This Saturday, October 29, would have been Bob Ross’s 80th birthday! We have some special programming and events planned to mark eight decades of our favorite painter and cultural icon. Here are a few ways you can celebrate with us:
The Best of the Joy of Painting Marathon
WTIU-Create (Channel 30.3)
Friday and Saturday, October 28 and 29 from 9pm-2am
Saturday, October 29 from 10am-3pm
Sunday, October 30 from 12-5pm
Sunday-Thursday, October 31-November 3 from 9-10pm
Create TV celebrates Bob Ross’s birthday with back-to-back episodes of The Best of the Joy of Painting. Follow along with the late, great painter as he encourages viewers with his endearing can-do approach to creating their own masterpieces.
The Bob Ross Experience
WTIU (Channel 30.1)
Saturday, October 29 at 5pm
Sunday, October 30 at 11pm
From 1983 to 1988, Bob Ross filmed his iconic show, The Joy of Painting, in a makeshift studio in the L.L. Ball home near the campus of Ball State University. Now part of the Minnetrista campus, the former WIPB-TV studio space was recently refurbished, bringing together objects, paintings, and other artifacts, to create a space for visitors to explore Bob’s life and career, feel what it might have been like to be on set during an episode of his show, and try their hand at painting some happy little trees of their own. The restoration process began in 2019, and the exhibit opened to the public on October 29, 2020—Bob’s birthday. The Bob Ross Experience gives viewers a behind-the-scenes look at the research and creative work that brought this experience to life, while also witnessing the impact that Bob continues to have on young and old artists.
Bob Ross photo booth
Food Truck Friday
Switchyard Park
Friday, October 28 from 4-8pm
First Thursdays
IU Arts Plaza
Thursday, November 3 from 4-7pm
Join us at Food Truck Friday or First Thursdays to get your picture taken in our Bob Ross-themed photo booth! Bob Ross cardboard cutout, Peapod replica, and art props will be provided. We’ll print a happy little photo memento for you!