A guide to spring/early summer festivals: From the Columbus Arts Festival to Red, White & Boom
Now that spring has sprung, the festival season apparently has, too! You don't have to wait until summer to have some outdoor fun because many events are already in the works starting in April.
If it's food and drink that you fancy, the festival menu includes wine, beer, chicken, tacos and more. Or if music fests are more your style, you can enjoy jazz, blues, folk, electronica, soul, rock and pretty much every genre in between.
Whether you're an aesthete, a cinephile, a nature lover or you just like to have a good time, there's bound to be something for everyone's tastes in the list of upcoming festivals below.
April 16-30: Timbuk Farms Tulip Festival
Timbuk Farms, 2030 Timbuk Road, Granville
This flower fest features 500,000 blooms across 4 acres, where guests can pick their own tulips and then explore Timbuk's new greenhouse and garden center. There also will be live music, food trucks, games, rides and more. Hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays. Tickets are limited, so reserve early. (timbuk.com)
April 20: Ohioana Book Festival
Columbus Metropolitan Library, 96 S. Grant Ave.
Since its start in 2007, this literary festival has grown from 10 authors to more than 100. The free event includes author panels on a multitude of topics, book signings and sales, story times and drawing demonstrations for kids, food trucks and other attractions. Hours are 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. (ohioana.org)
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April 24-28: Cinema Columbus Film Festival
The annual independent film fest will offer screenings of nearly 50 feature and short films at seven locations. The festival will open at 7 p.m. April 24 at the Southern Theatre, 21 E. Main St., with "False Positive," the story of Olympic medalist Butch Reynolds, a track star who was falsely accused and banned for illegal drug use for two years in 1990. Afterward, stay for a Q&A with director Ismail Al-Amin and Butch Reynolds, who is also a 1995 Ohio State University Athletics Hall of Fame inductee. See website for other film titles, locations and ticket prices. (cinemacolumbus.com)
April 27: Arbor Day Festival & Spring Plant Sale
Dawes Arboretum, 7770 Jacksontown Road, Newark
Celebrate all things tree-related with music, hands-on activities, tree climbing, tree giveaways (while supplies last) and food trucks. The sale will feature a variety of plants suitable for spring planting, including native plants, as well as trees, shrubs and annuals. Hours are 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. More details about activities to come. (See calendar of events at dawesarb.org.)
April 27: Taste of Granville
Bryn Du Mansion, 537 Jones Road, Granville
The eighth annual festival of locally produced food, music, wine and beer from 5-8 p.m. (4 p.m. with VIP early access ticket) will support the Granville Rotary Foundation's work. Events will be updated at tasteofgranville.org so check back periodically. (bit.ly/3VItmXm)
May 4-5: Central Ohio Folk Festival
Highbanks Metro Park, 9466 Columbus Pike, Lewis Center
Headlined by genre-blending Nashville, Tennessee, band The Arcadian Wild, this two-day gathering will feature more than 30 concerts on three stages, workshops, storytelling, crafts, a community singalong, youth activities and more. Hours are 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. May 4 and 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. May 5. Admission is free; donations are appreciated. (columbusfolkmusicsociety.org)
May 11: Green on the Green
Worthington Village Green, High Street and Route 161
The annual free event presents green and healthy alternatives to everyday living and will feature vendors and businesses dedicated to transportation, sustainable homes, sustainable health, native plants, waste reduction and environmental advocacy. Hours are from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. (experienceworthington.com/events)
May 16-19: Sonic Temple Art & Music Festival
Historic Crew Stadium, Interstate 71 near East Hudson Street
Sonic Temple turns the volume up to 11 with a new fourth stage and 40 more bands than before including headliners Disturbed, The Original Misfits, Pantera and Slipknot. Other acts will include Evanescence, Limp Bizkit, Judas Priest, Cypress Hill, Sum 41 and many others. Festival passes are on sale with payment plans available for $10 down. (sonictemplefestival.com)
May 18-19: Columbus Taco Fest
Genoa Park, 303 W. Broad St.
Taco 'bout a good time! Eat, drink and be merry at this celebration of food, music and culture, which also will host a puppy dress-up contest. Festival hours are noon to 10 p.m. May 18 and noon to 8 p.m. May 19. Admission is free before 2 p.m. and $5 afterward. (columbustacofest.com)
May 25-26: Asian Festival
Franklin Park, 1755 E. Broad St.
The 30th annual cultural event will include games, children's activities, free health screenings and education, martial arts, live performances, a career fair and more. Admission is free. (asian-festival.org)
May 25-26: Ohio Black Expo: Riverfront Culture Fest
Genoa Park, 303 W. Broad St.
More than 100 Black-owned vendors will be represented at the expo/culture fest in addition to craft and artisan beverages, food trucks, an HBCU college fair, DJs and dancing, family activities, giveaways and live music including performances by Urban Strings Columbus, Brand Nubian and Amerie. (ohioblackexpo.com)
May 31-June 1: Breakaway Music Festival
Historic Crew Stadium, Interstate 71 near East Hudson Street
Breakaway, which began in Columbus in 2016 and has expanded to multiple cities, will feature headliners John Summit, Kaskade Redux, Tiësto and Two Friends, and a slew of other EDM, pop and house artists. Two-day general admission and VIP tickets are available. (breakawayfestival.com)
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June 1: Columbus Chicken & Beer Festival
Dodge Park, 667 Sullivant Ave.
Food trucks will serve a variety of mouth-watering chicken from fried to grilled, classic to jerk, and even vegetarian options. A diverse beer menu offers suds from light to dark, hoppy to malty and classic to exotic. The fest also will feature live music, games and other activities. (chickenandbeerfestcolumbus.com)
June 7-8: Fore!Fest
Bridge Park, 6634 Riverside Drive, Dublin
This free street festival offers music, food, drinks and more for a worthy cause: All proceeds benefit Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Eat.Learn.Play. Foundation and the Crawford Hoying Foundation. Hours will be 5 to 10 p.m. both days. Check website for updates. (forefest.com)
June 7-9: Columbus Arts Festival
Scioto Mile Riverfront, Downtown
Now in its 62nd year, the festival will feature more than 225 visual artists, three stages of performances and dozens of food vendors. Hours will be 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. June 7; 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. June 8; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. June 9. Check website for updated information. (columbusartsfestival.org)
June 8: Columbus Summer Wine Festival, Downtown Edition
McFerson Commons, 211 W. Nationwide Blvd.,
Enjoy more than 30 wines curated by Heidelberg Distributing, 40-plus vendors from Front Street Flea and music by Eric Chin. This rain-or-shine event will take place from 1 to 7 p.m. Tickets are available online now, with a discounted price if you purchase by April 1. (columbuswinefest.com)
June 14-15: Stonewall Columbus Pride Festival
Goodale Park, 120 W. Goodale St.
The Pride Festival & Resource Fair will take place from 4 to 10 p.m. June 14 and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. June 15 in Goodale Park. The fest will feature more than 200 nonprofit and corporate vendors, two performance stages (entertainment to be announced), a community wellness area, a DJ/dancing pad and more. The Pride March will begin at 10 a.m. June 15 at Broad and High streets. Check website for updates on other Pride events. (stonewallcolumbus.org/pride)
June 14-16: Creekside Blues and Jazz Festival
Creekside Park & Plaza, 117 Mill St., Gahanna
Three stages will showcase local, regional and national blues and jazz artists at the 25th annual festival, which also will feature an array of foods, plus live mural painting by artists. Hours are 5 to 11 p.m. June 14; 1 to 11 p.m. June 15; and noon to 5 p.m. June 16. Purchase tickets online and save $5; an early bird discount of $5 also is offered online through April 1. (creeksidebluesandjazz.com)
June 15-16: Juneteenth Festival
Genoa Park, 303 W. Broad St.
The 26th annual celebration honors the date June 19, 1865, when the last Confederate community of enslaved Americans in Galveston, Texas, received word that they had been freed. A host of events will include a classic car show, performances by The Ark Band and dance hall reggae icon Shabba Ranks, a Father's Day tribute and a college and career fair on both days. (juneteenthohio.com)
June 15-16: Worthington Arts Festival
Worthington Village Green, High Street and Route 161
The community fine arts and fine crafts show will take place on all four quadrants of the park, and is just a short walk from all the businesses and restaurants of Old Worthington. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. June 15 and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. June 16. (worthingtonartsfestival.com)
June 22-23: Buckeye Country Superfest
Ohio Stadium, 411 Woody Hayes Drive
Unusually high demand for tickets led to the addition of a second night for this country mega-concert, which will be headlined by Zach Bryan, supported by Billy Strings and Turnpike Troubadours. The lineup also includes special guests Charley Crockett, Charles Wesley Godwin, and Levi Turner. (buckeyecountrysuperfest.com)
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June 22: Uncorked: Columbus
COSI, 333 W. Broad St.
From 7 to11 p.m., the fourth annual wine fest will offer tastings of more than 100 wines plus seltzers, spirits, canned cocktails and other beverages, as well as access to COSI's exhibits. There are two sessions: Early admission ($80) at 7 p.m. includes an extra hour of tasting with a smaller capacity plus exclusive samples from select wineries. General admission at 8 p.m. costs $60. The 21-and-older event benefits local nonprofit A Kid Again, which curates one-of-a-kind experiences for children with life-threatening diseases and their families. (bit.ly/43xIFnx)
June 28-30: ComFest
Goodale Park, 120 Goodale St.
Now in its 52nd year, the festive and socially conscious ComFest offers live music, dance, street fair vendors, food, children's activities, art, workshops, speakers, political activism and more. Check the website for updates about the 2024 festival. (comfest.com)
July 3: Red White and Boom!
Genoa Park, 303 W. Broad St.
Columbus' largest single-day event attracts more than 400,000 visitors each year to celebrate Independence Day with a street festival, live entertainment, a parade and, of course, the famous fireworks display. Check out the website for information and details on how to become a Boom! VIP. (redwhiteandboom.org)
July 4: Doo Dah Parade
Goodale Park, 120 Goodale St.
No registration is required to participate in the Doo Dah Parade, touted as "the craziest parade in history." All you have to do is show up at noon, when the lineup starts on Park Street just north of Goodale Street. There also will be a block party with live music from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. in Goodale Park. (doodahparade.com)
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Festival season: A roundup of spring/early summer festivals in Columbus
