Festival season is once again upon us! Warm weather and fun outdoor festivals, with music, food, home tours, funnel cakes, and more! Below is a list of festivals beginning now and running through December 2017. The 2017 Columbus Underground Festival List is presented by the Upper Arlington Labor Day Arts Festival, happening on Monday, September 4, 2017.
New festivals this year include: the Somali Cultural Festival, Columbus Podcast Festival, the Midwest Burlesque and Rockabilly Weekend, African American Cultural Festival, the Melanincholy Festival in Milo-Grogan to showcase and support artists and musicians of color, the International Sports Film Festival of Ohio at the Gateway Film Center, The Franklinton Bike Festival, The Flyover Fest in North Campus/South Clintonville, the Ohio VegFest at Goodale Park in September, a couple of nationally touring food themed festivals, Making Midwest Fest, Grandview Hop adds a holiday hop, and more CU Best Bites events to be announced!
It’s the Tenth and Final Independents’ Day Festival. Steadfast Festival, Whiskey Bear Comedy Festival, and Ohio Chinese Lantern Festival return for a second year. Unfortunately, PromoWest Fest and Drauma are taking the year off. 4th and 4th Fest and Helter Swelter are no longer happening. The PRIDE Festival and the Columbus Food Truck Festival move to the riverfront. Juneteenth is holding a fundraiser to hopefully revive their festival. The Washboard Music Festival will be celebrating big during Logan’s 200th Birthday. Celebrate the opening of the new IKEA on June 7! If you want, you can start lining up on Monday, June 5.
Get out your calendar and start filling it in! Just want music festivals? Check out our event calendar section. If you know of a festival that should be included, comment and let me know and I’ll add it. This should be a great start to help get your weekends full of fun events all summer long. Enjoy!
SEPTEMBER
- Breakaway Music Festival, Mapfre Stadium- September 1 and 2
- WCOL Country Jam – no date yet, usually Labor Day weekend
- Greek Festival – September 1, 2, 3, 4
- HotLicks Blues Fest, Granville – September 2 – (unconfirmed)
- Bike the CBus, 10 Year Anniversary- September 2
- Shadowbox Live’s Bigger Than Jesus, at Columbus Commons – September 3
- Canal Winchester Labor Day Festival – September 2, 3, 4
- Ohio Renaissance Festival – September 2 through October 29, Saturdays, Sundays, Labor Day Monday
- SoulFood Music Festival – September 3 (unconfirmed)
- Upper Arlington Labor Day Arts Festival – September 4
- Macedonian Festival at St. Marys Macedonian Orthodox Cathedral in Reynoldsburg – No date listed yet
- Hills Market (Worthington) Ohio Hog Roast – September 4
- Taste of Powell – September 7
- Paws in the Plaza, Gahanna, first Thursday of the month, September 7
- Ohio Bacon Fest – September 8
- Hot Times Community Festival – September 8, 9, 10 (unconfirmed)
- Columbus Caribbean Festival – September 9
- Moonlight Market on Gay Street – September 9
- Creative Control Fest – no date yet
- New American Festival – September 9 (unconfirmed)
- Old Hilliardfest Art and Street Fair – September 9
- Merion Village Festival – September 10
- Clintonville Arts and Music Festival – no date yet
- Columbus Garden Railroad Society, Self Guided Garden Tours – no date yet
- Great Westerville Food Truck Fest – September 10
- Slice of Columbus – September 13
- Ohio Lesbian Festival – September 14, 15, 16, 17
- Indianola Stroll – September 15
- Ohiolina Music Festival – September 15 and 16
- Oktoberfest at Germania – September 15, 16 17
- Scoot-A-Que 20 – September 15, 16, 17
- Country Living Fair – September 15, 16, 17
- Backwoods Fest – September 15, 16, 17
- Grove City Arts in the Alley – September 16 and 17
- Independents’ Day – September 16 and 17 – Tenth and FINAL one!
- Delaware County Fair – September 16 through 23
- Powell Street Market – September 17
- Ohio VegFest – NEW! September 17
- Sunlight Market on Gay Street – September 17
- Little Brown Jug, Delaware – September 21
- Columbus Oktoberfest – September 22, 23, 24
- Old Worthington Market Day – September 23
- Route 40 Festival, Hebron – September 23
- Country Night Lights, Athens – September 22 and 23 (unconfirmed)
- Union County Covered Bridge and Bluegrass Festival – September 22, 23, 24
- Spirits and Spells – no date yet
- New Albany Classic – September 24 – 20 year anniversary!
- Lynd’s Annual PumpkinPalooza – No date listed yet, usually end of September
- Hempfest – September 25 (unconfirmed, looking toward a big 2017!)
- Cartoon Crossroads Columbus – September 28 through October 1
- North Market Ohio Craft Brew Festival – September 29 and 30
- GDEX – September 29 through October 1
- Chalk the Block – September 30
- Harvest Fair, Columbus Commons – September 30
- Columbus CoffeeFest – September 30 and October 1
OCTOBER
- All American Quarter Horse Congress – October 3 through 29
- Paws in the Plaza, Gahanna, first Thursday of the month, October 5
- Columbus Italian Festival – October 6, 7, 8
- Grove City Oktoberfest – October 7
- Columbus Open Studio & Stage Tour – October 7 and 8
- Mac and Cheese Festival/Fundraiser – no date yet
- Moonlight Market on Gay Street – October 14
- Monster Bash – October 14
- Ohio 24 Hour Horror Marathon – October 14 and 15
- HighBall – October 20 and 21
- Indianola Art Crawl and Stroll – October 21
- Creepside – October 21
- Sunlight Market on Gay Street – October 22
- Fall Harvest Days at Hoover YMCA Park – no date yet
- HAUNTED Fest – October 27
- Bark in the Park, Ganther’s Place – October 28
- TRAUMA – Halloween Fetish Party – October 26, 27, and 28
- Halloween Family Fun Day at North Market – October 29
NOVEMBER & DECEMBER
- Slice of Clintonville – November 9
- Craftin’ Outlaws – November 11 and 12
- Columbus International Festival – November 12 and 13
- Ohio Chinese Lantern Festival – November 17 through January 7, 2018
- Wildlights – November 17 through January 1
- Holiday Lighting Ceremony at Easton – November 18
- WiSHCon – no date yet
- Holiday Open House and Tree Illumination Ceremony, Worthington – November 26
- Ohio Statehouse Holiday Festival and Tree Lighting – no date yet
- Winterfair – December 1, 2, 3
- Frank Fetch Park Tree Lighting – December 2
- Grove City Christmas Celebration and Mistletoe Market – December 2
- Village Lights – December 3
- Grandview Hop – NEW! holiday hop – December 9
- Lighting of the Luminaries, Ganther’s Place – December 16
- New Year’s Eve – December 31
- And plenty of other events in the CU Event Calendar!
House and Garden Tours
- Columbus Underground Urban Living Tour – May 7
- Tour de Highland West – no date yet
- Old Oaks Home and Garden Tour – May 21
- Bexley Women’s Club House & Garden Tour – June 4
- Westgate Home & Garden Tour – June 10
- Haus und Garten Tour, German Village – June 25
- Summer Tour of Historic Homes, Olde Towne East – July 9
- Merion Village Garden Tour – July 9
- WesterFlora Garden Tour – July 16
- Ganther’s Place Garden Tour – July 30
- Short North Tour of Homes – September 17
- Clintonville Homes Tour – postponed to 2018
Local Food Festivals
- Utica Ice Cream Festival – May 27, 28, 29
- Lithopolis 77th Annual Fireman Fish Fry – May 29
- Newark Strawberry Festival – June 2, 3, 4
- Taste of Worthington – July 21
- Deshler Corn City Festival – August 5
- North Ridgeville Corn Festival – August 11, 12, 13
- Lexington Blueberry Festival – August 17 through 20
- Reynoldsburg Tomato Festival – August 18 and 19
- Fairborn Sweet Corn Festival – August 19 and 20
- Obetz Zucchinifest – August 24 through 27
- Millersport Sweet Corn Festival – August 30 through September 2
- Fredericktown Tomato Show – September 6 through 9 (unconfirmed)
- Marion Popcorn Festival – September 7, 8, 9
- Lithopolis Honeyfest – September 8 and 9
- Mantua Potato Festival – September 8 9, 10
- Ohio Pawpaw Festival – September 15, 16, 17
- Ohio Fish and Shrimp Festival – September 15, 16, 17
- Preble County Pork Festival – September 16 and 17
- Jackson County Apple Festival – September 19 through 23 (probable)
- Barnesville Pumpkin Festival – September 21 through 24
- Lebanon Country Applefest – September 30
- Spring Valley Potato Festival – September 30 through October 1 (probable)
- Ohio Gourd Festival (Delaware County) – October 6, 7, 8
- Ohio Sauerkraut Festival – October 14 and 15
- Circleville Pumpkin Show – October 18 through 21
- Van Wert County Apple Festival – October 20 and 21
- Ohio Smoked Meats and BBQ Festival, Nelsonville – October 20 and 21
Every effort has been made to ensure dates are correct, however: Please note, dates are subject to change.
The Columbus Underground 2017 Columbus Festival List is presented by The Upper Arlington Labor Day Arts Festival. The Upper Arlington Labor Day Arts Festival hosts 25,000 visitors participating in interactive performances and activities, purchasing art from some 200 artists working in a variety of media and enjoying refreshments from a variety of vendors. And it all happens because of our great volunteers! 2017 marks the 51st Upper Arlington Labor Day Arts Festival; we have produced this event since 1983. Visit uaoh.net/ldaf for more information.