smoke, flame and surface are part of the process and part of what makes each piece one of a kind.
• Can’t stay until your pumpkin is finished? No problem. Finished pieces can be picked up at Beale Pottery beginning Monday following the festival.
• Please hold onto your numbered claim ticket. You’ll need it when collecting your finished pumpkin.
• All sales are final. Your purchase reserves one of only 300 handmade pumpkins and helps us plan and prepare materials, firings and staffing for the festival. No refunds or credits will be given.
Make art + be a part of the process!
EARLY BIRD TICKETS ARE SOLD OUT!
Entry at the door is $10, and we still have raku pieces to purchase in person starting at 2:20pm! Pick a pumpkin, paint it, and watch it get fired up! There are a limited number of raku pieces available this event, as we only have so much time in the day to fire. Snag yours now before you miss out! This year you’ll have the choice of a carved pumpkin, a plain pumpkin, or a decorative vase.
Beginner Friendly, and open to all!
*Early Birds get a free entry ticket with purchase!
Merch! Early Bird Tickets SOLD OUT!
Merch! Early Bird Tickets SOLD OUT!
Interested in Volunteering?
We are always looking for extra hands and help at events like this one. If you’re interested in being part of the crew, please reach out and let us know! We do vet our volunteers with an interview and/or background check as this is a family friendly event - gotta keep it safe!