For years, if you asked a Cicero resident where the town gathered in July, the answer was Community Park. That is still true for four days around the Fourth. The other eighty days of summer have shifted west, to the strip of shoreline at the foot of the Jackson Street bridge, and the restaurant map along Jackson has rearranged itself to match.
If you have been defaulting to last year's routine, you are missing what the town has actually built.
What got built at Red Bridge Park
Red Bridge Park sits on the west bank of Morse Reservoir at the Cicero bridge, with free parking, restrooms, and a paved walking path. That much has been true for years. What changed is the hardware.
The town added a new pier engineered for more than fishing. Designed for fishing and other recreation, special events, and educational opportunities, the pier has turned the park into more of a regional draw, and the town also sees it as a venue for bands and weddings. Alongside it, two new canoe and kayak launches went in this year, and one of the launches is accessible and the first of its kind in Central Indiana, per Charlie Cambre, superintendent of Cicero Parks Department.
The funding path matters here, because it explains why the improvements read as substantial rather than cosmetic. The pier drew support from the place-based investment fund, a collaboration between the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs and the Indiana Office of Tourism Development, and the canoe and kayak launches were crowdfunded through the state's CreatINg Places program, bringing in more than $9,000 in community donations with the majority of those dollars matched by the state.
The short version: the town leveraged residents' dollars to unlock state dollars, and used the combined pot to convert a scenic overlook into a programmable venue. That is why the summer calendar looks different now.
The Sunday concert calendar is short, and worth planning around
"It's really creating another gathering place for community members to come to and celebrate what we have to offer," said Shae Kmicikewycz, the town's community development coordinator. "We wanted to activate areas within our community, especially our largest asset of Morse Reservoir, which brings in so many tourists for boating and fishing."
Activation, in practical terms, means a concert series on the new pier. It is not a weekly thing. If you blink you miss half of it.
| Date | Act | Venue |
|---|---|---|
| Sun, Jul 19 | 90 Proof Band | Red Bridge Park |
| Sun, Aug 9 | Atlanta Music Hall Band | Red Bridge Park |
Two Sunday shows, three weeks apart, both on the water. Bring a lawn chair. The paved path along the reservoir means you do not need to stake out a spot right at the pier to hear the set.
The July 1–4 exception
Community Park does not lose its title in July. Lights Over Morse Lake has grown into its 27th annual celebration as of 2026, running July 1st through 4th, 2026, with various events scheduled throughout each day and evening across Community Park, Morse Lake, and surrounding locations.
A few things about this festival that a first-time attendee tends to underestimate:
- It is genuinely free. The event is completely free to attend with no admission charges, and it is organized by a dedicated nonprofit of local volunteers and funded through community donations and business sponsorships rather than tax dollars.
- The programming is wider than the fireworks. The signature fireworks display over Morse Lake provides the evening highlight, while the parade kicks off the festivities. For the competitive at heart there is a golf cart poker run and scavenger hunt, a car show featuring classic and custom vehicles, 3-on-3 basketball, pickleball tournaments, and cornhole competitions. Entertainment includes live music throughout the festival, a talent show, and a Little Miss Showcase. Kids' day features face painting, tethered hot air balloon rides, and animal encounters.
- Leadership is local and named. Under the leadership of Chair Jackie Hayden and countless dedicated volunteers, the festival has become a cornerstone of Hamilton County's summer calendar.
Put another way: for four days, gravity returns to Community Park. Then it goes back to the pier.
Jackson Street reads differently now
The dining strip along Jackson has been reorganizing itself around the same waterfront pivot. The most concrete signal is the arrival of a farm-to-table Italian restaurant that used to be a destination for Cicero residents rather than a local option.
DeLullo's Trattoria, a local favorite known for homemade Italian-American cuisine, moved to downtown Cicero this spring under owner and chef Kay DeLullo. The restaurant had built its base in downtown Atlanta, and DeLullo's emphasizes farm-to-table food and fresh, quality ingredients. The restaurant opened in early April at 230 West Jackson Street, with hours 4:00pm to 9:00pm Tuesday through Saturday.
The relocation is not incidental. Town Council member Craig Penwell framed the addition as part of a broader effort, noting that with past and current planning, the town is trying to position itself as a culinary destination and that DeLullo's will be a complement to the community's other restaurants. The strategy is legible on the ground: DeLullo's slotted in a few blocks from the reservoir, within walking distance of the shoreline restaurants that already anchor the west end of Jackson.
Here is what the current dining map actually looks like, ordered by how you would encounter them walking east from the bridge:
- Boathouse Kitchen & Swan Dive. Sitting on the northern Morse Lake shoreline between State Road 31 and 37, in downtown Cicero, where the Boathouse Kitchen & Swan Dive calls home. The waterfront patio is the closest sit-down meal to a boat slip.
- Red Bridge Bistro. Named for the covered bridge the town removed to build the reservoir. Cocktails and dinner service, with new menu items on rotation.
- 10 West Restaurant and Bar. Weekend brunch runs Saturday and Sunday from 9am to 2pm, with weekly dine-in specials including $12 pizza on Tuesday, a $22 filet dinner on Wednesday, and $32 prime rib Thursday and Friday. This is the go-to when the concert crowd wants a full sit-down before the set.
- DeLullo's Trattoria. The newcomer, four blocks off the water at 230 W. Jackson.
- Erika's Place. The all-day breakfast diner locals default to when the itinerary starts before 10am.
- La Cascada. Mexican, off the main drag, useful for the weeknight when Jackson feels busy.
A useful bit of local knowledge for out-of-town guests: the Red Bridge itself is not there anymore. The original bridge was converted into a red-painted covered bridge in 1870, became the town's most iconic landmark, and in the early 1950s was dismantled to make way for the construction of the Morse Reservoir. Half the businesses on Jackson Street borrow the name. The bridge itself lives on in signage and, at this point, in the parks department's branding.
A weekend that uses all of it
If you have not put this together in one outing yet, here is the version that uses every piece the town built this year.
Saturday morning. Start at Erika's Place for breakfast, then walk to Red Bridge Park. Red Bridge Park on the west bank of the reservoir at the Cicero bridge is a great spot from which to view the waterscape, with ample parking, restroom facilities, and a paved walking path open to the public, free and easily accessible by driving west on Cicero's main drag, Jackson Street, over the bridge crossing the reservoir and immediately making a left.
Saturday midday. Use the new accessible kayak launch. This is the one detail that separates the reservoir now from the reservoir a year ago. If you or a guest has ever wanted to get on Morse without hauling a boat trailer, this is the season to try it.
Saturday evening. Dinner at DeLullo's if you booked ahead, 10 West if you did not.
Sunday afternoon. If your dates line up with July 19 or August 9, a lawn chair at Red Bridge Park for the concert. If they do not, brunch at 10 West or the Boathouse and a walk along the paved path.
That is the shape of a Cicero summer weekend in 2026. It is smaller than what you get in Carmel or Fishers, and it is meant to be. The whole thing runs on one street and one shoreline, and the town has spent the last year making sure both work harder.
Thinking about a move on or near the water?
Whether you already own on Morse and are weighing a move, or you are watching Cicero from a neighboring town and wondering what waterfront access actually costs here, the answer changes with the block. Midtown Home Collective works this stretch of Hamilton County closely and can walk you through what a home two streets off Jackson trades for one on the reservoir itself. Schedule a free consultation and we will build a plan around the summer you want to be living, not the one you drove through this weekend.
