Upper Arlington Labor Day Arts Festival, happening on Monday, September 3, 2018.
Festival season is once again upon us! We have an ultimate list of all of the best festivals in Columbus Ohio, and festivals in Central Ohio! Food festivals, music festivals, free outdoor fun activities, and more! Lists of the home tours in Columbus, fairs, shopping events, and other fun things to do during the summer. Below is a list of festivals beginning now and running through December 2018. The 2018 Columbus Underground Festival List is presented by theNew festivals this year include: the Italian Heritage Summer Festival in Dublin, a spring/summer version of the Country Living Fair, the first ever Ohio Fairy Gardening Festival being held in Perry, Ohio (worth the drive!), the first Oddities & Curiosities Expo will be held in May, the 2×2 Hip-Hop Festival moves locations and adds Brews over Beats in May. Fore!Fest is coming back this year in May and will be at Bridge Park. A new series of Community Pride events is starting this year. The Lights Fest sets up close to Columbus. Kale & Ale Festival comes to Columbus in June (update, this has been cancelled). The John Glenn Astronomy Park officially opens in June. INKcarceration, a new summer festival combining non-stop live music with tattoos is in July, happening at the Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield. Picktown Palooza replaced the Pickerington Violet Festival. Holler comes back as a festival in August. A wine festival comes to Columbus Commons in August. Huntington Garden in Schiller Park celebrates 25 years. Art for Life returns in September. The New Albany Classic hung up its helmet and will no longer be happening.
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 it will be added. This should be a great start to help get your weekends full of fun events all summer long. Enjoy!
JUNE
- Punk in Drublic, Thornville – June 1, 2, 3
- Van Wert Peony Festival – June 1, 2, 3
- Newark Strawberry Festival – June 1, 2, 3
- Columbus Community Pride: Back to Our Roots – June 1 through 16
- Summer Sizzle Concert Series, Grove City – most Fridays June 1 through August 17
- Bunbury Music Festival – June 1, 2, 3 (Cincinnati)
- African American Cultural Festival – June 2
- Chicken and Beer Festival – June 2
- Kale & Ale Festival – NEW! June 2 – CANCELLED
- Summer614 – June 2
- 32nd Annual Music on the Lawn in Grandview – Tuesdays, June 5 through July 31
- Summer Reading Club Kickoff, Main Library – June 2
- Cause Collaborative – No date yet
- Short North/Victorian Village Yard Sale – June 2
- Hubbard Mastery School Bazaar – June 2
- The Lights Fest, Waynesville – June 2
- Alley Islands at Blockfort – June 2
- Bexley Women’s Club House & Garden Tour – June 3
- Clintonville Open Garden Tour – June 3
- Tour of Franklinton Cycling Race – No date yet
- North Market Peddler’s Picnic – Sundays June 3 through October 28, check website for exceptions
- Stop and Smell the Roses – no official event this year, peak blooms mid-June
- Midwest Burlesque and Rockabilly Weekend – June 7 through 10
- Rootwire Transformational ARTS Festival, Pomeroy – June 7, 8, 9, 10
- Sommerfest – June 8
- Big Local Art Tent at the Columbus Arts Festival – June 8, 9, 10
- Columbus Arts Festival – June 8, 9, 10
- Ohio Fairy Gardening Festival – NEW! June 9 (Perry, Ohio)
- World Naked Bike Ride – June 9
- Snowville Creamery Open House – No date yet
- Clintonville Treasure Hunt – No date yet
- Buckeye Country Superfest – Not returning for 2018
- Moonlight Market on Gay Street – June 9
- Westgate Home & Garden Tour – June 9
- Olde Towne East – Trash to Treasures Yard Sale – June 9
- Old Oaks Home and Garden Tour – June 10
- DAC Sundays at Scioto Summer Concert Series – Sunday evenings, June 10 through July 29
- Granville Art Affair – Not returning for 2018
- Origins Game Fair – June 13 through 17
- Wex Drive-In, Misery – June 14
- Found Footage Festival – June 14
- Washboard Music Festival and Logan’s 200th Birthday – June 14, 15, 16
- CAPA Summer Movie Series – June 15 through August 5
- Grove City Wine and Arts Festival – June 15 and 16
- Country Living Fair (Spring) – NEW! June 15, 16, 17
- Creekside Blues and Jazz Festival – June 15, 16, 17
- Tour de Grandview – June 15
- Duck Creek Log Jam – June 15 and 16
- Columbus PRIDE Festival, June 15 and 16, Brunch on 17
- Columbus Children’s Festival – June 16
- The Great Ohio Bicycle Adventure – June 16 through 23
- Worthington Arts Festival – June 16 and 17
- Grandview Digfest – June 16
- Zoofari – June 16
- Goods on Goodale – June 17
- Picnic with the Pops – No dates yet
- Juneteenth Ohio Festival – trying to raise money to bring festival back
- John Glenn Astronomy Park – grand opening – NEW! June 21
- London Cobra Auto Show – June 21, 22, 23
- Powell Festival – June 22 and 23
- Comfest – June 22, 23, 24
- Easton Art Affair – June 22, 23, 24
- Haus und Garten Tour, German Village – June 23 and 24
- Sunlight Market on Gay Street – June 24
- Hilltop Bean Dinner – June 30
- Grandview Hop – June 30
- Fenlon Five Year Celebration, Easton – June 30
- Farm Fair, Canal Market District in Newark – June 30
- Olentangy Summer Bash – June 30
Every effort has been made to ensure dates are correct, however: Please note, dates are subject to change.
The Columbus Underground 2018 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 more than 100 artists working in a wide range of media and enjoying refreshments from a variety of vendors. And it all happens because of our great volunteers! 2018 marks the 52nd Upper Arlington Labor Day Arts Festival as well as the Centennial Celebration for the City of Upper Arlington. Visit uaoh.net for more information.