What is Granfalloon?
Presented by the IU Arts and Humanities Council and inspired by legendary Hoosier author Kurt Vonnegut Jr., the Granfalloon brings together musicians, artists, thinkers, and good people from all walks of life for a celebration of art, ideas, and community.
The festival kicks off the Bloomington summer arts season and highlights the creative spirit of our region by tapping into the enduring ethos of Vonnegut’s life and work: promoting civic engagement, encouraging independent thought, and championing art and creativity as essential to the spiritual life of individuals and the health of our democracy.
Granfalloon 2022 will be presented concurrently with the Indiana University Writers Conference and the Bloomington Handmade Market. Events will take place in venues on campus and around downtown Bloomington. The festival offers engaging creative experiences from art and theater to film, live music, crafts, writing, puppets, a Nature Tour of the Century, and more.
Granfalloon on Spotify
Check out the Granfalloon Spotify playlist for a preview of our muscal guests, including Car Seat Headrest, Japanese Breakfast, Tune-Yards, and NNAMDÏ!
Keynote Writers
Granfalloon bookshelf
The Granfalloon festival brings together musicians, artists, thinkers, and good people from all walks of life for a multi-day celebration of art, ideas, and community. This includes a wide variety of authors, poets, and thinkers whose works are being featured, discussed, and read throughout the festival. Check out the descriptions of works by our guest speakers, many of whom hail from Indiana and all of whom we are proud to call members of our karass.
Indiana Author Award Honorees
What is a Granfalloon?
Coined by Vonnegut in his renowned novel Cat’s Cradle, a Granfalloon refers to a group of people brought together for seemingly arbitrary reasons but whose sense of belonging and community is nevertheless very real. Vonnegut offered Hoosiers as a prime example of a Granfalloon.
Supporters
We couldn’t be more grateful to the many lovely people whose support makes Granfalloon possible.
Corporate and Foundation Supporters
- Community Foundation of Bloomington and Monroe County, Inc.
- Graduate Bloomington
- City of Bloomington
- Indiana Humanities
- Bluboy Chocolate
Internal IU Supporters
- IU Libraries
- Office of the Provost and Executive Vice President
- Office of the Vice Provost for Research
- Platform Arts & Humanities Laboratory
Community Partners
- Bloomington Handmade Market
- City of Bloomington
- C3
- Indiana Humanities
- Monroe County Public Library
- Kurt Vonnegut Museum & Library
- Buskirk-Chumley Theater
- Visit Bloomington
- Spirit of '68
- Upland Brewing Company
- Morgenstern's Books
- WonderLab Museum of Science, Health & Technology
- Bloomington PRIDE
- Gallery Walk Bloomington
- Secretly Group
- Downtown Bloomington, Inc.
- Antiquated Arts Co.
- The Bluebird Nightclub
- The Bishop Bar
- Landlocked Music
- The Orbit Room
- Blockhouse Bar
- EarthKeepers Bloomington
