Your Central Ohio spring festival guide
The weather is getting warmer, and that means festival season is upon us.
To honor the season, we're showcasing the spring slate of festivals bringing communities together, celebrating niche interests and in some cases attracting national interest.
Fun fact: You could theoretically spend every weekend between now and the summer at a Central Ohio festival.
Reality check: But between food vendor prices and the going rate for hot-ticket music festivals, be ready to blow your budget if you try.
Heritage
🇩🇪 Maifest at The Mannerchor: April 26, German Village. Free!
🗡️ Ashville Viking Festival: April 26-27, Ashville. Free!
If you can't wait for the Renaissance Festival, get your fix of old-timey feasting and festivities in Ashville.
🌸 Asian & Pacific Islander Heritage Festival: May 16, Bexley. Free!
🏴☠️ Buckeye Lake Piratefest: May 16-18, Buckeye Lake. Free!
🐲 Asian Festival: May 24-25, Franklin Park. Free!
✊🏾 Ohio Black Expo: May 24-25, Genoa Park. $20-$50.
Arts & Science
🧪 COSI Science Festival: April 30-May 3 Franklinton and around the region. Free!
Enjoy nature walks, exhibitions, trivia and art projects.
📚 Ohioana Book Festival: May 3, Italian Village. Free!
🪴 Herb Day Festival: May 3, Gahanna. Free!
🎨 Delaware Arts Festival: May 17-18, Downtown. Free!
🖼️ Columbus Arts Festival: June 6-8, Downtown Riverfront. Free!
The event draws hundreds of artists from across the country.
🧑🎨 Worthington Arts Festival: June 14-15, Old Worthington. Free!
Music
🪕 Central Ohio Folk Festival: May 3-4, Highbanks Metro Park. Free!
🎸 Sonic Temple Art & Music Festival: May 8-11, Historic Crew Stadium. $160-$530.
This year, it's headlined by Korn, Linkin Park and two nights of no-repeat sets from Metallica.
🪩 Breakaway Music Festival: May 30-31, Historic Crew Stadium. $70-$1,000.
🎷 Creekside Blues and Jazz Festival: June 13-15, Gahanna Creekside. $15-$30.
The centerpiece of Gahanna's calendar, this festival has grown from a half-day local event to a three-day regional draw.
🏳️🌈 All Out Music Festival: June 14, Kemba Live! $60-$90.
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Buzz Feed
21 hours ago
- Buzz Feed
50 Hilarious Jokes From The Funniest Comedians Ever
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Los Angeles Times
2 days ago
- Los Angeles Times
Sawdust Festival brings ‘magic' during kickoff event for its 59th season
It was an unmistakable scene as a line of foot traffic weaved its way toward downtown and threatened to overtake the Village Entrance. Laguna Beach's local-focused Sawdust Art Festival reopened its doors for an invite-only preview night on Tuesday, and what played out was nothing short of a family reunion. Just ask Doug Miller, the lively acrylic painter who was sorely missed when a battle against sepsis landed him in a hospital during much of the show last summer. The 78-year-old was treated like a hometown hero, guests lining up to say hello, and in kind, he greeted many by taking their picture. 'I rebounded,' Miller said. 'I came from the dead back, I think. My skin turned gray, somebody said. It was pretty scary. The doctor said it's like an oil spill in your bloodstream, and it has to clear out. It takes about two months to clear that out.' The Sawdust has been a second home to Miller for much of his life. He told a tale of his wedding day, when he married Becky on the grounds in the summer of 1979, long before there was a performance stage above his booth. Miller showed off an assortment of his mini canvas paintings, explaining that he painted for 30 years consecutively without missing a day, amassing a catalog of 20,500 paintings. All the while, he was presented with gifts, one person bringing him a beer and another offering him chocolate. 'This only goes as far as you live, so I want to hang on for a couple more years,' added Miller, who said he has exhibited at the festival for 55 years. As the sun rises on the 59th season at the festival, several creative souls are making their debut. If the sage burning in her booth didn't immediately set her apart, Jennifer Kennedy was quick to express her affinity for the perfectly imperfect. 'What I don't like about perfection is I feel like it's been made by a machine,' said Kennedy, a ceramics and sculpture artist. 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New additions to the grounds go beyond the select first-time exhibitors at the summer show. Starfish, an Asian fusion restaurant in Laguna Beach, is debuting a culinary experience at the festival called the Cove. With sand poured out around the dining area and a DJ spinning tunes deep into the night, it kept the crowd coming and energized for more following their meals. A short walk from the Cove down the southernmost aisle, one could find the husband-and-wife duo of Jason and Sarah Hanck exhibiting together. Jason, who said he is in his eighth year as an exhibitor at the festival, added his wife is 'hooked' after he 'drug her into the goodness.' 'We both independently were artists,' Jason said. 'She hadn't done this type of work before, she hadn't been working in oils and doing plein air. John Eagle and I got her going in that direction, and so now she and I go out and paint all over the place together.' An action-packed night was rounded out with musical sets, as well as performances by Cirque du Soleil Echo and an Orange County-based aerial-and-ground act called Palindrome Entertainment. Hannah Lawson of Palindrome indicated the group was also able to tap into the small-town vibe of the evening. 'For the community, it's always more fun because it's so personal,' Lawson said. 'Everybody interacts a lot more. We're local to the area, as well. All of the performers are from Orange County — San Clemente, Dana Point, Laguna — so it's really fun to see our friends and colleagues and neighbors and family when we're performing. It's really fun to give back to the community while having a lot of fun and doing what we love.' A band played its last song as 10 p.m. approached and the dancing had not stopped on the hilltop. When the creatives and locals gathered for the first time in six months since Winter Fantasy, no one wanted the party to end. The Sawdust Art Festival kicked off its summer season, welcoming the public to opening day Friday. The festival will be open through the end of August, with weekend hours from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday through Sunday. It is open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Admission is $12 for adults, $10 for seniors and $5 for children ages 6 to 12. Kids ages 5 and younger get in free. 'You really got to feel that energy to really understand what the Sawdust is,' said Joshua King, president of the board of directors for the Sawdust Art Festival. 'It's not a typical art show. Obviously, the artists are so good, and everybody's there to sell their work, but there's much more there. The experience is so rich. It's different than anywhere else. Our environment underneath the eucalyptus trees and the waterfalls — all of that — it really does bring out some magic.'
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Disney+, Hulu Set July Premiere for Korean Treasure-Hunt Drama ‘Low Life'
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